Modeling Wave Characteristics For Desalination Glider Deployment

Abstract

This project looks to aid in short-term disaster relief efforts in areas that have lost access to clean water due to electrical outages. The proposed solution to this problem looks to design a desalination wave glider and piston pump system, which converts wave energy for use in this desalination process, as well as its propulsion. This overarching project looks to model the glider dynamics and associated control systems. This first step seeks to integrate models for the glider design alongside environmental wave characteristics, in the hopes of creating models that theoretically predict the glider's desalination efficiency based on its environment. This paper specifically focuses on an explanation of background information for the proposed piston pump model, an exploration of potential glider deployment sites, an example of data collection at similar sites, a generation of synthetic data based on this data collection, and a predicted model for desalination efficiency based on this simulation. As a result of these focuses, a synthetic data generation model that utilizes past wave data to simulate wave characteristics with variation both spatially and temporally was developed. With this synthetic data, a predictive model was then built that would give valuable insight into when and where the glider should be deployed to optimize its desalination efficiency.