Novel Buoy Geometries and Design Algorithms
摘要
This chapter demonstrates the establishment and application of geometrical optimization algorithms of novel S-shaped (S-class) and bulbous-bottomed (SB-class) buoy geometries for PA-WECs, aiming to enhance hydrodynamic performance and power absorption. An isomorphic design algorithm is applied to ensure consistent comparison across geometries by maintaining constant diameter, mass, submerged volume, and natural frequency across all the floaters under consideration. The buoys are defined to exhibit resonance at the most probable wave frequency at the selected marine site. The annual distribution of hourly data on significant wave height and peak wave period was analyzed using joint probability distributions to evaluate the highest co-occurrence of wave height and peak period. Their ranges with maximum co-occurrence were identified to highlight the most suitable regimes for designing the WEC. This chapter also provides the geometric parameterization of novel floater shapes, including bulbous width, height, and fillet radii. It provides a systematic approach for evaluating PA-WEC performance under both optimal and suboptimal PTO conditions. In addition, a versatile criterion was demonstrated to simultaneously assess the sensitivity of buoy size and shape while optimizing PA-WECs for maximum power absorption.