Academics

Over the course of the last month I have learned many things, one of which is that  I’m unsure of my ability to create a physical model in the time that I have. As I was doing research, many of the sources I found repeatedly stated how difficult it was to create an efficient WEC due to environmental concerns, location, and cost among other  things. In fact, the largest reason why WEC’s are not already being widely used is mostly because of price. I will divert some of my time to creating a model that is more price and energy efficient. Another reason justifying this would be if I can eventually get a company started around WEC’s, then after making money from using cheaper less efficient ones I can eventually accumulate enough money to create a real one. Another option would be to get a sufficiently wealthy person to help me achieve my goals but that possibility is much less realistic.

However, what truly surprised me the most was the fact that most of the research that I have found on wave energy is relatively old. It seems that there were previously many more people working to obtain efficient energy from waves up until the 21st century. I am unsure why this happened, and so are other scientists whose articles I have read and videos I have watched. It truly is a phenomenon. We may never know whether it was due to the lack of information at the time, lack of resources, or motivation.

During this last month I came across an extremely useful review article on wave energy called “A Review of Point Absorber Wave Energy Converters.” This article covers lots of things such as prototypes of point absorbers, Hydrodynamic modeling, PTO mechanisms, and control strategies. For example, one of the point absorber prototypes that I learned about is called The Seabased Devise. It is a floating truncated cylinder that is used to capture wave power, and its motion drives a seabed-mounted linear generator via a rope to produce electricity. Out of all of the other prototypes this one is the most notable for its efficiency and negligible effect on pollution in the ocean.

PTO mechanisms or power take off mechanisms, and control strategies are also a very prevalent topic in this review article. It states that PTO mechanisms are one of the most important components in a point absorber as it generates electric power and, simultaneously, works as an actuator for control implementation. It also states that control strategies are pertinent to the functionality of point absorbers as ocean waves show a high irregularity in direction, amplitude and frequency. This information will prove extremely useful to me as it gives me a foundation to base more research on for important topics with point absorbers, such as PTO mechanisms and control strategies. It also gives me insight on other point absorbers that I can use to compare to mine, to work out any possible flaws my device might have.

Over the course of the month of November, I have been researching kinds of PTO (Power Take Off) mechanisms, such as the Hydraulic PTO system, other wave energy converters, and the effect that WEC’s have on marine biology. Have also emailed a professor at UNM who specializes in wave energy devices in hopes of getting an interview and possibly a look at his lab. During this month, the most challenging obstacle that I had to overcome was catching up on my annotated bibliography seeing as I was very behind. I'm also finding that lots of websites that I am looking at are beginning to say a lot of the same thing so I believe that I am now in the stage where I must pick the kind of wave energy converter that I will build. An example of this would be an attenuator. An attenuator is a floating device which operates parallel to the wave direction and effectively rides the waves. I will then need to do extensive research on exactly how to build the best/most efficient version of this device.

Something that definitely stood out to me in my research was the fact that lots of universities and foundations are studying wave energy but for some reason there are still very little devices that are being utilized.

At the start of this semester I didn't know much about wave energy. I had researched it a little before, but still didn't know anything. However, this gave me lots of room for improvement. I started off researching general facts about WEC’s, such as their history and if they're even being used at all. I learned that WEC’s started to be heavily researched around the 20th century but then abruptly stopped due to price concerns. I then spent most of my time researching kinds of WEC’s that are already in use, or that have been tested, along with the parts of them and how they work. Through my research I discovered that while there are lots of WEC prototypes, not many of them are in use. And the ones that are being used are not heavily utilized at all. This is because the field of wave energy is still in its beginning form. It hasn't been researched nearly enough, and because of this, the WEC’s in use aren't nearly as efficient as they could be. In fact, most prototypes can’t manage due to factors like wave conditions and energy efficiency.

After finding this out, I began to research the efficiency, effectiveness, and flaws of the most utilized WEC’s. From this research I found out that the most effective WEC is a device called a point absorber. These devices function like buoys, moving with the vertical motion of waves to generate power. The reason why they are the most efficient is because of three things. The Power take off device that they use, their low maintenance, and their low price. However, just like all the other WEC’s, it had two main problems: durability, and how accessible it is. Because of this I began to dive into solutions for the two. Unfortunately, since there isn't a lot of research on WEC’s the only thing I was able to find about improving WEC’s against harsh waves was break waters, which essentially just takes the blunt force of the waves and breaks them down into smaller and more tame waves. I then came up with some WEC designs, and now I have to start researching the engineering side of building the WEC’s.

Over the course of my research the most challenging part of it was staying focused, and committing to sources. Most of my sources were something like 70 page long reviews, which were often hard to comprehend and used lots of terms that I was unfamiliar with. Because of this the learning curve for me is steep, and on top of that I still have much more to learn about engineering which will not be easy.

The research process taught me a lot about the importance of persistence and adaptability. Early on, I felt a little  overwhelmed by the volume of information that was given to me in the review articles that I was reading. As the semester progressed, I learned how to identify key information more efficiently and focus on sources that provided the most value. For instance, I started relying more on review articles rather than diving into overly specialized studies that were beyond the scope of my project. Moving forward, I plan to allocate more time to learning the more complex materials and seek guidance from my peers in Odyssey that might have gone through the same situations.

One of the most interesting and surprising aspects of my Odyssey experience has been learning about the limitations of existing WECs and how much potential the field still holds. I was particularly fascinated by the concept of power take-off systems, which convert the mechanical motion of waves into usable energy. Despite the challenges, I was surprised to learn that affordability is actually one of the strengths of point absorbers compared to other WEC types. Throughout my project, I’ve made an effort to clearly understand technical terms and concepts. For example, when researching WEC’s, most of the review articles I read had lots of words that I had trouble comprehending. So to get around that I would mark down words that I didn't know such as DOF’s, and PTO.

In summary, this semester has been a journey of growth and discovery. While I started with minimal knowledge about wave energy, I’ve gained valuable insights into the history, challenges, and potential of WECs. The process has stretched my abilities in research, time management, and problem-solving. Looking ahead, I’m excited to explore the engineering side of WEC design and continue building on the foundation I’ve established this semester.