Simulation-Based Study of Point Absorber Wave Energy Converters and Energy Extraction

Wave energy converters (WECs) are an emerging renewable energy technology, but there is no convergent design yet for how best to harness the energy of ocean waves. This study performs direct numerical simulations of wave-WEC interactions to predict the energy output of a point absorber WEC in response to incoming waves. The air-water interface is modeled by a coupled level-set-and-volume-of-fluid method, while the fluid-structure interaction uses the discrete immersed boundary method. Complex conjugate control is shown to be an effective method of optimizing the energy extraction. Lastly, depth of the WEC buoy is analyzed, with near-surface and surface positionings both showing pros and cons.