Hydrodynamic Responses of Heaving Motion on One Body and Two Body Point Absorber Devices with Different Wave Condition in Malaysia

Abstract

Wave energy harvesters are still not as mature as other types of renewable energy harvesting devices, particularly when it comes to commercialization, mass production, and grid integration, even though ocean waves around the world are known to contain high and dense quantities of energy. However, recent studies and optimizations suggested that the point absorber wave energy harvester may be a viable option. This paper provides a comprehensive comparison hydrodynamic damping analysis of the heaving motion on one body and two body point absorber wave energy harvesters by using Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) software. A simulation run was proposed for the analysis performance of damping of the point absorber devices to low wave height (0.7m-2.5m) and period (0.9s-2.2s). There are two types of point absorbers: one-body point absorber and two body point absorber. Both point absorber body are examined by simulation in terms of its heaving dynamic motion frequency in calm, medium and strong wave condition. This analysis highlights the extensive research being done to bring point absorbers closer to technical maturity, paving the way for commercialization and mass production for low wave characteristics. The results showed two body point absorber Response Amplitude Operator (RAO) is improved to absorbed low wave height compared to one body by RAO efficiency 17% and device efficiency 25%. The two-body point absorber performed better in all wave condition.