OpenWave · Validation and Optimization of an Open-Source Novel Nonlinear Froude-Krylov Model for Advanced Design of Wave Energy Converters

Validation and Optimization of an Open-Source Novel Nonlinear Froude-Krylov Model for Advanced Design of Wave Energy Converters

The European Commission sets ambitious goals towards the build-up of a sustainable and resilient society, ensuring that human activities and search for prosperity are compatible with our natural environment and ecosystem, now and, more importantly, in the future. A key role is played by renewable energy technologies, essential to meet carbon neutrality targets in the European agenda. Ocean energy is recognized as one of the largest but still untapped potential, essential to contribute and diversify the future energy system. Among offshore renewable energy sources, wave energy is in rapid development, with a common effort to accelerate the development to increase performance and reduce costs, in the pathway towards economic viability. A major tool in such a continuous refinement process is numerical modelling, enabling engineers to evaluate, quantify, and predict. Moreover, the accuracy of such models is crucial for the effectiveness of the design and operation of wave energy converters. Due to the inherent highly nonlinear nature of wave-structure interactions, especially for wave energy converters deemed to experience large movements in order to increase power capture, traditional mathematical models are often inapt to fulfil expectations. Higher-fidelity models, on the other hand, have often too high demands for computational time, becoming inapplicable for certain studies. This project aimed at bridging the gap between mathematical model fidelity and computational burden, developing a modelling approach with a better compromise between accuracy and computational time. The model was developed for a range of popular wave energy device concepts, namely axisymmetric and prismatic floaters. The objectives of the project, all successfully achieved, encompassed the experimental validation of the modelling approach with wave tank testing, the expansion of the pre-existing methodology to a wider class of devices, the further computational time requirement reduction, and the publication of an open-source tool for implementing the proposed model. The conclusions of the project were aligned with its objectives, demonstrating a better fidelity and computational performance with respect to other similar models, showing the ability to appreciate and replicate highly-nonlinear phenomena founded in experimental and offshore installation.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз