Can Ocean Waves Provide a Revolutionary Alternative Energy Source?

[Integral]

Here is an intesting solution to extraction power from http://www.oceanpd.com/"

 

[Danger]

Int, your link worked fine for me, but theirs don't. Is that the system that uses up/down wave motion to compress air, or a different approach?

 

[dlgoff]

This is from the Ocean Power Delivery Ltd. Brochure.

The machine is a semi-submerged,articulated structure
composed of cylindrical sections linked by hinged joints.
The wave-induced motion of these joints is resisted by
hydraulic rams,which pump high-pressure oil through
hydraulic motors via smoothing accumulators.The
hydraulic motors drive electrical generators to produce
electricity.Power from all the joints is fed down a single
umbilical cable to a junction on the sea bed.Several
devices can be connected together and linked to shore
through a single seabed cable.

 

[Integral]

Danger,
So you can access the site but none of the information? To bad, this looks like a pretty cool device... But then you live somewhere in the midlands of Ca so may not appreciate it so much being 2000mi from an ocean!

My first thought was that the first good storm would tie it in knots, but then I saw the dimensions. The pontoons are 3.5m in diameter and 120m long and weigh ~3tons. It would take pretty severe weather to bother them.

 

[Danger]

Thanks, Int. It might not be the site's fault... I got 'page cannot be displayed' messages, so it might be IE.
I'm interested in it just because it's machinery; I don't need more reason than that.
It's very similar to the one that I heard about a few years ago, except that it used pneumatic rather than hydraulic cylinders, and ... (I forget now). Either the heat of compression was used to generate steam for turbines, or the air itself drove them, or something like that.

 

[FredGarvin]

That's pretty cool. I'd like to see the hydraulic motor set up up close.

 

[Danger]

Bit of a coincidence here, gents. I bought this month's issue of Discover, (or similar publication; I can't remember right now) and never looked at it. Then this morning, whilst offloading yesterday's buffet, I took a peruse and lo, before my wondering eyes did appear an article on this selfsame project... including cutaway illustrations which show the hydraulics as well as the rest of it. I'll let you know for sure which mag it is when I get home tonight.

 

[Integral]

I read about it in the Dec 05 Popular Science.

There is another short artical about a energy source on a whole different scale. I am looking for some web sources to link to.

 

[dlgoff]

I'm wondering if this principle could be used to get energy from wind? i.e. get hydraulics from the bending of a vertical structure by the wind?

Don

 

[Integral]

I'm wondering if this principle could be used to get energy from wind? i.e. get hydraulics from the bending of a vertical structure by the wind?

Don

To have anything you would have to beat the efficiency of the current wine turbine.

Would it make any sense to drive a hydraulic pump with a wind turbine?

 

[dlgoff]

To have anything you would have to beat the efficiency of the current wine turbine.
Would it make any sense to drive a hydraulic pump with a wind turbine?

Well, I was thinking of areas where the wind is not good enough for a wind turbin to be efficient. From what I've heard, the energy from a turbin blade is proportional to the cube of the wind speed. In areas where the winds velocity is not too good for turbins but where there are gust, maybe some bending in a tower (maybe with some oscillation) might achieve some energy; better than a prop turbin.

Regards

 

[Danger]

You'd definitely get something out of it, but whether or not it would be worth the investment is up for debate. Try working up some designs and see what you can achieve.

 

[Dale]

One of the main concerns about any wind- or wave-power machine is storm survivability. This one looks very fragile to me. Especially the tethers.

-Dale

 

[Danger]

Dale, Integral addressed that in post #4 above. With those numbers, the thing must be almost hurricane proof.

 

[Francis M]

Danger,
So you can access the site but none of the information? To bad, this looks like a pretty cool device... But then you live somewhere in the midlands of Ca so may not appreciate it so much being 2000mi from an ocean!
My first thought was that the first good storm would tie it in knots, but then I saw the dimensions. The pontoons are 3.5m in diameter and 120m long and weigh ~3tons. It would take pretty severe weather to bother them.

Could this possibly work in some larger lakes as well? Maybe a scaled down version or a version more sensative to smaller wave action?

 

[Danger]

We used to get 12-15 foot waves on the rockier shore parts of Lake Erie, but only during heavy storms. I don't know if there's enough action to make something like this worthwhile during calm weather. Certainly there are still waves, so something can be obtained, but the commercial feasibility of it might be inadequate.

 

[kleinjahr]

The idea has been around for some time. Reference Hiscox's "970 Mechanical Appliances and Novelties of Construction" A reprint of the 1904 version. Also "1800 Mechanical Movements and Devices" circa 1899. Beautiful drawings, and a real hoot when you recognise something that is still in use.