Browsing by Author "Lawson, Michael"

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    Development and Demonstration of The WEC-Sim Wave Energy Converter Simulation Tool
    Lawson, Michael; Yu, Yi-Hsiang; Ruehl, Kelley; Michelen, Carlos (2014-04)
    The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) have developed WEC-Sim to provide the wave energy converter (WEC) design community with an open-source simulation tool. WEC-Sim models the system dynamics of WEC devices using multi- body dynamics methods and simulates hydrodynamic forces using coefficients predicted from potential flow models. In this paper we describe the methodology used in WEC-Sim and demonstrate the use of the code by simulating three WEC devices. Specifically, we model a two- body point absorber and two oscillating surge devices. For each device we describe how the WEC-Sim model was setup and present simulation results, such as predictions of device motions and power production. For verification and validation purposes, results are compared to corresponding results from other modeling tools and experimental data.
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    Methodology for Design and Economic Analysis of Marine Energy Conversion (MEC) Technologies
    Neary, Vincent S.; Lawson, Michael; Previsic, Mirko; Copping, Andrea; Hallett, Kathleen C.; Labonte, Alison; Rieks, Jeff; Murray, Dianne (2014-04)
    This paper presents results of the Reference Model Project (RMP), which began five years ago to facilitate Marine Energy Conversion (MEC) technology development and market acceleration. The four Reference Models presented herein are point designs of common MEC technology archetypes that allowed the benchmarking of technical and economic performance, and the identification of knowledge gaps, cost drivers, and cost reduction pathways that require further research and development. This project generated detailed CAD (SolidWorks) geometry files for each point design along with physical model data sets. In December 2013, Sandia National Laboratories launched a public website at http://energy.sandia.gov/rmp, which serves as a data clearing house for other MEC researchers and developers to access all supporting design documents, SolidWorks geometry files, LCOE estimation spreadsheets, and experimental data sets.