| The aim of this research was to focus on a shorter path to commercialization by finding a more viable opportunity for small sale development of Wave Energy Conversion technology. This form of Hydrokinetic Energy technology would focus on minimizing the obstacles slowing its progression to commercialization and will produce a technology that would open a path for further development. In selecting the offshore oil and gas industry, a realistic target market was found with an immediate need for this technology as well as solving the problems previously mentioned. It is the researcher's task to find an economical cost effective solution that could quickly and easily be brought to commercialization.;Earlier research in this field has been focused on development of this type of technology to supply large metropolitan areas. This need for energy in these areas creates large obstacles for development and often slows the path to commercialization down. Researchers are limited by their available resources and funding in order to accomplish this kind of task. Examples of these obstacles can include ongoing maintenance, power transmission to a distant shore location, size requirement needed to produce the needed technology, and adaptability to an existing power grid.;In order to accomplish this study, we will focus on presenting, assessing, and optimizing a wave energy converter (WEC) suitable for the offshore oil and gas industry through numerical modeling, simulation, and analysis in both frequency and time domain. |
