A synthesis of numerical methods for modeling wave energy converter-point absorbers

During the past few decades, wave energy has received significant attention for harnessing ocean energy. Industry has proposed many technologies and, based on their working principle, these technologies generally can be categorized into oscillating water columns, point absorbers, overtopping systems, and bottom-hinged systems. In particular, many researchers have focused on modeling the point absorber, which is thought to be the most cost-efficient technology to extract wave energy. To model such devices, several modeling methods have been used such as analytical methods, boundary integral equation methods and Navier-Stokes equation methods. The first two are generally combined with the use of empirical solution to represent the viscous damping effect, while the last one is directly included in the solution. To assist the development of wave energy conversion (WEC) technologies, this paper extensively reviews the methods for modeling point absorbers.