dc.contributor.advisor | Bruce, Tom | en |
dc.contributor.advisor | Ingram, David | en |
dc.contributor.author | Noble, Donald Ross | en |
dc.date.accessioned | 2018-06-13T09:39:03Z | |
dc.date.available | 2018-06-13T09:39:03Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2018-07-04 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1842/31170 | |
dc.description.abstract | As part of a global drive to produce renewable electricity, devices are being designed
to harness energy from the waves and tidal currents. Physical scale model testing is
an important part of the development process for this and other technologies. The
FloWave Ocean Energy Research Facility at The University of Edinburgh is designed to
conduct these tests. Here it is possible to produce multi-directional waves combined
with currents in the circular tank, re-creating the complexity of the ocean.
The research was driven by commercial requirements of the facility, aiming to highlight
what can be learnt from testing at scale with complex conditions in a controlled environment.
To enable this, it was first necessary to extend the characterisation of this
new facility. Wave generation and reflections were assessed in a previous project. In this
work, flow measurements taken throughout the test volume of the tank, allowed spatial
and temporal variations in the currents to be determined. Waves and currents interact
in a complex manner, compounded by the method of reproducing them in a tank. The
influence of currents on waves in the basin was assessed. This included cases with an
oblique angle between them, on which little has been published.
The other part of the project addressed issues to be considered when testing in a combined
wave-current basin such as FloWave.
• At many sites of interest for offshore renewable energy, waves are influenced by water
depth. Implications of not scaling depth consistently were considered, and design
diagrams produced to facilitate understanding and quantification of potential errors.
• At FloWave, waves are generated in still water around the outside of the tank. A
process was therefore developed and verified to produce the desired combined conditions
in the central test area following their interaction with the current.
• There is a wealth of published guidance on tank testing, for ships, offshore structures,
and more recently renewable energy. This has been reviewed and suggestions
offered to augment this by including testing in the more advanced conditions possible
in a facility like FloWave.
• Tools and guidance have been developed to highlight many of the issues to be considered
by clients prior to testing at FloWave. This aims to facilitate planning of a
test programme by highlighting potential knowledge gaps and recording decisions
made. Flowcharts have been produced to represent this graphically, with a corresponding
checklist of questions for clients, which have been trialled in a pilot study.
Outputs from this research are being used to help deliver both academic and commercial
client tests at FloWave. The test area in currents was shown to be >50m2 with
<10% variation in flow, and the combined wave-current conditions possible have been
explored. Results that are important when designing client test plans. | en |
dc.contributor.sponsor | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) | en |
dc.language.iso | en | |
dc.publisher | The University of Edinburgh | en |
dc.relation.hasversion | Draycott, S., Noble, D., Davey, T., Bruce, T., Ingram, D., Johanning, L., Smith, H., Day, A. and Kaklis, P. (2017), ‘Re-creation of site-specific multi-directional waves with non-collinear current’, Ocean Engineering 152, 391–403. doi: 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2017.10.047. | en |
dc.relation.hasversion | Noble, D., Draycott, S., Ordonez Sanchez, S., Porter, K., Johnstone, C., Finch, S., Judge, F., Desmond, C., Santos Varela, B., Lopez Mendia, J., Darbinyan, D., Khalid, F., Johanning, L., Le Boulluec, M. and Schaap, A. (2018), D2.1 Test recommendations and gap analysis report, Technical report, MaRINET2. | en |
dc.relation.hasversion | Noble, D. R., Davey, T. A. D., Smith, H. C. M., Kaklis, P., Robinson, A. and Bruce, T. (2015), Spatial variation in currents generated in the FloWave Ocean Energy Research Facility, in ‘Proceedings of the 11th European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference (EWTEC2015)’, Nantes, France. | en |
dc.relation.hasversion | Noble, D. R., Draycott, S., Davey, T. A. D. and Bruce, T. (2017), ‘Design diagrams for wavelength discrepancy in tank testing with inconsistently scaled intermediate water depth’, International Journal of Marine Energy 18, 109–113. doi: 10.1016/j.ijome.2017.04.001. | en |
dc.relation.hasversion | Noble, D. R., Draycott, S., Davey, T. A. D. and Bruce, T. (2017), Testing marine renewable energy devices in an advanced multi-directional combined wave-current environment, in ‘Proceedings of the ASME 36th International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering (OMAE2017)’, Vol. Volume 7B:, ASME, Trondheim, Norway, p. V07BT06A020. doi: 10.1115/OMAE2017-62052. | en |
dc.relation.hasversion | Sutherland, D. R., Noble, D. R., Steynor, J., Davey, T. and Bruce, T. (2017), ‘Characterisation of current and turbulence in the FloWave Ocean Energy Research Facility’, Ocean Engineering 139, 103–115. doi: 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2017.02.028. | en |
dc.subject | tank testing | en |
dc.subject | wave-current | en |
dc.subject | FloWave | en |
dc.title | Combined wave-current scale model testing at FloWave | en |
dc.type | Thesis or Dissertation | en |
dc.type.qualificationlevel | Doctoral | en |
dc.type.qualificationname | EngD Doctor of Engineering | en |