Pelamis Wave Energy Converter
Pelamis Wave Energy Converter
Description
The Pelamis Wave Energy Converter is a technology that uses the motion of ocean surface waves to create electricity. The machine is made up of connected sections which flex and bend as waves pass; it is this motion which is used to generate electricity.
Developed by the Scottish company Pelamis Wave Power (formerly Ocean Power Delivery), the Pelamis became the world’s first wave machine to generate electricity into the grid from offshore wave energy, when it was connected to the UK grid in 2004. Pelamis Wave Power have since gone to build and test four additional Pelamis machines. Three, first generation P1 machines which were tested in a farm off the coast of Portugal in 2009 and the first of a second generation of machines, the P2 started tests off Orkney in 2010.
Operation
The Pelamis machine consists of a series of semi-submerged cylindrical sections linked by hinged joints. As waves pass along the length of the machine, the sections move relative to one another. The wave-induced motion of the sections is resisted by hydraulic cylinders which pump high pressure oil through hydraulic motors via smoothing hydraulic accumulators. The hydraulic motors drive electrical generators to produce electricity. Power from all the joints is fed down a single umbilical cable to a junction on the sea bed. Several devices can be connected together and linked to shore through a single seabed cable.
Principles
The Pelamis is an attenuating wave energy converter designed with survivability at the fore. The Pelamis's long thin shape means it is almost invisible to hydrodynamic forces, namely inertia, drag, and slamming, which in large waves give rise to large loads. Its novel joint configuration is used to induce a tunable cross-coupled resonant response. Control of the restraint applied to the joints allows this resonant response to be ‘turned-up’ in small seas where capture efficiency must be maximised or ‘turned-down’ to limit loads and motions in survival conditions.
[pic]
[pic]
[pic]
................
................
In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.
To fulfill the demand for quickly locating and searching documents.
It is intelligent file search solution for home and business.