CFD and experimental study of a model-scale two-body hinged raft wave energy converter
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The two-body hinged raft wave energy converters (WECs) have a significant potential to harvest ocean wave energy for electricity generation. Optimization of these devices is crucial for efficient energy conversion, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation can serve as a pivotal tool to achieve this goal. CFD is capable of unveiling the underlying physics since it can simulate nonlinear waves and nonlinear wave-structure interaction. A validation of a CFD model for a 1:20 model-scale WEC from Crestwing will be shown in case of moderately non-linear and nonlinear waves. Furthermore, a sensitivity study will be presented with variation of mass, position of the center of mass and the geometry of the device. This is the first step to explore the potential for optimizing the wave energy converter towards higher capture width ratio (CWR) and lower levelized cost of energy (LCOE).