Numerical and Experimental Study of a Multi-Use Platform

Abstract

A complete hydrodynamic study of a Multi Use Platform designed to harvest energy from waves and wind is presented. The steps given in the study, and presented in this paper are: (i) the design of the platform, (ii) the laboratory tests performed at the Cantabria Coastal and Ocean Basin, (iii) the development of a new in-house time domain numerical model that integrates all components and (iv) the first validation cases of the numerical model. The development of time domain numerical model that coupled the behaviour of the platform and the OWCs based in Cummins equation is presented. The model includes nonlinear friction forces and a quasi-static approach to model the mooring system. The obtained system is extended to include the variation of the pressure inside each chamber. The effect of the wind turbine in the movements and power production of the platform is studied using also a quasi-static approach.