Performance Analysis of a Model Water-Wave Energy Harvesting System with a Paddling-Wall Wave Tank

摘要

In order to supply for ever-increasing energy demands of human and simultaneously preserve natural environment it is of topmost priority to develop renewable energy resources Among several renewable energy option ocean-wave energy is regarded as a promising alternative on account of its abundant storage in the ocean Accordingly many coastal countries devote substantial financial support to the improvement of wave energy convertors (WECs) Based on their working principle the oscillating water column (OWC) is one type of WECs which is mostly installed on shorelines Moreover the Wells turbine is the most frequently utilized power take-off component for OWC plants However there are a few challenges on aerodynamic problems which shall be conquered We thus wish to explore the possibility of exploiting a non-aerodynamic power take-off device Particularly in this study a model system incorporates a wave tank with two hinged side walls and electrical generators The basic idea is to specify a periodically varying pressure to excite surface waves in a water tank which sequentially drive the hinged side walls into periodic oscillation then being converted into electricity through electrical generators For investigation into this wave energy system we construct a physical and mathematical model; then proceed to analyze this problem by analytical means Several significant results reveal the characteristics of the model system: (a) two types of natural frequencies and mode shapes in natural response; (b) the mechanism of resonant regions and dead zones in its forced response As the forcing frequency approaches the same type of natural frequencies the oscillation of side walls and output power will be amplified tremendously Furthermore we discover an optimal line guiding us to design system with particular parameters so as to maximize the output power In this thesis we construct a complete set of linearized analytical methods to evaluate performance and characteristics of our model system It is not only worth analyzing this new conceptual design of wave energy system but also expected to be applicable to the analysis of other similar WECs

獎項日期	2015 7月 29
原文	English
監督員	Tian-Shiang Yang (Supervisor)