A numerical analysis of several wave energy converter arrays deployed in the Black Sea

Three wave energy converter arrays are analyzed to investigate the effects of the wave-body interactions on the energy generation within arrays. The arrays are analyzed by modeling four sea states observed at each of two locations in the Turkish coasts of the Black Sea. A potential flow based solver which was formerly developed for the analysis of the ship motions has been modified to analyze the interaction of multiple bodies in time domain. A high pressure hydraulic power take-off system is employed for converting the mechanical force and motion provided by the float of the wave energy converter. The results show that the energy generated by each wave energy converter in all arrays is less than that generated by a single isolated wave energy converter in both locations with all sea states. The amount of reduction in the energy generated diminishes with the sea states become more severe. While the amounts of energy generated by the wave energy converters in Array 1 and 2 are close to each other, the hydrodynamic interaction of multiple wave energy converters become more severe in Array 3 and the amount of the energy generated by each wave energy converter differ from one another significantly.