WCWI news

Nov 3, Since its inception in 2009, the West Coast Wave Initiative (WCWI) has grown to become the centre of Canadian wave energy research and development. The WCWI—hosted by the Institute for Integrated Energy Systems (IESVic) at the University of Victoria—is a multi-disciplinary group of academics and industry members investigating the feasibility of wave energy conversion in British Columbia. Brad Buckham is the Director of WCWI. Terry Tarle is the President and CEO of AXYS Technologies of Sidney, BC, one of WCWI’s key partners. AXYS built all five buoys currently deployed by WCWI off the coast of Vancouver Island.

B.C. is home to world class wave conditions and significant tidal resources, and as such, the Province is exploring the opportunity of developing a marine energy centre to support future development of innovative energy generating technologies in the marine energy space. Read more ...

The Province is providing $150,000 from the Innovative Clean Energy (ICE) Fund to the West Coast Wave Initiative (WCWI) at the University of Victoria to support research into the potential of ocean waves to generate clean, renewable and affordable electricity. Read more ...

Check out our recent paper on modeling of Oscillating Wave surge Converters (OWSCs) titled ISPH modelling of an oscillating wave surge converter using an OpenMP-based parallel approach. Read more ...

Professor John Ringwood from Maynooth University in Kildare, Ireland dropped by the West Coast Wave Initiative and gave a talk on “Modeling and Control of Wave Energy Converters”. Read more ...

The west coast of Canada possesses one of the most energetic wave climates in the world. With this energetic climate, there is an opportunity to generate significant quantities of renewable electricity through the use of wave energy conversion technologies. Whenever selecting the location for WEC farms, the wave energy potential is not the only aspect that needs to be considered. The connection cost of wave energy to the electricity grid, the influence on marine environment, the not interfering with major shipping routes, and the proximity to a port with facilities for servicing and repairing the WECs are other major considerations. Read more ...

The importance of Oscillating Wave Energy Convertors (OWEC) has been studied and quantified since the prehistoric times in the timeline of ocean engineering. The performance analysis of these class of ocean structures has been done using different numerical techniques. These platforms can experience resonant oscillations in single deegree of freedom. As such, drag-augmenting devices are desired to limit the response amplitude to a safe range. The application of flaps in extracting ocean energy is intutive due to the bluff and surface piercing behaviour which helps in tuning the frequency with respect to in coming wave. Read more ...

This month we congratulate Juan Ortiz; Juan Successfully defended his Masters Thesis on “The Influence of Mooring Dynamics on the Performance of Self Reacting Point Absorbers”. Juan has been with the West Coast Wave Initiative (WCWI) since 2013. Read more ...

The Accumulated Ocean Energy (AOE) wave energy converter is a point absorber with a pneumatic power take-off (PTO). The PTO contains a piston and storage tank; valves are used to regulate airflow at the inlet and outlet of both components. Read more ...

Members of WCWI, Dr. Helen Bailey and Dr. Bryson Robertson attended the Water Power Week in Washington, which included the Marine Energy Technology Symposium (METS) and the International Marine Renewable Energy Conferences (IMREC). There was a variety of presentations, panel discussions, workshops and poster sessions. Read more ...

To accommodate future power demands, wave energy converters (WECs) will be deployed in arrays, but largely unanswered questions of the annual energy production and environmental impact of such installations present regulatory dilemmas. In recent years, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) has developed a modified version of the Simulating Waves Nearshore (SWAN) wave model to simulate WEC energy extraction in a propagating wave field. Read more ...

A 1:40 scale model of an oscillating wave surge converter (OWSC) is being tested at UVic’s small scale wave flume. The model is based on a conceptual design created by Resolute Marine Energy. Currently all testing of the OWSC model is performed in regular waves at various frequencies and wave heights. Four wave probes are used to measure the wave profile and separate the incident wave from the reflected waves. Read more ...

