Abstract
Integration of wave energy converters with coastal structures is a promising approach to boost economic power production. For the evaluation of the responses of wave energy devices to waves, it is important to measure their motion during wave tank tests. This paper investigates the dynamic response of floating-point absorber wave energy converter (WEC) devices that are integrated with a chambered breakwater. The main focus is to determine the heave motion of wave energy device models using a Qualisys motion capture system. The model considered for the study is a spherical buoy floating alone and also in a chambered breakwater system.
Experiments are carried out at the Ocean Engineering Laboratory of IIT Bombay and the heave motion of the model under different wave conditions are recorded using the Qualisys motion capture system. The Qualisys cameras track the movement of reflective markers installed on the model with high precision. The data captured by each marker are assembled to calculate the heave motion of the model using the postprocessing software, Qualisys Track Manager. The heave motion measurements of the stand-alone model and integrated with the chambered breakwater model in regular waves are compared to the published data as well as numerical simulation results. The motion of the buoys in irregular waves are then estimated to study the behavior of the WEC bodies and to provide experimental data for further research.