Numerical simulation of a full spine of Edinburgh Duck modules in uni- and multi-directional irregular wave climates, with a view to design optimisation.

Alfred Cotten*, David I. M. Forehand

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

Long, flexibly-jointed spines of Edinburgh Duck modules have the potential to enable the extraction of a large proportion of the wave energy from our seas and oceans. It is well-known that the `duck’ shape is able to efficiently absorb wave energy, and that jointed but controlled interconnections between ducks as part of a full spine can also benefit the performance. However, in order to progress further towards achieving optimal performance in real wave climates, a greater understanding of the significance of the spine configuration and scale, spine orientation, and directional, irregular wave conditions is required. By using an efficient hydrodynamic model of a ten-duck spine in conjunction with a constrained frequency-domain control strategy, this paper investigates the effects of the above factors on device performance (as a function of power extraction) in uni- and multi-directional versions of an irregular wave climate. A series of inferences are drawn from the simulations and discussed with regards to informing the direction of future duck spine designs.
Original languageEnglish
Article number115214
JournalOcean Engineering
Volume285
Issue numberPart 1
Early online date11 Jul 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2023

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • Complex conjugate control
  • Edinburgh duck
  • generalised modes
  • hydrodynamic modelling
  • wave energy converter

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Numerical simulation of a full spine of Edinburgh Duck modules in uni- and multi-directional irregular wave climates, with a view to design optimisation.'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this