Oscillating Surge Wave Energy Converter Geometry Analysis For Direct Seawater Desalination

In this paper, we present an analysis of scaled down flap-type oscillating surge wave energy converter (OSWEC) geometries and their effects on the desalination performance. The primary variable for gauging desalination performance is the maximum power output of the wave energy converter (WEC) over constant wave conditions and optimized power take-off (PTO) damping and stiffness. The proposed geometries include a standard rectangular flap, an elliptical flap, a flap with variable thickness, a flap made up of multiple cylinders, and a flap made up of cylinders of variable diameter. The geometries were run through a boundary element method analysis software to determine the hydrodynamic response of each shape over a range of variable values specific to each shape. This software was paired with WEC-Sim, an open-source simulation tool, to simulate the WEC and calculate the power outputs of each flap variation over different PTO conditions. The wave conditions for this study are based on scaled down wave conditions at Jennette’s Pier in Nag’s Head, North Carolina. Experimental results show the shape and variable configuration of the flap geometry which produces the highest power output.