Post-Doctoral Research Position Wave Energy Converter Modeling and Control University of Victoria, West Coast Wave Initiative Institute for Integrated Energy Systems Starting Date: Feb 1, 2016 We are seeking a Post-Doctoral Fellow to assist in the development of high fidelity wave energy converter (WEC) models; specifically, multi-body numerical simulations, mooring analyses and WEC control strategies. The successful candidate will have obtained a PhD in a field related to wave energy conversion and an undergraduate degree in engineering. The ideal candidate will have a track record of research publications, working independently, demonstrated excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Read more ...

enewable energy resource inventories show that ocean waves are one of the most energy dense untapped resources in the world, and present an opportunity to generate significant quantities of electricity. To accurately assess the levels of usable energy over long periods, a parametric representation of the raw wave resource is required. Read more ...

In an effort to better represent a wave energy converter device within a spectral model, the practicality of a higher fidelity power matrix is being investigated. At present, SNL-SWAN uses relative capture width curves and power matrices to represent devices, as suggested by the International Technoelectric Standards Committee. Read more ...

Offshore floating wind turbine technology is growing rapidly but it is still at the transient stage from research studies to MW- scale prototypes. In order to have a cost effective and high performance design, it is necessary to evaluate the floating structure by optimization schemes. This study provided a framework for a single float offshore wind for two stability classes that are used in floating wind turbine designs. Read more ...

The importance of circular thin plates (also known as damper plates) has been studied and quantified since the prehistoric times in the timeline of ocean engineering. The performance analysis of these plates in enhancing hydrodynamic damping of lightly damped offshore structures such as Spar Platforms and Tension Leg Platforms exist in litrature. These platforms can experience resonant oscillations in heave. As such, drag-augmenting devices are desired to limit the response amplitude to a safe range. The application of damper plates in extracting ocean energy is intutive due to the bluff behaviour of the plate which helps in tuning the frequency of spar with respect to that of float. Read more ...

Part of the experimental model testing program at The West Coast Wave Initiative has involved testing our Wave Energy Convertor (WEC) model in 6 Degrees of Freedom (DoF) under the influence of a 3 point mooring configuration. In order to minimize the influence of the mooring dynamics on the WEC, positioning of the physical interface of the mooring to the WEC must be carefully chosen. The requirements involve the selection of a depth along the outer shell of the spar which theoretically eliminates any external moments due to the mooring on the system when subjected to rotations in roll or pitch. Read more ...

The control network for a hybrid remote power system synchronizes and balances all sources of power generation, loads and a sink in order to maintain grid frequency and voltage. Every generator is metered with current and voltage transformers and this information is collected and monitored by the programmable logic controller (PLC). Read more ...

Capacity Expansion (CE) will focus on long-term studies with decision variables spanning many years such as adding/retiring generators, adding/upgrading transmission lines, storage expansion and physical contract purchases. The objective function for CE is to minimize the net present value of cost (capital cost and production cost). The optimal decisions including new investment/retirement (where? when? how much?) need be made under some uncertainties such as future load growth, fuel prices, hydro inflows, intermittent energy and unplanned outages. Read more ...

A wavemaker has recently been installed in a flume tank at the University of Victoria. The wavemaker will be used to visualize breaking waves and other phenomena to validate CFD and SPH models, and will also be used to test models of wave energy converters at approximately 1:100 scale. Before performing these experiments, sources of error in the wave profile need to be investigated. Read more ...

It is necessary to model the wave radiation and diffraction effects on floating bodies such as ships, barges, platforms, and wave energy converters when the body size is non-negligible compared to the wave length of the ocean waves. Depending on the shape of the body, when a floating body oscillates in any of its degrees of freedom, it may displace some water volume, and tend to radiate waves away from the body. The forces fealt by the body in this process are known as radiation forces. Diffraction forces arise from the scattering of incoming waves by the body while it is held fixed. Read more ...

The West Coast Wave Initiative has been involved in supporting the development of mini-projects for students in the MECH450F – Ocean Engineering course offered through the Mechanical Engineering department at the University of Victoria. With support from WCWI’s external collaborators, projects have been developed to explore various hydrodynamic effects with the emphasis on simulating realistic conditions experienced off the coast of Vancouver Island. Realistic conditions are stressed with the intention to offer students an illustrative bridge in comprehending complex physical phenomena. Read more ...

One of the challenges in the design of renewable marine energy systems involves risk mitigation through the reduction of the development cycle. The development cycle includes experimental and computational validation of device performance in realistic operating conditions. Computational models play a significant role in both the gross resource assessment as well as in the design/optimisation of Wave Energy Converters (WEC). Read more ...