Studies Concerning the Influence of the Wave Farms on the Nearshore Processes

Andrei Tănase Zanopol, Florin Onea, Eugen Rusu

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University “Dunarea de Jos” of Galati, Galati, Romania.

DOI: 10.4236/ijg.2014.57065                

Abstract

The main objective of the present work is to evaluate the impact on the nearshore waves and coastal processes of a generic wave farm. The target area considered is in the Romanian nearshore, in the vicinity of the Mamaia sector, coastal environment usually subjected to a strong erosion process. A picture of the wave conditions in this coastal environment is first provided by analyzing some in situ data registered at the Gloria drilling unit, which operates offshore the area of interest at about 50 meters water depth. A high resolution numerical modeling framework was implemented in the target area. This is based on the SWAN spectral model (Simulating Waves Nearshore) for waves and the 1D circulation model SURF (or the Navy Standard Surf Model) to assess the nearshore currents. The presence of the farm in the computational domain was represented by using the command obstacle, which is available in SWAN, and considering various transmission and reflection coefficients. Different wave farm configurations have been considered by adjusting the transmission and the reflection coefficients associated with the wave farm, between a no farm scenario and a fully developed project (corresponding to the case of total absorption). The influence of the farm on the wave field was quantified by performing analyses in the geographical space concerning the variability of the significant wave height. The results look interesting and they indicate that besides the production of the electric power, the presence of the wave farms may have a positive influence on controlling the coastal processes, reducing the erosion and giving in general more stability to the coastal environment, especially during the extreme storm conditions.

Keywords

Black Sea, Wave Farms, Energy, SWAN, Coastal Processes

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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