Numerical models for the motion and forces of point-absorbing wave energy converters in extreme waves

Reliable simulation tools are necessary to study the performance and survivability of wave energy devices, since experiments are both expensive and difficult to implement. In particular, survivability in nonlinear, high waves is one of the largest challenges for wave energy, and since the wave loads and dynamics are largely model dependent, each device must be studied separately with validated tools. In this paper, two numerical methods based on fully nonlinear computational fluid dynamics (CFD) are presented and compared with a simpler linear method. All three methods are compared and validated against experimental data for a point-absorbing wave energy converter in nonlinear, high waves. The wave energy converter consists of a floating buoy attached to a linear generator situated on the seabed. The line forces and motion of the buoy are studied, and computational cost and accuracy are compared and discussed. Whereas the simpler linear method is very fast, its accuracy is not sufficient in high and extreme waves, where instead the computationally costly CFD methods are required. The OpenFOAM model showed the highest accuracy, but also a higher computational cost than the ANSYS Fluent model.