Comparison of Rigid and Modular Oscillating Wave Surge Converters

Climate change and the increasing demand for clean energy have led to a growing interest in marine renewable energy, particularly wave energy converters (WECs). This study compares two distinct geometrical designs of bottom-hinged, nearshore oscillating wave surge converters (OWSCs): Rigid and Modular. OWSCs are also known as Flap-type wave energy converters. An OWSC is usually installed perpendicular to the wavefront and converts the surge motion of the wave into rotational motion through a hinge and captures wave power. Simulations were carried out with the boundary element method using the three-dimensional radiation/diffraction theory, which is employed by the ANSYS-AQWA software. Regular Airy wave under different wave periods from 5 to 15 s and constant wave height (2 m) was considered as an environmental condition based on wave records of Chabahar port. At first, a validation procedure has been done. Then, the study determines the optimal damping coefficient for the power take-off (PTO) system in relation to the average absorbed power. Based on the results, at optimum condition, the Modular OWSC is 260 percent better than the Rigid type.