On the Development of an Offshore Version of the CECO Wave Energy Converter
Open Access
- 26 February 2020
- Vol. 13 (5), 1036
- https://doi.org/10.3390/en13051036
Abstract
Offshore locations present significant amounts of wave energy and free sea space, which could facilitate the deployment of larger numbers of wave energy converters (WECs) in comparison with nearshore regions. The present study aims to find a suitable design for an offshore floating version of CECO, a sloped motion WEC. For this purpose, a new design methodology is proposed in this paper for identifying and assessing possible floating configurations of CECO, which consists of four distinct set-ups obtained by varying the type of main supporting structure and the mooring system. Two options are based on spar designs and the other two on tension leg platform (TLP) designs. Based on outcomes of time-domain numerical calculations, the aforementioned configurations were assessed in terms of annual wave energy conversion and magnitude of mooring loads. Results indicate that a TLP configuration with an innovative mooring solution could increase the annual energy production by 40% with respect to the fixed version of CECO. Besides, the mooring system is found to be a key component, influencing the overall system performance.This publication has 34 references indexed in Scilit:
- An integrated methodology for the design of mooring systems and risersMarine Structures, 2014
- A simplified method for reliability- and integrity-based design of engineering systems and its application to offshore mooring systemsMarine Structures, 2014
- Design Specifications for the Hanstholm WEPTOS Wave Energy ConverterEnergies, 2012
- Issues in offshore platform research - Part 1: Semi-submersiblesInternational Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, 2010
- Wave energy utilization: A review of the technologiesRenewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2010
- Frequency domain analysis of a tension leg platform with statistical linearization of the tendon restoring forcesMarine Structures, 2009
- Measurements of static and dynamic mooring line damping and their importance for floating WEC devicesOcean Engineering, 2007
- Mooring design approach for wave energy convertersProceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part M: Journal of Engineering for the Maritime Environment, 2006
- Dynamic behavior of offshore spar platforms under regular sea wavesOcean Engineering, 2003
- Triangular Configuration Tension Leg Platform behaviour under random sea wave loadsOcean Engineering, 2002