wave energy

Although many fundamental results on wave power absorption were discovered in the 1970s and 80s, the most economic way of harnessing wave energy remains an open question. This ongoing project aims at developing new non-dimensional metrics to assess the relative cost-effectiveness of different wave energy converters.

Compared to the Northern hemisphere, wave climates of the Southern hemisphere have higher consistency and lower seasonal variability. Low variability is advantageous because cost is correlated with extreme-to-mean ratios. This project seeks to characterise the wave energy resource of Albany, Western Australia, which has been identified as a promising location for wave energy utilisation.

Compressible or variable-volume wave energy converters are a type of wave energy converters that expands and contracts under wave action. Owing to their unconventional modes of motion, such devices can have more superior properties than rigid devices.

Most studies on optimisation of arrays of wave energy converters are concerned with maximising the overall power output as the sole objective. This project considers this problem from a multiobjective perspective. Instead of a single solution, multiple solutions are sought, providing an insight into which arrays are optimal for each of the competing objectives.

An overview of the history of wave energy.