Windt, Christian and Davidson, Josh and Ringwood, John (2021) Numerical analysis of the hydrodynamic scaling effects for the Wavestar wave energy converter. Journal of Fluids and Structure, 105. pp. 1-28.
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Abstract
Scaled model tests are an important step during the research and development of wave energy converters (WECs). While such scaled model tests in physical wave tanks are prone to undesired scaling effects due to e.g. mechanical artefacts and/or fluid effects, numerical wave tanks (NWTs) provide excellent tools for the analysis of WECs across a range of scales, overcoming the limitations of the physical test environment. Simultaneous scaling based on the Froude and Reynolds number is achievable in physical wave tanks only with significant effort, whereas NWTs allow the adjustment of fluid properties, such as viscosity, in an easy manner, thereby catering for Froude and Reynolds similarity. This study exploits the capabilities of a high-fidelity, computational fluid dynamics based, NWT and investigates the hydrodynamic scaling effects for the heaving buoy Wavestar WEC. Various test cases, relevant for WEC applications and with progressively increasing complexity, are considered to develop a comprehensive understanding of the scaling effects. Results show that significant scaling effects occur for the viscous component of the hydrodynamic loads on the WEC hull, while the system dynamics and total (viscous + pressure) loads are relatively unaffected by scaling effects.
| Item Type: | Article |
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| Keywords: | Scaling effect; Numerical wave tank; Wavestar; RANS; OpenFOAM; |
| Academic Unit: | Faculty of Science and Engineering > Electronic Engineering Faculty of Science and Engineering > Research Institutes > Centre for Ocean Energy Research |
| Item ID: | 16259 |
| Identification Number: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfluidstructs.2021.103328 |
| Depositing User: | Professor John Ringwood |
| Date Deposited: | 06 Jul 2022 09:33 |
| Journal or Publication Title: | Journal of Fluids and Structure |
| Publisher: | Elsevier |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| URI: | |
| Use Licence: | This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here |
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