Performance Assessment of a Hybrid Wave Energy Converter Integrated into a Harbor Breakwater

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2020-01-03

Authors

Tomás Cabral (Author) FEUP; Daniel Clemente (Author) FEUP; Paulo Rosa Santos (Author) FEUP; Francisco Taveira Pinto (Author) FEUP; Tiago Morais (Author) Other; Filipe Belga (Author) Other; Henrique Cestaro (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Energies

Vol. 13 No. 1

Pages: 1-236

ISSN: 1996-1073

Publisher: MDPI

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 0 Citations

ISI Web of Science

Scopus - 10 Citations

Scientific classification

CORDIS: Technological sciences

FOS: Engineering and technology

Associated Projects

SE@PORTS - Energia Sustentável em Portos Marítimos

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00R-K2X

DOI: 10.3390/en13010236

Abstract (EN): Seaports are highly energy demanding infrastructures and are exposed to wave energy, which is an abundant resource and largely unexploited. As a result, there has been a rising interest in integrating wave energy converters (WEC) into the breakwaters of seaports. The present work analyzes the performance of an innovative hybrid WEC module combining an oscillating water column (OWC) and an overtopping device (OWEC) integrated into a rubble mound breakwater, based on results of a physical model study carried out at a geometrical scale of 1:50. Before the experimental tests, the device's performance was numerically optimized using ANSYS Fluent and WOPSim v3.11. The wave power captured by the hybrid WEC was calculated and the performance of the two harvesting principles discussed. It was demonstrated that hybridization could lead to systems with higher efficiencies than its individual components, for a broader range of wave conditions. The chosen concepts were found to complement each other: the OWEC was more efficient for the lower wave periods tested and the OWC for the higher. Consequently, the power production of the hybrid WEC was found to be less dependent on the wave's characteristics.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 22