WAVEIMPACT · Wave Farm Impacts and Design

Wave Farm Impacts and Design

The WAVEIMPACT project has five objectives: (i) to characterise the interaction of a wave farm with the wave field by means of the first laboratory tests of an array of WECs; (ii) to implement, calibrate and validate a numerical model of wave propagation based on the laboratory results; (iii) to select a number (3-5) of potential wave farm sites as case studies, taking into account their wave resource and other relevant characteristics; (iv) to apply the model to these case studies to determine the impact of a wave farm on the coastal area in its vicinity, and how this impact varies depending on its precise location and layout; and, finally, (v) on the basis of the results of the case studies, to produce the first set of guidelines on the design of a wave farm. In relation to objective (i), to characterise the interaction of a wave farm with the wave field by means of the first laboratory tests of an array of WECs, the work was carried out in two steps. In the first step, tests of a single WaveCat wave energy converter (WEC) were carried out at a 1:30 scale in the Ocean Basin of the COAST Laboratory of the University of Plymouth. These tests are described in the first periodic report, and in two scientific publications (one journal paper and one conference paper): • Allen, J, Sampanis, K, Wan, J, Greaves, D, Miles, J, Iglesias, G, 2016. Laboratory tests in the development of WaveCat. Sustainability, 8(12), 1339; doi:10.3390/su8121339 • Allen, J, Sampanis, K, Wan, J, Miles, J, Greaves, D, Iglesias, G, 2017. Laboratory tests and numerical modelling in the development of WaveCat. In A. Lewis (ed.), Proceedings of the Twelfth European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference (EWTEC), University College Cork, Ireland, 27 August – 1 September 2017. ISSN: 2309-1983. In the second step, further tests of a single WaveCat WEC were carried out to analyse the influence of the angle between the two hulls of the device, followed by tests of an array of three WECs, consisting of one WaveCat WEC and two Sparbuoy WECs. All tests were performed at a 1:30 scale in the Ocean Basin of the COAST Laboratory at the University of Plymouth. These tests are described in the second periodic report, and are expected to be published in future. In relation to objective (ii) – to implement, calibrate and validate a numerical model of wave propagation based on the laboratory results – the numerical model of coastal wave propagation SWAN (Simulating WAves Nearshore) was applied on the basis of laboratory data to model the propagation of the wave field past a wave farm. This part of the work was published in: • Abanades, J, Flor-Blanco, G, Flor, G, Iglesias, G, 2018. Dual wave farms for energy production and coastal protection, Ocean and Coastal Management, 160, pp. 18-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2018.03.038 This work laid the groundwork for the research towards the next objectives: (iii) to select a number (3-5) of potential wave farm sites as case studies, taking into account their wave resource and other relevant characteristics, and (iv) to apply the model to these case studies to determine the impact of a wave farm on the coastal area in its vicinity, and how this impact varies depending on its precise location and layout. Different case studies were compared to determine the impact of a wave farm on the coastal area in its vicinity and, importantly, how this impact varies depending on the location and layout of the farm, using the model. These results were published in: • Rodriguez-Delgado, C, Bergillos, R, Ortega-Sanchez, M, Iglesias, G, 2018. Protection of gravel-dominated coasts through wave farms: layout and shoreline evolution. Science of the Total Environment, 636, pp. 1541-1552. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.333 • Rodriguez-Delgado, C, Bergillos, R, Ortega-Sanchez, M, Iglesias, G, 2018. Wave farm effects on the coast: the alongshore position. Science of the Total Environment, 640-641, pp. 1176-1186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.281

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз