STTR Phase I: Wave Carpet Ocean Demonstration

该STTR1期项目能够开发和验证专为海浪能量转换器(WEC)设计的全运行液压动力转换链(PCC)。WEC的PCC负责将吸收的机械能转换为电能。海浪能目前是一种未得到充分利用的资源，有可能成为可再生能源组合的重要组成部分，提供高达三分之一的美国电力，同时与风能和太阳能一起减少碳排放。然而，设备的生存能力是一个关键挑战，到目前为止一直阻碍着波能行业的发展。该项目包括各种液压安全机制的测试和验证，推动PCC作为WEC生存能力更广泛战略的一部分。作为在海洋部署中设计、建造和测试全尺寸波能转换器(WEC)原型的更大努力的一部分，STTR第一阶段项目将直接支持电力转换链(PCC)的开发和验证。PCC将使用硬件在环方法进行测试，在这种方法中，WEC的计算机模拟直接耦合到物理PCC元件。这种实时反馈将允许针对现实的海浪气候评估PCC的性能，并将促进在安全的实验室环境中使用实际组件快速测试关键安全机制。测试结果将与PCC的高保真计算机模型进行比较，以验证性能。一旦得到验证，PCC将被整合到革命性的WEC设计中，提供卓越的风暴生存能力和功率一致性。

This STTR Phase 1 project enables the development and validation of a fully operational hydraulic Power Conversion Chain (PCC) designed specifically for an ocean Wave Energy Converter (WEC). A WEC's PCC is responsible for converting absorbed mechanical power to electrical power. Ocean wave energy is currently an underutilized resource that has the potential to become an important part of a renewable energy mix providing power up to a third of the US while reducing carbon emissions alongside with wind and solar power. However, device survivability is a key challenge that has thus far held the wave energy industry back. This project includes the testing and validation of various hydraulic safety mechanisms, advancing the PCC as part of a broader strategy for WEC survivability. This STTR Phase 1 project will directly support the development and validation of a Power Conversion Chain (PCC) as part of a larger effort to design, construct, and test a full-scale Wave Energy Converter (WEC) prototype in an ocean deployment. The PCC will be tested using a hardware-in-the-loop approach, in which a computer simulation of the WEC is coupled directly to the physical PCC elements. This real-time feedback will allow the PCC's performance to be evaluated for realistic ocean wave climates, and will facilitate rapid testing of critical safety mechanisms using the actual components in a safe laboratory environment. Results from the tests will be compared with a high-fidelity computer model of the PCC to validated performance. Once proven, the PCC will be incorporated into a revolutionary WEC design, which offers superior storm survivability and power consistency.