OES-Environmental distributes metadata forms (questionnaires) to solicit information from researchers around the world who are exploring the environmental effects of marine renewable energy. This page provides a description and contact information related to the research. Content is updated on an annual basis.

Wave Energy Converters for use in Coastal Protection

Status

Completed

Principle Investigator Contact Information

Name: Jørgen Harck Nørgaard

Address: Sohngårdsholmsvej 57, 9000 Aalborg

Phone: +4524846077

Email: jhn@civil.aau.dk

Description

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the potential of using wave energy converters for coastal protection. The study is especially relevant in the context of increasing storminess and sea level rise due to climate changes which is leading to more common flooding and erosion of coasts.

Funding Source

Supported by the European Commission through FP7.2009-1, Contract 244104 - THESEUS (“Innovative technologies for safer European coasts in a changing climate”)

Location of Research

Aalborg University

Project Aims

The project aims at the development of innovative climate-proof coastal defense technologies and the improvement of safety and economic development of estuaries, deltas and coastal areas in the context of extreme event and sea level rise taking into account climate change uncertainties and risk concepts. Within the project a joint effort between Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, the Hamburg Port Authority and the Federal Waterways Engineering and Research Institute (BAW) is proposed for the Elbe estuary. The effort is based on HPA’s Concept for a sustainable development of the Tidal Elbe River and will contribute to an impact assessment of different coastal defense strategies, including conventional and innovative ones, under different climate change scenarios.

Study Progress

Project ended November 2013

Key Findings

  • Physical model tests have been performed to evaluate the influence from the incident wave climate and the structural parameters (stiffness of moorings, crest height, etc.) on the wave transmission from a single Wave Dragon device. From the model tests it is concluded that the wave transmission from the Wave Dragon is significantly affected by the stiffness of the mooring system. Moreover, the wave transmission characteristics are seen to vary at different frequency components in the incident wave spectra, where a higher amount of energy is transmitted at low frequencies compared to higher frequencies.
  • The wave transmission characteristics of the Wave Dragon wave energy converter has been implemented in the numerical wave propagation model MIKE21BW using varying so-called porosity layers. The numerical model is calibrated and validated based on measurements from the physical model tests. The calibrated wave propagation model is used to determine the overall wave transmission coefficients for a single and multiple Wave Dragon devices. Moreover, the validated model is used to perform a case study on the potential of using Wave Dragon wave energy converters for coastal protection on a specific bathymetry and with realistic wave conditions present at the site.

Related Publications