Impact of Separation Distance on the Performance and Annual Energy Production of a Dual-Flap Oscillating Surge Wave Energy Converter

TL;DR

This study investigates how the distance between dual-flap oscillating surge wave energy converters affects their response and energy output, finding that separation distance has minimal impact on annual energy production.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of the influence of separation distance on dual-flap wave energy converters using numerical simulations validated by experiments.

Findings

Interaction effects vary with wave frequency at short distances.

Longer separation distances lead to constructive interactions.

Separation distance has negligible effect on annual energy output.

Abstract

Among the different concepts for wave energy conversion, oscillating surge wave energy converters have been shown to have a high capture width ratio. The primary wave capture structure consists of a flap hinged at the seabed or to a floating platform. Different flap configurations, including single and dual-flap, have been investigated. The separation distance between the oscillating surge wave energy converters can have an impact on their response when deployed in arrays. We consider the case of a dual-flap oscillating surge wave energy converter and investigate the impact of the separation distance between them on the performance of each flap. We estimate the absorbed wave energy and the annual energy production by the two flaps when deployed at the PacWave South site. Inviscid numerical simulations were conducted to predict the response of the oscillating surge wave energy converters. The simulations are validated with experimental measurements of a 1:10 scaled model in a wave tank. The results show that for a short separation distance, the interaction between the oscillating surge wave energy converters has a destructive and constructive effect depending on the wave frequency. However, these effects tend to balance each other out when considering the broad range of wave excitations. For longer separation distances, the interaction always results in a constructive effect. The results reveal that the separation distance has an insignificant impact on annual energy production when considering all wave frequencies and amplitudes.