Session: 09-07-01: Floating Solar Energy I

Submission Number: 154990

Analysis of Wave-Structure Interaction of Floating Photovoltaic Modules: Results From Wave Flume Testing on Load Responses Under Regular Waves 

The interest in photovoltaic (PV) systems installed on connected floating modules has increased over the recent years. For these floating installations, knowledge on the wave-structure interaction of individual floats and also connected chains of floats is lacking. It is still challenging to estimate the actual (design) loads and possible energy efficiency losses caused by the dynamics of the floating photovoltaic systems, throughout the stages of the design process.

To address these knowledge gap and to provide insights into the wave-structure interaction of floating PV support structures, a comprehensive experimental study has been conducted in the 90 m long and 2 m wide wave flume at the Leichtweiß-Institute for Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources of Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany. Generic floaters have been designed and manufactured at an approximate scale of 1:3 as support for the PV panels. Both a single float as well as a chain of multiple floats have been tested for numerous wave conditions. Three mass loadings of the individual floats were investigated. The surface elevation around the float, the mooring line loads and loads within the connection of the floats, as well as the motion of the floats have been monitored during the campaign.

In this initial study, first experimental results of the single and multi-float configuration will be presented. In particular, a first analysis of the response amplitude operators will be presented, in order to understand the dynamics of the system and deduce influences on the potential efficiency of the floating PV modules.

Presenting Author: Christian Windt Technische Universität Braunschweig

Presenting Author Biography: Christian Windt graduated from the Hamburg University of Technology with a B.Sc in Mechanical Engineering (2013) and a M.Sc. in Energy Systems (2016). In 2020, Christian received a PhD from Maynooth University, with a thesis focused on high-fidelity numerical hydrodynamic modelling of wave energy converters in the CFD framework. In 2020 Christian then joined the Leichtweiss-Institute for Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources as the project coordinator of the ERAnet Co-Fund project NuLIMAS. Currently, Christian is the research group leader “Sustainable Ocean Engineering”, which embraces five projects related to marine renewable energies and aquaculture.