All over the
world, companies are trying to invent deep sea energy production
devices. This ranges from
reimagining known devices such as making floating wind turbines and
solar cells to completely new technology such as wave energy
converters (WECs).
With every new
kind of devices placed at sea, there is a fundamental
need to understand the exact interactions between the ocean and the
object placed in it. This need is even bigger for a WEC, as it
produces energy from its interaction with the waves. Many WEC
technologies are tested through prototype testing, without a thorough
analysis of the physical phenomena that describe how they work.
This
project focuses on a new WEC technique that uses the pressure from
the circular motion of the waves to move the device. This method has
not been analyzed through CFD before. This project will setup a model
to describe the WEC and investigate the theoretical efficiency of the
device. The focus will be on understanding the specific phenomena
that drives the energy production.
The
company Crestwing, which has designed a WEC that uses this principle,
will be making their data available for comparisons and analysis.
In collaboration with
Crestwing
