Wave energy converters, by their nature, extract large amounts of energy from incident waves. If the industry is to progress such that wave energy becomes a significant provider of power in the future, large wave farms will be required. Presently, consenting for these sites is a long and problematic process, mainly due to a lack of knowledge of the potential environmental impacts. Accurate numerical modelling of the effect of wave energy extraction on the wave field and subsequent evaluation of changes to coastal processes is therefore required. Modelling the wave field impact is also necessary to allow optimum wave farm configurations to be determined. This thesis addresses the need for more accurate representation of wave energy converters in numerical models so that the effect on the wave field, and subsequently the coastal processes, may be evaluated. Using a hybrid of physical and numerical modelling (MIKE21 BW and SW models) the effect of energy extraction and operation of a WEC array on the local wave climate has been determined. The main outcomes of the thesis are: an improved wave basin facility, in terms of wave climate homogeneity, reducing the standard deviation of wave amplitude by up to 50%; experimental measurement of the wave field around WEC arrays, showing that radiated waves account for a significant proportion of the wave disturbance; a new representation method of WECs for use with standard numerical modelling tools, validated against experimental results. The methodology and procedures developed here allow subsequent evaluation of changes to coastal processes and sediment transport due to WEC arrays.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:602715 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | O'Boyle, Louise |
| Publisher | Queen's University Belfast |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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