Hydrodynamic modelling of marine renewable energy devices : a state of the art review

This paper reviews key issues in the physical and numerical modelling of marine renewable energy systems, including wave energy devices, current turbines, and offshore wind turbines. The paper starts with an overview of the types of devices considered, and introduces some key studies in marine renewable energy modelling research. The development of new International Towing Tank Conference (ITTC) guidelines for model testing these devices is placed in the context of guidelines developed or under development by other international bodies as well as via research projects. Some particular challenges are introduced in the experimental and numerical modelling and testing of these devices, including the simulation of Power-Take-Off systems (PTOs) for physical models of all devices, approaches for numerical modelling of devices, and the correct modelling of wind load on offshore wind turbines. Finally, issues related to the uncertainty in performance prediction from model test results are discussed.The paper is based on the report of the International Towing Tank Conference specialist committee on Hydrodynamic Modelling of Marine Renewable Energy Devices to the 27th ITTC held in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2014 (ITTC Specialist Committee on Hydrodynamic Modelling of Marine Renewable Energy Devices, 2014a. Final Report and Recommendations to the 27th ITTC Proc. 27th International Towing Tank Conference, Copehagen, Denmark, vol. 2, pp. 680–725).

[1]  Aurélien Babarit,et al.  A wave-to-wire model of the SEAREV wave energy converter , 2007 .

[2]  Tadashi Nimura,et al.  Model Experiments on the Motion of a SPAR Type Floating Wind Turbine in Wind and Waves , 2011 .

[3]  Neil Bose,et al.  Phase Averaged Flow Analysis in an Oscillating Water Column Wave Energy Converter , 2013 .

[4]  A. C. José,et al.  Hydrodynamic Power Optimization of a Horizontal Axis Marine Current Turbine With Lifting Line Theory , 2007 .

[5]  Kenneth Doherty,et al.  The Development of an Experimental Force Feedback Dynamometer to Investigate the Real Time Control of an Oscillating Wave Surge Converter , 2013 .

[6]  Rico Hjerm Hansen,et al.  Modelling and Control of the Wavestar Prototype , 2011 .

[7]  Aurélien Babarit,et al.  Hydro-elastic modelling of an electro-active wave energy converter , 2013 .

[8]  Bettina Nicole Bockelmann-Evans,et al.  Far-field modelling of the hydro-environmental impact of tidal stream turbines , 2012 .

[9]  Dominique Roddier,et al.  WindFloat: A Floating Foundation for Offshore Wind Turbines—Part II: Hydrodynamics Analysis , 2009 .

[10]  F. Fusco,et al.  A Study of the Prediction Requirements in Real-Time Control of Wave Energy Converters , 2012, IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy.

[11]  Amir Hossein Birjandi,et al.  Investigation of macro-turbulent flow structures interaction with a vertical hydrokinetic river turbine , 2012 .

[12]  J. Jonkman,et al.  Offshore Code Comparison Collaboration (OC3) for IEA Wind Task 23 Offshore Wind Technology and Deployment , 2010 .

[13]  Stephan T. Grilli,et al.  A fully nonlinear implicit model for wave interactions with submerged structures in forced or free motion , 2012 .

[14]  Jason Jonkman,et al.  Offshore Code Comparison Collaboration, Continuation: Phase II Results of a Floating Semisubmersible Wind System: Preprint , 2013 .

[15]  Peter A. Troch,et al.  A Review of Numerical Modelling of Wave Energy Converter Arrays , 2012 .

[16]  A. Reitan,et al.  Wave-power absorption by an oscillating water column in a channel , 1985, Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

[17]  J. Falnes.  Ocean Waves and Oscillating Systems , 2002 .

[18]  Eric Bibeau,et al.  A numerical investigation into the effect of diffusers on the performance of hydro kinetic turbines using a validated momentum source turbine model , 2010 .

[19]  Grégory Pinon,et al.  Experimental characterisation of flow effects on marine current turbine behaviour and on its wake properties , 2010 .

[20]  Chittiappa Muthanna,et al.  An Experimental Investigation of Scale Effects on Offshore Wind Turbine Blades , 2013 .

[21]  João C.C. Henriques,et al.  Dynamics and optimization of the OWC spar buoy wave energy converter , 2012 .

[22]  Paul Mycek,et al.  Numerical simulation of the wake of marine current turbines with a particle method , 2012 .

[23]  Wanan Sheng,et al.  Investigation to Air Compressibility of Oscillating Water Column Wave Energy Converters , 2013 .

[24]  D Wang,et al.  An experimental investigation on cavitation, noise, and slipstream characteristics of ocean stream turbines , 2007 .

