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The Theory Behind the Conversion of Ocean Wave Energy: a Review

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Ocean Wave Energy

Part of the book series: Green Energy and Technology(Virtual Series) ((GREEN))

Abstract

The development of any new device is usually accompanied by extravagant claims that it has the potential to solve all of (or more modestly, a significant percentage of) the world’s (or a nation’s) energy problems. The inventor’s strategy is usually to insist that the basic device is a magnificent absorber of energy, inexpensive to construct, resilient enough to survive the most violent storms and, if placed in rows or arrays around the coastline, the sum of the total output would provide the claimed power output. In the unlikely circumstance that all potential structural engineering problems have been solved, permissions granted and that grid connection really is a mere formality, then there are three simple modelling considerations that obstruct immediate success. These are in addition to host other practical obstacles that quickly arise. The fundamental optimal performance of any device, based upon optimal performance criteria, usually counters any widely excessive claims being validated. Arrays of devices are subject to rather surprising constraints and will almost always not behave in the way they are intended to do. The third is concerned with wave climate and device design; site resource is an important consideration in device design and this is not rarely included in a preliminary implementation plan. All three are crucial aspects of device awareness and pro-vide major pitfalls for newcomers to the field! In the present context, the question to be addressed is how these restrictions came to be known. An attempt is made within this review to provide an explanation as to these results were obtained, how they may be employed in a beneficial sense and the importance of designing a device to match the wave climate.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Applied Mathematics, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

    Gareth Thomas

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  1. Gareth Thomas
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. St Vincent’sWorks, Garrard Hassan and Partners Limited, Silverthorne Lane, EH6 6NF BS2 0QD, Bristol, UK

    Joao Cruz

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© 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Thomas, G. (2008). The Theory Behind the Conversion of Ocean Wave Energy: a Review. In: Cruz, J. (eds) Ocean Wave Energy. Green Energy and Technology(Virtual Series). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-74895-3_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-74895-3_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-74894-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-74895-3

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

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