Investigation of Wave Energy Converter Effects on Near-shore Wave Fields: Model Generation Validation and Evaluation - Kaneohe Bay HI.

Technical Report · Mon Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1156602· OSTI ID:1156602

Roberts, Jesse D.; Chang, Grace; Jones, Craig

The numerical model, SWAN (Simulating WAves Nearshore) , was used to simulate wave conditions in Kaneohe Bay, HI in order to determine the effects of wave energy converter ( WEC ) devices on the propagation of waves into shore. A nested SWAN model was validated then used to evaluate a range of initial wave conditions: significant wave heights (H s ) , peak periods (T p ) , and mean wave directions ( MWD) . Differences between wave height s in the presence and absence of WEC device s were assessed at locations in shore of the WEC array. The maximum decrease in wave height due to the WEC s was predicted to be approximately 6% at 5 m and 10 m water depths. Th is occurred for model initiation parameters of H s = 3 m (for 5 m water depth) or 4 m (10 m water depth) , T p = 10 s, and MWD = 330deg . Subsequently, bottom orbital velocities were found to decrease by about 6%.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Wind and Hydropower Technology Program (EE-2B)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000
• OSTI ID: 1156602
• Report Number(s): SAND2014-17400; 537282
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English