| Abstract |
The Performance Assessment of Wave and Tidal Array Systems (PerAWaT) project, launched in October 2009 with £8m of ETI investment. The project delivered validated, commercial software tools capable of significantly reducing the levels of uncertainty associated with predicting the energy yield of major wave and tidal stream energy arrays. It also produced information that will help reduce commercial risk of future large scale wave and tidal array developments.
This document contains the scientific report for the SpecWEC numerical modelling tool, which is part of WG1 WP2 D8. It begins by discussing the base spectral wave model TOMAWAC, which SpecWEC is based on. The governing equations of TOMAWAC are shown, and the algorithm TOMAWAC uses to solve those equations is detailed. The phase-averaging assumption made in spectral wave models is discussed, as is the theory behindthe SpecWEC modelling tool. Finally, results from modelling an array of point absorbers with SpecWEC are compared to both a linear phase-resolving numerical model, and wave tank experimental data. Considering that SpecWEC is a new methodology with scope for significant improvement, these analyses indicate that SpecWEC has the potential be a useful tool for power production estimation, particularly when averaging over a large number of devices and sea states |
