Wave energy converter design via a time-domain Rankine panel method
Name
986241466-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
13.5 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
19d11f11ce5b63a565a75b309ba5f535
Author(s)
Seixas de Medeiros, João
Advisor(s)
Stefano Brizzolara.
Date Issued
2017
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
Efficient design of energy converters heavily depends on the capacity of the designer to accurately predict the device's dynamic, which ultimately leads to the power extraction. This is specially true for wave energy converters (WEC), which usually present a high cost per kWh generated. In this thesis a particular WEC which uses a rotating mass for power extraction is studied. A numerical model for the prediction of its motion and power extraction is presented. The nonlinear dynamic model consists of a time-domain three dimensional Rankine panel method coupled, in the time integration, with a MATLAB algorithm which solves for the equations of the gyroscope and Power Take-Off (PTO). The former acts as a force block, calculating the forces due to the waves on the hull, which is then sent to the latter through TCP/IP, which couples the external dynamics and performs the time-integration using a 4th order Runge-Kutta method. With the proposed code, two case studies are examined. The first consists of two gyroscopes, rotating in opposite directions, to negate undesirable yaw effects on the WEC's hull. The device's optimum PTO damping value and flywheel spin are then shown, which change for different sea states. The second is a comparison against results from experimental testing of a 1:50 model at the Davidson Laboratory during the Wave Energy Prize.
Description
Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2017.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 111-115).
Subjects
Mechanical Engineering.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
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