Fluid-structure interaction simulation of a floating wave energy convertor with water-turbine driven power generation

The Floating Wave Energy Convertor (FWEC) mooring design has an important requirement associated with the fact that, for a wave energy converter, the mooring connections may interact with their oscillations, possibly modifying its energy absorption significantly. It is therefore important to investigate what might be the most suitable mooring design according to the converter specifications and take into account the demands placed on the moorings in order to assure their survivability. The objective of this study is to identify a computational fluid dynamics method for investigating the effects of coupling a wave energy device with a mooring system. Using the commercial software ANSYS AQWA and ANSYS FLUENT, a configuration was studied for different displacements from the equilibrium position, load demands on the moorings, and internal fluid motion. These results and findings form a basis for future efforts in computational model development, design refinement, and investigation of station keeping for FWEC units.