Periodic Reporting for period 1 - IMPACT (Innovative Methods for wave energy Pathways Acceleration through novel Criteria and Test rigs)
Período documentado: 2021-01-01 hasta 2022-06-30
One of the main causes for wave devices has been identified to be the lack of a holistic energy system approach. The integration of key subsystems such as the Power Take-Off (PTO), control, mooring/ballasting and core structure has usually been neglected in the initial design, often leading to critical design issues or to an increase in the overall device costs during the following development phases. Moreover, the cost of testing can also become a barrier towards technology development and subsystems integration.
The IMPACT project aims at developing and demonstrating a next-generation testing approach for Wave Energy Converters (WECs). A 250kW Dual Hardware-In-the-Loop (DHIL) testing platform will be designed and manufactured, expanding the capabilities of the already established Hardware-In-the-Loop technique and covering up to 75% of the WEC subsystems affecting the device LCOE.
The proposed testing approach will see the application of methodologies and metrics, reducing the test duration by 50% with respect to a typical endurance test while targeting key aspects such as reliability, performance and survivability.
The project outputs will contribute to a drastic acceleration in the development of wave energy converters through laboratory tests, leading to a rapid advancement from TRL 3 to TRL 5.
In particular:
• the mechanical input parameters considered the output results of simulation activities modelling three types of devices in different deployment sites and operative conditions.
• The electrical input parameters included the review of grid codes (and their future trends), the development of a wave-to-wire simulation model and the definition of possible electrical layouts.
• The techno-economic activity included a reliability analysis and a techno-economic assessment to track in several scenarios how the most relevant metrics can change.
• The environmental assessment included the research of results from different sources to outline the most frequently studied environmental impacts of wave energy devices to the marine environment.
The input parameters have been harmonized in form of specifications to be taken into account during the design phase of each rig.
This will help in reducing the cost of the ocean energy technology development pathways by accelerating the technical maturity of the WECs by de-risking them through rig testing, thus reducing the probability of encountering failures during the following phase of sea trials.