Investigation of Tidal Energy Resource Assessment Estimates and Assumptions for a Channel Connecting a Bay to the ocean using Numerical Modeling
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Varner, Jacob Robert
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Abstract
There is a rising global demand for renewable energy as the world shifts away from fossil fuels. A promising source of renewable energy is the ocean tides. Tides can generate strong and predictable currents through narrow channels of coastal estuaries with potentially significant power potential. An essential step in pursuing tidal energy, as with other forms of energy, is determining the amount of energy available through an energy resource assessment. These assessments commonly start with a regional feasibility study to identify individual sites with potential. The accepted method for doing so can be cumbersome because of the extensive numerical modeling. However, methods for estimating tidal energy have been developed for regional feasibility studies using analytical models with simplifications and assumptions. In this thesis, a method for estimating the maximum average power within a channel linking a bay to the open ocean was evaluated using numerical modeling. Several study cases were designed using two different bay geometries and a range of tidal amplitudes to test the effectiveness of the method across a variety of plausible conditions. Ultimately, the results from the numerical simulations and the estimations across the study cases were compared for validation. The simplified analytical solution was shown to be fairly robust, agreeing well with the results from the numerical simulations.
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2023-07-31
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