Session: 09-04-04: Floating Solar Energy

Paper Number: 102530

102530 - Hydrodynamic Modelling of Modularized Floating Photovoltaics Arrays 

Large arrays of floating photovoltaics (FPV) are emerging to be an attractive solution to renewable energy production and ocean space utilization. FPV arrays are typically buoyed by hundreds of modularized floating bases arranged in ocean surface. The total performance of the FPV arrays is significantly affected by the hydrodynamic interactions between these individual floaters. As the size of the array increases, more time will be required to calculate the entire hydrodynamic properties. From the engineering point of view, it is a challenging task to fully consider the radiation interactions among the modularized FPV floaters. In fact, when the distance between two floating bodies is large enough, their interaction will gradually vanish. The present study developed a cut-off scheme to improve the computational efficiency while providing a reliable prediction of the interaction effects in engineering practice. A cut-off radius is introduced in this scheme to determine the coupling range in which the radiation hydrodynamic interactions should be considered. The cut-off radius is determined by three parameters, including the modular shape, wave frequency and accuracy requirement. Several arrays of rectangular FPV bases were taken as case studies to show how to quantify the radiation interactions and find an optimal cut-off radius. The effect of wave direction, gap distance, and connection type were also investigated. The results from the validation case showed that the hydrodynamic interaction can be well predicted using the proposed cut-off scheme, while more than half of the computational time can be saved.

Presenting Author: Zhi-Ming Yuan University of Strathclyde

Presenting Author Biography: Zhi-Ming Yuan is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Marine Engineering at the University of Strathclyde at Glasgow. Dr. Yuan received his PhD degree at Strathclyde in 2014 on Ocean Engineering. His research activity mainly focused on the Marine Hydrodynamics and Offshore Renewable Energy.

Authors:

De-Qing Zhang Ocean University of China
Jun-Feng Du Ocean University of China
Zhi-Ming Yuan University of Strathclyde
Ming Zhang University of Strathclyde
Feng-Shen Zhu University of Strathclyde