Numerical Simulation and Optimisation of a Gas-Solid-Liquid Separator

Imperial Users onl

Wavergy (wave energy)

This photograph originally appeared in the 2013 Research student photography and image competition held to celebrate National Science Week (Aug 10-18). Blurb: This image shows two buoy energy converters capturing energy from the ocean waves

Coupled oscillation modes of model ocean wave-energy converters

Analytic models representing the coupling of small numbers of ocean Wave Energy Converters (WECs) are presented. The eigenmodes of collective oscillation under two conditions of coupling are explained. A simple laboratory experiment illustrates that significantly different resonance curves occur when pairs of machines are given different orientations relative to the incoming wave direction, possibly exciting different eigen-modes. The results suggest that arrays of WECs may collectively operate in a significantly different way to that expected from individual, isolated machines. This may offer potential benefits, but also potential detriments if coupled oscillation modes are not understood