Author: Francesco Ferri, Department of Civil Engineering,
The Faculty of Engineering and Science,
Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
The idea to use the motion of a wavy sea surface to produce electricity was investigate in the seventies, in a time when the earliest wave energy
converters were conceived and developed. But nowadays still none of the
patented devices reached a commercial stage. Wave energy is a large, mostly
untapped, renewable energy resource that has the potential to contribute
significantly to the future energy mix, especially in an environmental friendly
future scenario. What is bounding the sector to roll off into the market is
the cost of the produced energy: too high if compared with other renewable
energy sources. Generally speaking, the devices have a low efficiency and a
high structural cost. The aim of the thesis is to push the research toward a
cost minimisation algorithm, based on numerical simulation, which account
for both efficiency and structural cost of the device. In order to achieve this
goal a reliable wave-to-wire (numerical) model is needed and a validation
procedure based on experimental data sets have been used through the work.
Keywords: Wave energy, Wave energy converters, Optimisation, Wave-to-wire modelling, Numerical simulation, Laboratory experiment, Advance Control, Control, Cost reductions