REAL SEA TESTING OF A SMALL SCALE WEPTOS WEC PROTOTYPE

摘要

The Weptos wave energy converter (WEC) is Danish concept that has been investigated during the last decade in laboratory test campaigns. It is an A-shaped floating structure that absorbs wave energy through multiple wave absorbing bodies. These bodies are rotors, with their shape inspired by the Salter duck, of which its high efficiency has been proven already back in the 1970's. The Weptos WEC has the ability to maximise power absorption in operational sea states and minimize structural loads in extreme conditions through adjustment of its width. Launch of a small scale real sea prototype of the Weptos WEC was done in July 2017, with a location in Lillebcelt between Jylland and Fyn in Denmark, north of the small island Brandso, at a water depth of 10 m. The paper contains a detailed description of the prototype and its instrumentation, along with the test planning and preliminary data analyses for the evaluation of the device characterization.