Wave energy extraction from rigid rectangular compound floating plates

Abstract

We present a theoretical model to analyse the hydrodynamics of wave energy converters (WECs) comprised of three-dimensional, rigid, floating, compound rectangular plates in the open sea. The hydrodynamic problem is solved by means of Green’s theorem and a free-surface Green’s function. Plate motion is predicted through decomposition into rigid natural modes. We first analyse the case of a single rectangular plate and validate our model against experimental results from physical model tests undertaken in the COAST laboratory at the University of Plymouth. Then we extend our theory to complex shapes and arrays of plates and examine how the geometry, incident wave direction and power take-off (PTO) coefficient affect the response of the platform and the consequent absorbed energy.