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Projects: Projects for Investigator
Reference Number	JOULE/3/1
Title	A Joint Numerical and Experimental Study of A Surging Point Absorbing Wave Energy Converter (WRASPA)
Status	Completed
Energy Categories	Renewable Energy Sources(Ocean Energy) 100%;
Research Types	Basic and strategic applied research 100%
Science and Technology Fields	PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Applied Mathematics) 25%; PHYSICAL SCIENCES AND MATHEMATICS (Computer Science and Informatics) 25%; ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering) 50%;
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation	Not Cross-cutting 100%
Principal Investigator	Mr C Mingham No email address given Computing and Mathematics Manchester Metropolitan University
	Dr GA (George ) Aggidis No email address given Engineering Lancaster University
Award Type	Standard
Funding Source	Joule Centre
Start Date	01 April 2008
End Date	31 March 2009
Duration	12 months
Total Grant Value	£232,504
Industrial Sectors	No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
Region	North West; North West
Programme
Investigators	Principal Investigator	Mr C Mingham , Computing and Mathematics, Manchester Metropolitan University (50.000%) Dr GA (George ) Aggidis , Engineering, Lancaster University (50.000%)
Web Site
Objectives	Objectives not supplied
Abstract	In order for the UK to meet its ambitious targets for energy production from renewable sources (10% of electricity by 2010, 15% by 2020) it needs to expand its capacity to generate all forms of renewable energy and marine energy is a big part of this. The development and production of new solutions for generating renewable energy, as well as contributing to meeting the UK’s energy targets, provides business opportunities internationally. This project is concerned with marine energy in the form of wave energy which may in principle supply a significant amount of the UK’s energy consumption. For this project a new wave energy converter called WRASPA was developed and evaluated by means of computer modelling and small scale wave tank tests in a joint program between Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and Lancaster University (LU). MMU will carry out the computer simulations of the device and LU will carry out the tank tests. In the WRASPA concept, wave forces act on the face of a collector body, carried on an arm that rotates about a fixed horizontal axis some 20m below sea level so that the body moves to and fro at about the frequency of the ocean swell generating high power from a small device. In storms the arm naturally moves to a position that minimises forces and so helps ensure its survival. The varying input power is extracted at the pivot and smoothed using a novel on-board control system incorporating a short-term energy store so that it can then be used to generate steady electrical power that will be transmitted by cable along the sea bed. Once the WRASPA design is perfected it is hoped that full-sized devices weighing about 400 tonnes each could be manufactured on land and deployed in water depths of about 25m. An array of WRASPA devices would move to and fro in the direction of wave travel and might be said to resemble an underwater forest swaying in a strong wind. Achieving this in what will be a small and relatively cheap device could lead to economic benefits for the UK and for the Northwest in particular where renewable energy is emerging as a strong area for future growth.
Publications	Bhinder, M.A., Mingham, C.G., Causon, D.M., Rahmati, M.T., Aggidis, G.A. and Chaplin, R.V. (2009). Numerical and Experimental Study of a Surging Point Absorber Wave Energy Converter. Proceedings of the 8th European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference, Uppsala, Sweden, 2009. (PDF 692 KB) Mingham, C. (2008). A Joint Numerical and Experimental Study of A Surging Point Absorbing Wave Energy Converter (WRASPA). Project Summary, Joule Centre (PDF 165 KB)
Final Report	Mingham, C and Aggidis, G.A.(2009).A Joint Numerical and Experimental Study of a Surging Point Absorbing Wave Energy Converter (WRASPA). Final Report. (PDF 2328 KB)
Added to Database	06/01/12