Investigation of the dynamics of a multibody wave energy converter excited by regular and irregular waves

The dynamics and the performance of a novel multibody wave energy converter is investigated, which is based on inclined single modules connected to a frame. The frame floats on the sea surface and the modules each move translationally along inclined guidance rods. Direct-drive linear generators or rotation based generators convert the relative translational motion between the frame and the modules into electrical power. This paper studies the conditions which influence the performance of the converters in regular and irregular waves. Different design layouts are investigated numerically, whereby the wave excitation is modeled by a random non-white Gaussian stochastic process.

Automated summary

This paper investigates the dynamics and performance of a novel multibody wave energy converter, which utilizes inclined single modules connected to a frame. The converters utilize translation motion between the frame and modules to generate electrical power using direct-drive linear generators or rotation based generators. The study analyzes the conditions that affect the converter's performance in regular and irregular waves, and numerically investigates different design layouts using a random non-white Gaussian stochastic process to model wave excitation.