Hydrodynamic Simulation of Wave Energy Converter Using Particle-Based Computational Fluid Dynamics

Abstract

Wave energy from the ocean is currently a very popular renewable energy, and its development has primarily focused on the shape of the wave energy converter (WEC) used to efficiently convert wave energy into electrical energy. However, the free surface ocean wave problem is very complex and the parameters affecting WEC behavior are difficult to understand. In this paper, based on the Lattice-Boltzmann method, we present particle-based CFD simulation results for the pivoted-type WEC that exhibits both vertical and horizontal motions. In this method, the computation domain need not be a mesh and complex geometry is not a limiting factor. Using a free-surface turbulence model, we simulated the fluid–structure interaction. We detail our simulation results, which show good agreement with those in the literature.

Keywords

Wave energy converter / Pivoted buoy / Lattice–Boltzmann / Particle-based / CFD

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