Performance increase of wave energy harvesting of a guided point absorber

Abstract

The dynamics of a novel wave energy converter based on a guided inclined point absorber are investigated. Thereby, it is studied through simulations and experiments whether different inclination angles of the guided point absorber lead to larger motion amplitudes and velocities in regular and irregular waves, from which energy can be harvested. For that, different simulations and experimental setups are analyzed in the presence of wave forcing. In the case of irregular waves a random non-white Gaussian stochastic process based on a sea spectrum is used. It is shown that the inclination angle has a significant influence on the energy harvesting output. Based on this insight, a simple control strategy is introduced in order to further increase the energy harvesting output.