Laboratory testing the Anaconda

Laboratory measurements of the performance of the Anaconda are presented, a wave energy converter comprising a submerged water-filled distensible tube aligned with the incident waves. Experiments were carried out at a scale of around 1: 25 with a 250 mm diameter and 7 m long tube, constructed of rub...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A: Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences physical, and engineering sciences, 2012-01, Vol.370 (1959), p.403-424
Main Authors: Chaplin, J. R., Heller, V., Farley, F. J. M., Hearn, G. E., Rainey, R. C. T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amplitude
Circumferences
Internal pressure
Linear Power Take-Off
Pressure Wave Propagation
Rubber
Speed
Water pressure
Water waves
Wave Energy Converter
Wave Power
Wave propagation
Wavelengths
Waves
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Laboratory measurements of the performance of the Anaconda are presented, a wave energy converter comprising a submerged water-filled distensible tube aligned with the incident waves. Experiments were carried out at a scale of around 1: 25 with a 250 mm diameter and 7 m long tube, constructed of rubber and fabric, terminating in a linear power take-off of adjustable impedance. The paper presents some basic theory that leads to predictions of distensibility and bulge wave speed in a pressurized compound rubber and fabric tube, including the effects of inelastic sectors in the circumference, longitudinal tension and the surrounding fluid. Results are shown to agree closely with measurements in still water. The theory is developed further to provide a model for the propagation of bulges and power conversion in the Anaconda. In the presence of external water waves, the theory identifies three distinct internal wave components and provides theoretical estimates of power capture. For the first time, these and other predictions of the behaviour of the Anaconda, a device unlike almost all other marine systems, are shown to be in remarkably close agreement with measurements.
ISSN:1364-503X
1471-2962
DOI:10.1098/rsta.2011.0256