Cesar Harada presents
The Anaconda wave energy converter
4/11/2009 Towing Tank, Solent University

EPSRC, NESTA, Southampton University, Solent Southampton University, Royal College of Art.
Special thanks to R. Rainey, F. Farley, J.R. Chaplin, V. Heller, H. Bailey. T. Dunne

More explanations here :
opensailing.blogspot.com/2009/11/anaconda-wave-energy-converter-towing.html

epsrc.ac.uk
nesta.org.uk
solent.ac.uk
interaction.rca.ac.uk
energy.soton.ac.uk
checkmateuk.com/seaenergy
bulgewave.com
cesarharada.com
opensailing.net

The Anaconda wave energy converter, which is shown as an artist's impression in Figure 1, is a novel concept for wave energy conversion invented by Rod Rainey and Francis Farley and further developed by the licensed manufacturers Checkmate SeaEnergy Ltd. The system essentially consists of a rubber tube filled with water which is placed in the sea. Both ends of this rubber tube are sealed and it is anchored with its head to the waves. It is squeezed or enlarged locally by waves causing pressure variations along its length.

The Anaconda concept is shown schematically in Figure 2. A running bulge wave is generated by squeezing the water-filled rubber tube. The bulge wave travels at a speed that is determined by the geometry and material properties of the tube. Anaconda is designed so that its bulge wave speed is close to the speed of the external water waves above. In this resonance condition the bulges grow as they travel along the tube, gathering wave energy. Inside the tube, the bulge waves are accompanied by a periodically reversing flow. Localised squeezing and enlarging effects permit energy to be extracted indirectly with a Power Take-Off (PTO). One way of extracting power from Anaconda is to use a pair of duck-bill valves to convert this power into a rectified flow past a turbine between high and low pressure reservoirs. The animation below shows an impression of the Anaconda wave energy converter at full scale.