2016_31: Coupled wave-current interactions for

marine renewable energy

Supervisors: Dr Andrew G. Buchan (andrew.buchan@imperial.ac.uk), Dr Mathew
D. Piggott (Earth Science and Engineering)
Department: Earth Science and Engineering
The last few years have seen a great increase in the interest for marine renewable
power generation.
Tides are a reliable and predictable resource, while waves present one of the most
abundant and untapped natural resources. Due to the lack of extensive demonstration
stage deployments and thus real-time data, the application of numerical models is
necessary for a better understanding of the various aspects of these technologies such
as farm sizes and layouts, interactions between energy converters, and of course the
environmental climate impacts.
Waves are important both for the study of wave and tidal energy converters, as wave
heights and frequencies affect the wave-induced loads on offshore structures. At the
same time currents play an active role in wave propagation impacting on the direction
(current-induced refraction), magnitude (current-induced shoaling) and frequency
(frequency-shifting) of waves. Even though this interaction is widely recognised, the
vast majority of renewable energy assessments treat these as separate processes.
Understanding the complex behaviour of the ocean climate requires the use of coupled
wave-current models.
Spectral wave models are the state of the art in wave forecasting, climate studies and
resource assessments. For the prediction of tidal currents on the other hand there is
a variety of methods used including shallow water equations and 3D-CFD calculations.
This work will involve the coupling of a spectral wave model (developed within the
FETCH framework) to an ocean circulation model (FLUIDITY), the development of
novel parametrisations for wave energy converters in spectral wave models and the
study of combined wave and tidal power extraction. The wide range of spatial and
temporal scales in the ocean presents a unique challenge for both frameworks.
This has motivated the development of unstructured and adaptive methods to bridge
the gap between oceanic and coastal scales. Both models (FETCH and FLUIDITY)
are based on unstructured adaptive finite element frameworks, and the validity as well
as the advantages of these formulations for such studies will be investigated and
quantified.
Finally the impacts of the positioning of converters, from single turbines to big farms
will be investigated with the use of adjoint methods. This will allow for the optimisation

For more information on how to apply visit us at www.imperial.ac.uk/changingplanet

Science and Solutions for a Changing Planet

of combined wave-current power extraction in terms of power production and

environmental impacts.

For more information on how to apply visit us at www.imperial.ac.uk/changingplanet