Midfidelity Model Verification for a Point-Absorbing Wave Energy Converter with Linear Power Take-Off

Conference · Thu Sep 09 04:00:00 EDT 2021

OSTI ID:1837983

Katsidoniotaki, E.; Yu, Yi-Hsiang; Goteman, M.

In the preliminary design stage of a wave energy converter (WEC), fast and reliable simulation tools are required. High-fidelity numerical models are usually employed to study the wave-structure interaction, yet the computational cost is demanding. Instead, mid-fidelity models provide simulations in the order of real time. In this study, Uppsala University WEC operates in a relatively mild sea state and is modeled using WEC-Sim. The model is verified based on OpenFOAM simulations. To analyze the ability of mid-fidelity model to capture the WEC dynamics, the system is investigated separately in 1, 2 and 3 DoF. The contribution of viscous phenomena is examined. Moreover, linear and weakly non-linear solutions provided by WEC-Sim are studied. The results obtained indicate that the viscous effects in heave and surge motion can be neglected but not for the pitch. The weakly non-linear WEC-Sim solution successfully agrees with the CFD, whereas the linear solution could drive to misleading results.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Water Power Technologies Office (EE-4W)
• DOE Contract Number: AC36-08GO28308
• OSTI ID: 1837983
• Report Number(s): NREL/CP-5700-81754; MainId:82527; UUID:34713591-0702-4fc9-b549-8f6da745f697; MainAdminID:63507
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

CFD
TIDAL AND WAVE POWER
WEC-Sim
hydrodynamic analysis
numerical simulations
offshore renewables
point-absorber verification
wave energy
wave-structure interaction