Ocean tank trials-OSCILLA: Evaluation of the Power Performance of Wave Energy Converter Triton-C

Triton-C is a two-body, multi-mode point absorber-type wave energy converter (WEC) under development by Oscilla Power. The WEC comprises a surface float connected to a submerged ring via three tendons. As the surface float is articulated by waves, these two bodies react against each other to capture mechanical power. Oscilla Power has developed the Triton-C to service remote applications that currently rely on high-cost diesel generation and have an energetic wave resource. Production of a full-scale prototype system is under progress for open ocean testing in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii in 2019, supported by the US Department of Energy.
 
The primary purpose of this Marinet2 project was to support validation and calibration of the Triton-C numerical model. To achieve this objective, a 1:10 physical model of Triton-C was tested in realistic wave conditions at the Hydrodynamic and Ocean Engineering Tank at École Centrale de Nantes in France. Good agreement was observed between the experiments and simulations, which provides important validation to the numerical modelling approach used. Ultimately, the validated numerical model will enable accurate prediction of engineering loads, power output, and cost of energy production as well as allow future system optimization work.