[25]  Hermes Giberti,et al.  Design of a 6-DoF Robotic Platform for Wind Tunnel Tests of Floating Wind Turbines , 2014 .

[26]  Xiaoping Du,et al.  Reliability analysis for hydrokinetic turbine blades , 2012 .

[27]  Johannes Falnes,et al.  A REVIEW OF WAVE-ENERGY EXTRACTION , 2007 .

[28]  Torkel Bjarte-Larsson,et al.  Optimum Reactive Control and Control by Latching of a Wave-Absorbing Semisubmerged Heaving Sphere , 2002 .

[29]  Atilla Incecik,et al.  Flow control for VATT by fixed and oscillating flap , 2013 .

[30]  Luís M.C. Gato,et al.  Dynamics of arrays of floating point-absorber wave energy converters with inter-body and bottom slack-mooring connections , 2009 .

[31]  Paolo Mattavelli,et al.  Effect of Control Strategies and Power Take-Off Efficiency on the Power Capture From Sea Waves , 2011, IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion.

[32]  Aurélien Babarit,et al.  Experimental Validation of the Performances of the SEAREV Wave Energy Converter with Real-Time Latching Control. , 2007 .

[33]  Zhen Gao,et al.  Offshore code comparison collaboration continuation (OC4), phase I - Results of coupled simulations of an offshore wind turbine with jacket support structure , 2012 .

[34]  Michel Guglielmi,et al.  Declutching control of a wave energy converter , 2009 .

[35]  Yi-Hsiang Yu,et al.  Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes simulation of the heave performance of a two-body floating-point absorber wave energy system , 2013 .

[36]  Johannes Falnes,et al.  Ocean Waves and Oscillating Systems: Gravity Waves on Water , 2002 .

[37]  Torgeir Moan,et al.  Modelling and Simulation of a Floating Oscillating Water Column , 2011 .

[38]  Rajnish N. Sharma,et al.  Blade loads on tidal turbines in planar oscillatory flow , 2013 .

[39]  K. Budal.  Theory for Absorption of Wave Power by a System of Interacting Bodies , 1977 .

[40]  A. Clément,et al.  Optimal Latching Control of a Wave Energy Device in Regular and Irregular Waves , 2006 .

[41]  A. Goupee,et al.  Methodology for Wind/Wave Basin Testing of Floating Offshore Wind Turbines , 2012 .

[42]  Ross Henderson,et al.  Design, simulation, and testing of a novel hydraulic power take-off system for the Pelamis wave energy converter , 2006 .

[43]  J. Falnes.  Radiation impedance matrix and optimum power absorption for interacting oscillators in surface waves , 1980 .

[44]  Joao Cruz,et al.  Ocean Wave Energy , 2008 .

[45]  Bas Buchner,et al.  The Dynamic Response of an Offshore Wind Turbine With Realistic Flexibility to Breaking Wave Impact , 2011 .

[46]  Paul Mycek,et al.  Numerical and experimental study of the interaction between two marine current turbines , 2013 .

[47]  Seung Jo Kim,et al.  Optimization of cycloidal water turbine and the performance improvement by individual blade control , 2009 .

[48]  Mulualem G. Gebreslassie,et al.  Numerical simulation of a new type of cross flow tidal turbine using OpenFOAM – Part I: Calibration of energy extraction , 2013 .

[49]  Fernando L. Ponta,et al.  Marine-current power generation by diffuser-augmented floating hydro-turbines , 2008 .

[50]  D. R. Evans,et al.  Hydrodynamics of ocean wave-energy utilization , 1986 .

[51]  van Gjw Gerard Bussel,et al.  The science of making more torque from wind: Diffuser experiments and theory revisited , 2007 .

[52]  Aurélien Babarit,et al.  On the park effect in arrays of oscillating wave energy converters , 2013 .

[53]  Luksa Luznik,et al.  The influence of surface gravity waves on marine current turbine performance , 2013 .

[54]  C. Mei,et al.  Oscillating water column at a coastal corner for wave power extraction , 2010 .

[55]  António F.O. Falcão,et al.  Modelling and control of oscillating-body wave energy converters with hydraulic power take-off and gas accumulator , 2007 .

[56]  J. Baltazar,et al.  Hydrodynamic Analysis of a Horizontal Axis Marine Current Turbine With a Boundary Element Method , 2008 .

[57]  S. Barbarelli,et al.  Innovative tidal turbine with central deflector for the exploitation of river and sea currents in on-shore installations , 2012 .

[58]  Mohammad-Reza Alam,et al.  Nonlinear analysis of an actuated seafloor-mounted carpet for a high-performance wave energy extraction , 2012, Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences.

