Numerical Simulation and Optimization of a Wave Energy Converter for the Izu Islands Sea in Japan Available to Purchase

The purpose of this study is the numerical simulation and control optimization of a wave energy converter to estimate the power at a test site in the Izu Islands. In Japan, ocean energy is once again being seriously considered; however, since there are many inherent problems due to severe conditions such as the strong swells and large waves, estimations are important when designing such devices. The numerical simulation method in this study combines the wave interaction analysis software WAMIT and an in-house time-domain simulation code using the Newmark-β method, and introduces approximate complex-conjugate control into the code. The optimized parameters were assessed for a regular sine wave and an irregular wave with a typical wave spectrum. With the optimized parameters, average and maximum output power were estimated for the observed wave data at the test site. The results show a more than 100 kW average power output and a several times larger maximum power output.