TY - JOUR
TI - A unified simulation framework for wave energy powered underwater vehicle docking and charging
AU - Chen, M
AU - Vivekanandan, R
AU - Rusch, C
AU - Okushemiya, D
AU - Manalang, D
AU - Robertson, B
AU - Hollinger, G
T2 - Applied Energy
AB - As wave energy conversion technology advances, recharge of autonomous underwater vehicles has emerged as a promising application for this at-sea power. We bring together an interdisciplinary team to create a simulation framework linking hydrodynamic modeling, autonomous docking and navigation algorithms, and a power tracking model to better understand how a full wave energy converter–autonomous underwater vehicle system could be modeled. A floating point absorber wave energy converter is modeled and analyzed under various wave conditions. We incorporate three different dock designs, using the modeled dock motion and simulated wave-induced currents to test our autonomous docking algorithm. We couple the output of this algorithm to the hydrodynamic model to simulate autonomous docking. This shows that docking with a floating third body is successful in most sea states, while a dock rigidly mounted to the wave energy converter presents difficulty for autonomous docking. Finally, we incorporate a power model to better understand the feasibility and capabilities of a wave energy converter–underwater vehicle system in simulated wave environments. This shows that this system is comfortably supported in the majority of sea states, and provides an estimate of the on-board power storage required to maximize vehicle mission time.
DA - 2024/05//
PY - 2024
VL - 361
SP - 122877
UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261924002605
DO - 10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.122877
LA - English
KW - Wave
KW - Point Absorber
KW - Modeling
KW - Hydrodynamics
KW - Power Take Off
KW - Alternative Markets
ER -