[59]  Trevor Whittaker,et al.  Analysis of the nearshore wave energy resource , 2009 .

[60]  Dominique Roddier,et al.  WindFloat: A floating foundation for offshore wind turbines , 2010 .

[61]  Jeffrey A. Oskamp,et al.  Power Calculations for a Passively Tuned Point Absorber Wave Energy Converter on the Oregon Coast , 2012 .

[62]  Stephen R. Turnock,et al.  Application of bend-twist coupled blades for horizontal axis tidal turbines , 2013 .

[63]  Hyunkyoung Shin,et al.  Motion of OC4 5MW Semi-Submersible Offshore Wind Turbine in Irregular Waves , 2013 .

[64]  L. E. Myers,et al.  An experimental investigation simulating flow effects in first generation marine current energy converter arrays , 2012 .

[65]  A. Brito-Melo,et al.  IEA-OES International Energy Agency Implementing Agreement on Ocean Energy Systems annual report 2008 , 2009 .

[66]  Torgeir Moan,et al.  Analysis of dynamic effects relevant for the wear damage in hydraulic machines for wave energy conversion , 2010 .

[67]  Richard W. Kimball,et al.  Modeling and validation of a cross flow turbine using free vortex model and a modified dynamic stall model , 2013 .

[68]  Anthony F. Molland,et al.  Power and thrust measurements of marine current turbines under various hydrodynamic flow conditions in a cavitation tunnel and a towing tank , 2007 .

[69]  António F.O. Falcão,et al.  Wave energy utilization: A review of the technologies , 2010 .

[70]  F. Dias,et al.  Resonant behaviour of an oscillating wave energy converter in a channel , 2012, Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

[71]  A H Clément,et al.  Discrete control of resonant wave energy devices , 2012, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences.

[72]  D. Evans.  A theory for wave-power absorption by oscillating bodies , 1976, Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

[73]  Aurélien Babarit,et al.  Comparison of latching control strategies for a heaving wave energy device in random sea , 2004 .

[74]  Erik Friis-Madsen,et al.  Experimental Update of the Overtopping Model Used for the Wave Dragon Wave Energy Converter , 2013 .

[75]  Aurélien Babarit,et al.  Influence of an Improved Sea-State Description on a Wave Energy Converter Production , 2007 .

[76]  M. Mccormick.  Ocean Wave-Energy Conversion , 2019, Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences.

[77]  Jens Peter Kofoed,et al.  Development of a Generic Power Simulation Tool for Overtopping Based WEC , 2007 .

[78]  Matthew Folley,et al.  The design of small seabed-mounted bottom-hinged wave energy converters , 2007 .

[79]  Peter A. Troch,et al.  Wave Basin Experiments with Large Wave Energy Converter Arrays to Study Interactions between the Converters and Effects on Other Users in the Sea and the Coastal Area , 2014 .

[80]  Alexandre N. Simos,et al.  Model Scale Analysis of a TLP Floating Offshore Wind Turbine , 2014 .

[81]  Wei Shi,et al.  Offshore Code Comparison Collaboration Continuation Within IEA Wind Task 30: Phase II Results Regarding a Floating Semisubmersible Wind System , 2014 .

[82]  Gordon Lightbody,et al.  An Application of Model Predictive Control to a Wave Energy Point Absorber , 2010 .

[83]  Thierry Maître,et al.  Modeling of the flow in a Darrieus water turbine: Wall grid refinement analysis and comparison with experiments , 2013 .

[84]  Qing Xiao,et al.  How motion trajectory affects energy extraction performance of a biomimic energy generator with an oscillating foil , 2012 .

[85]  J. Peiró,et al.  A free-surface and blockage correction for tidal turbines , 2009, Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

[86]  Sander M. Calisal,et al.  Modeling of twin-turbine systems with vertical axis tidal current turbine: Part II—torque fluctuation , 2011 .

[87]  J. Falnes,et al.  A resonant point absorber of ocean-wave power , 1975, Nature.

[88]  Alain H. Clément,et al.  Wave groupiness and spectral bandwidth as relevant parameters for the performance assessment of wave energy converters , 2011 .

[89]  Benoît Gaurier,et al.  Flume tank characterization of marine current turbine blade behaviour under current and wave loading , 2013 .

[90]  Qing Xiao,et al.  A bio-inspired study on tidal energy extraction with flexible flapping wings , 2013, Bioinspiration & biomimetics.

[91]  Aurélien Babarit,et al.  Numerical benchmarking study of a selection of wave energy converters , 2012 .

[92]  Tom Bruce,et al.  Assessment of boundary-element method for modelling a free-floating sloped wave energy device. Part 2: experimental validation , 2008 .

