Improved hydrodynamic performance and survivability of ocean wave energy technologies using a high-fidelity simulation capability

利用我们环境中自然可用的可再生能源提高了我们能源生产的可持续性，同时为环境和人类健康提供了好处。波浪形式的海洋可再生能源是可用的最丰富的未开发可再生能源之一。加拿大的情况尤其如此，据估计，沿着200英里的界限，我们的资源是216千兆瓦，或者说大约是我国目前电力需求的2.5倍。有了这样的潜力，令人惊讶的是，加拿大目前还没有商业波浪发电站。这主要是因为与开采这种资源相关的重大工程挑战，包括开发能够在恶劣海洋环境中生存的高效转换器，获得对资源的详细估计和建模，以及整合到我们当前的电网中。鉴于极端的海洋环境，生存能力一直是一个重大的持续问题，尚未得到严格解决。最近的一个例子包括Ocean linx，这是一个高调的振荡水柱，在原型测试期间因大浪而下沉。2008年，加拿大自然资源部门概述了需要进一步研究和开发的战略领域，以推动加拿大海洋能源部门的商业化。这份报告的一个关键发现是，需要改进理论建模能力，以改进转换器设计。该方案的目的是通过开发和应用基于高保真计算流体动力学(CFD)的仿真工具来提高海浪能量转换器的水动力性能和生存能力。这将为可靠地预测海洋波浪能量转换器在包括风暴引起的极端海浪在内的现实海洋环境中的时间准确的粘性水动力载荷和动态响应提供一种手段。利用这一能力，将开发出提高海洋能源转换器生存能力的方法。

Harnessing the renewable energy naturally available in our environment improves the sustainability of our energy production, while providing benefits to the environment and human health. Ocean renewable energy in the form of waves is one of the most abundant untapped renewable energy sources available. This is particularly true for Canada, where it has been estimated that our resource is 216 GW along the 200 mile limit, or approximately 2.5 times our Nation's current electricity demands. With such potential, it is surprising that Canada currently has no commercial wave power sites. This is primarily due to the significant engineering challenges associated with extracting this resource, which include developing efficient converters that can survive the harsh ocean environment, obtaining detailed estimates and modelling of the resource, and integration into our current electrical grid. Given the extreme ocean environment, survivability has been a significant ongoing issue that has not been rigorously addressed. A recent example includes the Oceanlinx, a high profile oscillating water column that sank during prototype testing due to a large wave. In 2008 Natural Resources Canada outlined strategic areas requiring further research and development to advance the commercialization of the ocean energy sector in Canada. A key finding from this report was the need for improved theoretical modelling capabilities for improved converter design. The objectives of this proposal are to improve the hydrodynamic performance and survivability of ocean wave energy converters through the development and application of a high-fidelity Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) based simulation tool. This will provide a means for reliably predicting the time-accurate viscous hydrodynamic loading and dynamic response of ocean wave energy converters in realistic ocean environments including extreme waves resulting from storms. Using this capability, methods for improving the survivability of ocean energy converters will be developed.