Creating the pathway for standardized performance assessment of Canadian wave energy converters

加拿大西海岸有一个非常有活力的波浪气候，沿着温哥华岛海岸线，典型的年平均波浪能输送为34.5兆瓦/公里。虽然这一资源的规模表明了新的波浪能产业的潜力，但在波浪能转换器（WEC）的设计或运营策略上没有达成共识，而且目前还不清楚加拿大波浪能资源可以利用到什么程度。如果没有对加拿大可行的波浪能生产潜力进行准确和精确的评估，就没有明确的利益来平衡这个新兴行业面临的明确的技术和经济挑战。目前迫切需要详细的数值和实验研究，以精确地定义加拿大水域中有前途的无水生态系统的性能。在拟议的CRD项目中，UVic开发的综合温哥华岛波浪资源数据、先进的资源评估技术和世界一流的模拟软件将被提炼并应用于加拿大WEC技术开发商-积累海洋能源（AOE）的综合选址和性能评估分析。AOE技术依赖于级联气动积累，在多个WEC单元上串联执行，以产生相对平稳的电力。然而，耦合的WEC动力学极大地使系统分析复杂化，并且需要高保真的建模方法。拟议项目的选址和性能评估工作将是加拿大同类项目中的第一次，将依靠高保真度的计算机模拟，并将精确定义AOE技术在加拿大水域的性能，同时不留下生态足迹。CRD项目中使用的主要数值方法大大减少了AOE所需的设计迭代，降低了AOE未来的比例模型测试成本，并且处于全球范围内向严格应用高保真计算建模工具的转变的前沿，以便在开发过程的早期构建技术性能水平。

The West Coast of Canada has a very energetic wave climate with a typical average annual wave power transport of 34.5 MW/km along the Vancouver Island coastline. While the magnitude of this resource suggests potential for a new wave energy industry, there is no consensus on Wave Energy Converter (WEC) design or operational strategies, and it is unclear to what extent the Canadian wave energy resource can be harnessed. Without an accurate and precise assessment of Canada's feasible wave energy production potential , there is no well-defined benefit to balance the well-defined technical and economic challenges facing this new industry. Detailed numerical and experimental studies that precisely define the performance of promising WECs in Canadian waters are sorely needed. In the proposed CRD program, comprehensive Vancouver Island wave resource data, advanced resource assessment techniques and world class simulation software developed at UVic will be refined and applied in comprehensive siting and performance assessment analyses for a Canadian WEC technology developer - Accumulated Ocean Energy (AOE). The AOE technology relies on cascaded pneumatic accumulation, executed in series over several WEC units, to produce relatively smooth electrical power. However, the coupled WEC dynamics drastically complicate the system analysis and demand a high-fidelity modelling approach. The proposed project's siting and performance assessment exercises will be the first of their kind in Canada, will rely on high fidelity computer simulations and will precisely define the performance of the AOE technology in Canadian waters while leaving no ecological footprint. The predominantly numerical approach used in the CRD project drastically curtails the design iterations required by AOE, reduces AOE's future scale model testing costs and is at the leading edge of a worldwide shift towards rigorous application of high fidelity computationaal modelling tools to build technology performance level early in the development process.