The Wave Energy Converter SIMulator (WEC-Sim) is a time-domain hydrodynamic code jointly developed by researchers at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) at the direction of the U. S. Department of Energy (USDOE). To be an effective development tool, WEC-Sim features must be experimentally validated through scale-model testing.
The experimental validation of WEC-Sim features is occurring in two phases over the next calendar year, with the first phase happening during the fall of 2015 and the second phase happening the following winter. The data used to validate WEC-Sim will be collected from instruments placed on and around the scale model during calibration and experimentation. The experiments will be performed in the Directional Wave Basin (DWB) at the Oregon State University’s Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory. A comprehensive series of tests for model characterization and WEC-Sim feature validation will be performed. The testing will include regular and irregular waves along with normal and directional waves. The surface elevation incident to and in the lee of the model will be captured using wave gauges. The remainder of the instrumentation will be on-board the model and will record various physical data needed for feature validation.
Find more information about WEC-Sim here.
