WAVE-ENERGY


Principle of wave pump technology
My work on wave pumps started in 1977 with a single pump.
A rig with 12 pumps was designed in 1978.
The rig floats by air pressure inside the rig, and is stabilized by a cylinder in each corner.
The principle of wave pumps is shown in figure.
Wells-turbines can be an alternative, which use the air flow between the cylinders.
The technology is based on rigs with a size where some cylinders are on top of the wave and some in the bottom, and to achieve this the rig has to be big.
Wave pumps use the movement caused by high and low pressure between cylinders.
The tank in the middle of the rig will collect the seawater from the pumps, and a turbine with generator make electricity from the water flow back to the sea.
In 2002 I left the technology of wave pumps and applied for patent in the WEC category of overtopping, and patent NO 318295 was announced in 2005(picture below).
The Danish WEC called Wave Dragon is the most known in this category.
The overtopping technology are more suitable for hybrid use, and a lot of designs have been applied for.
In 2017 design NO 85800 was announced.
4 wind turbines on a star designed WEC can give a total of 50 MW. This design made the WEC suitable for seaweed production by use of ropes between the arms.
In 2018 design NO 86253 was announced, which is a triangle hybrid WEC with aquaculture, wind and wave energy.
WECs in the category of overtopping will normally use Kaplan turbines, which is not optimal when the pressure is low and varies due to small and big waves.
I therefore applied for several turbine patents. NO 345283 is one and operates principally like the methanol engine in patent NO 345965.
By removing the check valves the methanol engine becomes a turbine.
A model of patent NO 318295 was made in 2005, intended to be tested at the university in Trondheim(NTNU).
They show no interest and the model have not been tested.
In 2015 I wanted to make a team in the Wave Energy Prize copetition in USA, but was not en US citizen. The competition was initiated by Department of Energy and after 18 month we had a winner.
In 2016 CAPX and OPEX for the technology was sent to TIP Ocean, which is an EU based organization. This work was follow-up in 2019, but I have not seen any result of the initiative.
TIP Ocean are mostly concerned about tidal stream and that is maybe the reason.
From 2018 the triangle design has been in focus, where 13 fish cages make a hybrid WEC.
A big and heavy construction of concrete or steel can make the sea in the triangle relatively calm, and open up for aquaculture far from land.





Design NO 85800, SWWE(Seaweed Wind Wave Energy)


The table compares WECs, and is a cheap analyses before using money on models and pilots.
Design NO 86253, AWWE(Aquaculture Wave Wind Energy)
