A study on a novel multi-body floating-point absorber with a nonlinear power take-off system and its hydrodynamic performance

Kun Ju, Sheng Xu, Huidong Zhang and Siya Jin

Energy, 2025, vol. 324, issue C

Abstract: Wave energy is a renewable and clean energy source characterized by its high density, good continuity, and minimal seasonal variation. The multi-body floating point absorber (FPA), a crucial wave energy converter (WEC) for harnessing wave energy, has attracted increasing attention due to its simple structure, high energy conversion efficiency, and broad applicability. This paper proposes a novel multi-body FPA as the research object, which consists of a two-body FPA connected to four smaller floats via hinges, with power take-off (PTO) systems installed both on the two-body FPA and at the hinges. Three different multi-body FPA models are designed based on the varying shapes of the smaller floats. The hydrodynamic performance of these three models in regular waves is initially investigated using three-dimensional potential flow theory, and the optimal model is determined. Subsequently, a nonlinear PTO system is introduced on the two-body FPA of the optimal model (while the hinges retain a linear PTO system), and the focus is placed on analyzing the impact of the nonlinear PTO system on the hydrodynamic performance of the multi-body FPA, revealing that the capture width ratio of the nonlinear PTO system could be improved by up to 20 % compared to the linear PTO system. Finally, a parametric study of the optimal multi-body FPA model is conducted to determine its optimal dimensions. The ultimate capture width ratio of the multi-body FPA can reach 0.58.

Keywords: WEC; Multi-body FPA; Nonlinear PTO system; Hydrodynamic performance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:324:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225016032

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.135961

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