e-ISSN: 2582-5208 International Research Journal of Modernization in Engineering Technology and Science Volume:03/Issue:03/March-2021
Impact Factor- 5.354
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ANALYSIS OF WAVE POWER TECHNOLOGIES Dr JP Kesari*1, Siddharth Sharma*2, Chanda Singh*3 *1Professor,
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Delhi Technological University, Bawana Road, New Delhi-110042, India.
*2,3Undergraduate
Student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Delhi Technological University, Bawana Road, New Delhi-110042, India.
ABSTRACT This paper involves the study of significant wave power technologies and their applications. As the energy consumption of the world is increasing exponentially, there is a need for renewable energy resources. Wave energy (power) is one such alternative. Various Wave Energy Converters (WECs) are studied in this paper along with their characteristics. The current status of development of wave power technologies in India is also discussed. Given the depletion of traditional energy sources and their impact on climate, the authors emphasize to try adopting wave power technologies.
I.
INTRODUCTION
Due to the depletion of the traditional sources of energy like fossil fuels and their harmful effects on the environment, there is a need for cleaner, safer and renewable energy sources. Since most of the earth is covered with water, wave energy is a promising renewable energy source. Wave energy (or wave power or ocean energy) is continuous (in the sense that waves are available 24 hours a day throughout the year), environmentally friendly, pollution free and predictable with high accuracy. Waves are formed on the ocean surface due to the interaction of wind with the water surface. Waves can store and transmit the kinetic energy which they carry from the wind thousands of kilometres with negligible loss. Wave power technologies have made remarkable progress in recent years but are still decades behind other renewable energy sources as huge amount of money is required for construction of structures in oceans and their maintenance. “A potential of 40,000 MW along the Indian coast has been concluded by a general research on wave nature.[1]”
II.
WAVE ENERGY CONVERTERS
Wave Energy Converters (WECs) are used to transform potential and kinetic energy of a moving ocean wave into electrical or mechanical energy. WECs can be generally classified based on three types: location, operating principle and direction of wave propagation. Location: Based on location, wave energy converter devices are classified into three types: onshore, nearshore and offshore devices. 1 Onshore Devices: Onshore devices are installed in the shallow water above sea. Waves are attenuated as they pass through shallow water. As a result, these devices are less prone to damage in severe weather conditions. They have less energy to utilise as shallow water results in reduced wave power. Since their location is mostly accessible, these are easy to install and maintain. 2 Nearshore Devices: Nearshore devices are installed in relatively shallow water “(there is lack of consensus for what defines shallow water). Nearshore constitutes an area within 2km from the coastline. [3]” Nearshore devices, like onshore devices, have reduced wave power due to shallow water. 3 Offshore Devices: Offshore devices are installed in deep water. As a result, they have higher amount of energy to exploit. Their installation and maintenance is difficult. Deep water waves have high energy content so offshore devices are designed to withstand extreme conditions which leads to higher cost.
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