[93]  Matthew Folley,et al.  Investigating uncertainties in physical testing of wave energy converter arrays , 2013 .

[94]  Frédéric Hauville,et al.  Simulating variable pitch crossflow water turbines: A coupled unsteady ONERA-EDLIN model and streamtube model , 2013 .

[95]  Gordon Lightbody,et al.  Maximisation of Energy Capture by a Wave-Energy Point Absorber using Model Predictive Control , 2011 .

[96]  Romain Luquet,et al.  Design and model testing of an optimized ducted marine current turbine , 2013 .

[97]  Aurélien Babarit,et al.  Assessment of Viscous Damping via 3D-CFD Modelling of a Floating Wave Energy Device , 2015 .

[98]  Svein Ersdal,et al.  Model Test of the Aker Wave Energy Converter Concept , 2013 .

[99]  Aurélien Babarit,et al.  Numerical Assessment of the Mean Power Production of a Combined Wind and Wave Energy Platform , 2012 .

[100]  Sander M. Calisal,et al.  Three-dimensional effects and arm effects on modeling a vertical axis tidal current turbine , 2010 .

[101]  Matthew Folley,et al.  The effect of water depth on the performance of a small surging wave energy converter , 2007 .

[102]  John E. Quaicoe,et al.  Hydrokinetic energy conversion systems and assessment of horizontal and vertical axis turbines for river and tidal applications: A technology status review , 2009 .

[103]  S. Neill,et al.  The impact of tidal stream turbines on large-scale sediment dynamics , 2009 .

[104]  S. Barrett,et al.  Value and validation of small scale physical model tests of floating wave energy converters , 2007 .

[105]  Thierry Maître,et al.  Hydraulic Darrieus turbines efficiency for free fluid flow conditions versus power farms conditions , 2008 .

[106]  John V. Ringwood,et al.  Hardware-InThe-Loop Simulation of a Heaving Wave Energy Converter , 2011 .

[107]  João Cruz.  Ocean wave energy : current status and future prepectives : with 202 figures and 13 tables , 2008 .

[108]  AbuBakr S. Bahaj,et al.  Experimental verifications of numerical predictions for the hydrodynamic performance of horizontal axis marine current turbines , 2007 .

[109]  A Babarit,et al.  Design Methodology for a SEAREV Wave Energy Converter , 2010, IEEE Transactions on Energy Conversion.

[110]  Kang-Hee Lee,et al.  Performance of horizontal axis tidal current turbine by blade configuration , 2012 .

[111]  Aurélien Babarit,et al.  On the numerical modelling of the non-linear behaviour of a wave energy converter , 2009 .

[112]  Norges tekniske høgskole,et al.  Wave energy utilization : proceedings of the 2nd International Symposium on Wave Energy Utilization, the Norwegian Institute of Technology, Trondheim, Norway, June 22-24, 1982 , 1982 .

[113]  F. Scarano,et al.  Visualization by PIV of dynamic stall on a vertical axis wind turbine , 2009 .

[114]  Paul Mycek,et al.  Experimental study of the turbulence intensity effects on marine current turbines behaviour. Part II: Two interacting turbines , 2014 .

[115]  James R. Jordan,et al.  Impact of tidal energy converter (TEC) arrays on the dynamics of headland sand banks , 2012 .

[116]  Aurélien Babarit,et al.  Optimization and Time-Domain Simulation of the SEAREV Wave Energy Converter , 2005 .

[117]  Bo Yang,et al.  Fluid dynamic performance of a vertical axis turbine for tidal currents , 2011 .

[118]  Aurélien Babarit,et al.  A Non-Linear Potential Model to Predict Large-Amplitudes-Motions: Application to the SEAREV Wave Energy Converter , 2007 .

[119]  Torkel Bjarte-Larsson,et al.  Laboratory experiment on heaving body with hydraulic power take-off and latching control , 2006 .

[120]  Martin Greenhow,et al.  Control strategies for the Clam Wave Energy Device , 1984 .

[121]  J R Chaplin,et al.  Rubber tubes in the sea , 2012, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences.

[122]  Sander M. Calisal,et al.  Modeling of twin-turbine systems with vertical axis tidal current turbines: Part I—Power output , 2010 .

[123]  Bonjun Koo,et al.  Experimental Comparison of Three Floating Wind Turbine Concepts , 2012 .

[124]  M. Kraskowski,et al.  A Method for Computational and Experimental Analysis of the Moored Wind Turbine Seakeeping , 2012 .

[125]  Daphne Maria O'Doherty,et al.  Influence of a velocity profile & support structure on tidal stream turbine performance , 2013 .