DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Structural Analysis on the Arm and Floater Structure of a Wave Energy Converter

  • Chen, Zhenmu (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mokpo National University) ;
  • Singh, Patrick Mark (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mokpo National University) ;
  • Choi, Young-Do (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of New and Renewable Energy Technology Research, Mokpo National University)
  • Received : 2014.05.08
  • Accepted : 2015.05.12
  • Published : 2015.06.01

Abstract

Ocean waves have huge amounts of energy, even larger than wind or solar, which can be extracted by some mechanical device. This can be done by creating a system of reacting forces, in which two or more bodies move relative to each other, while at least one body interacts with the waves. This moves the floater up and down. The floaters are connected to an arm structure, which are mounted on a fixed hull structure. Hence, the structure of the floater is very important. A static structural analysis with FSI (Fluid-Structure Interaction) analysis is conducted. To achieve the pressure load for the FSI analysis, the floater is simulated on a wave generator using rigid body motion. The structural analysis is done to examine the stresses on the whole system, and four types of flange and floater are optimized. The result shows that the structure of floater with wood support is the safest.

Keywords

References

  1. Burman, K., and Walker, A., "Ocean Energy Technology Overivew", MS 301 1617 Cole Boulevard Golden, CO80401, 2009.
  2. Miller, C., "Wave and Tidal Energy Experiments in San Francisco and Santa Cruz". (August 2004)
  3. Babcock, J. L., "EDP and Efacec to Collaborate on Wave Energy Projects", Bloomberg, September 23, 2008.
  4. Korea Meteorological Administration: www.kma.go.kr.
  5. ANSYS Inc., "ANSYS CFX Documentation 2013," www.ansys.com.
  6. Gomes, M. N., Olinto, C. R., Rocha, L. A. O., Souza, J. A. and Isoldi, L. A. "Computational Modelling of a Regular Wave Tank", Thermal Engineering, 2009, Vol. 8, pp. 44-50.
  7. McCormick, M. E., Ocean engineering wave mechanics, John Wiley & Sons, USA, New York, 1976.
  8. Dean, R. G., and Dalrymple, R. A., Water wave mechanics for engineers and scientists, vol. 2, World scientific, Singapore, 1991.
  9. Micelli, F. and Nanni, A. "Mechanical Properties and Durability of FRP Rods", Center for Infrastructure Engineering Studies, 2001, Report.
  10. Schmit, K., "Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) Piping Systems Designing Process/Facilities Piping Systems with FRP a Comparison to Traditional Metallic Materials", Specialty Plastics Inc., 1998.
  11. Reichhold, "FRP Material Selection Guide", An Engineer's Guide to FRP Technology, Reichhold Inc., 2009.

Cited by

  1. Numerical analysis for a proposed hybrid system with single HAWT, double HATCT and vertical oscillating wave energy converters on a single tower vol.30, pp.10, 2016, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-016-0932-9
  2. 15kW-class wave energy converter floater design and structural analysis vol.40, pp.2, 2015, https://doi.org/10.5916/jkosme.2016.40.2.146
  3. On the Assessment of Numerical Wave Makers in CFD Simulations vol.7, pp.2, 2015, https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse7020047