Browsing by Author "Ruehl, Kelley"

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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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    Further Development of SNL‐Swan, a Validated Wave Energy Converter
    Porter, Aaron; Ruehl, Kelley; Chartrand, Chris (2014-04)
    Commercialization of wave energy will lead to the necessary deployment of Wave Energy Converters (WECs) in arrays, or wave farms. In order for projects in the United States to be approved, regulatory agencies must perform an Environmental Assessment proving little to no environmental impact. However, little is known about the environmental impacts of such wave farms. As a result, the environmental impacts of wave farms are largely determined by numerical wave models capable of modeling large areas (i.e., spectral wave models). However spectral wave models are currently limited in their ability to model WECs. Sandia National Laboratories is developing SNL‐SWAN, a modified version of Simulation WAves Nearshore [1] that includes a validated WEC Module to more realistically model the frequency and sea state dependent wave energy conversion of WECs. This paper will provide an update on its development.