WEC Design Based on Refined Mean Annual Energy Production for the Israeli Mediterranean Coast
Publication: Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 144, Issue 4
Abstract
Using the Israeli Mediterranean as an example, we address the impact of resource variability and device survivability on the design of floating-body wave-energy converters (WECs). Employing a simplified heaving cylinder as a prototypical WEC, several device sizes, corresponding to the most frequently encountered and most energetic sea states in the Israeli Mediterranean, are investigated. The mean annual energy production is calculated based on the scatter-diagram/power-matrix approach. Subsequently, a measure for significant device motions under irregular sea-states akin to the spectral significant wave-height is developed, and cutoffs to regular operation are explored from the perspective of these significant displacements. The impact of this WEC downtime is captured in a refinement of mean annual energy production, which consists of supplementing the scatter-diagram/power-matrix calculations by a Boolean displacement matrix. In the Israeli Mediterranean, where most of the annual incident wave power comes in infrequent winter storms, larger WECs outperform smaller WECs by a greater margin when downtime is taken into account. Analogous displacement cutoffs for refining calculations of mean annual energy production may inform WEC design for other sites.
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Acknowledgments
RS was supported by Israel Science Foundation Grant 464/13. The authors thank Prof. Michael Stiassnie for helpful discussions and comments on the manuscript.
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Published In
Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 144 • Issue 4 • July 2018
Copyright
© 2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 14, 2017
Accepted: Jan 17, 2018
Published online: May 7, 2018
Published in print: Jul 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Oct 7, 2018
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