Hydrodynamic Analysis of Point Absorber Wave Energy Converters Using ANSYS Aqwa

Abstract This study presents an analysis of a point absorber wave energy converter (WEC) system, employing advanced numerical modeling and time-domain simulations to evaluate and optimize the device’s performance. The wave energy converter consists of a single floating body coupled with a spring-mass damper system. Buoys with different drafts are analyzed to maximize the energy absorption of the wave energy converter. The numerical examples in this work were implemented using the boundary element method via the ANSYS Aqwa software. The hydrodynamic parameters analyzed in the paper include excitation force, added mass, radiation damping coefficient, response amplitude operator (RAO), and the wave energy absorption power of the buoy. From the obtained results, the hydrodynamic behavior characteristics, overall cost optimization, and power absorption of buoys with different drafts can be evaluated to ensure their energy absorption.