IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v324y2025ics0360544225016032.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A study on a novel multi-body floating-point absorber with a nonlinear power take-off system and its hydrodynamic performance

Author

Listed:
  • Ju, Kun
  • Xu, Sheng
  • Zhang, Huidong
  • Jin, Siya

Abstract

Wave energy is a renewable and clean energy source characterized by its high density, good continuity, and minimal seasonal variation. The multi-body floating point absorber (FPA), a crucial wave energy converter (WEC) for harnessing wave energy, has attracted increasing attention due to its simple structure, high energy conversion efficiency, and broad applicability. This paper proposes a novel multi-body FPA as the research object, which consists of a two-body FPA connected to four smaller floats via hinges, with power take-off (PTO) systems installed both on the two-body FPA and at the hinges. Three different multi-body FPA models are designed based on the varying shapes of the smaller floats. The hydrodynamic performance of these three models in regular waves is initially investigated using three-dimensional potential flow theory, and the optimal model is determined. Subsequently, a nonlinear PTO system is introduced on the two-body FPA of the optimal model (while the hinges retain a linear PTO system), and the focus is placed on analyzing the impact of the nonlinear PTO system on the hydrodynamic performance of the multi-body FPA, revealing that the capture width ratio of the nonlinear PTO system could be improved by up to 20 % compared to the linear PTO system. Finally, a parametric study of the optimal multi-body FPA model is conducted to determine its optimal dimensions. The ultimate capture width ratio of the multi-body FPA can reach 0.58.

Suggested Citation

  • Ju, Kun & Xu, Sheng & Zhang, Huidong & Jin, Siya, 2025. "A study on a novel multi-body floating-point absorber with a nonlinear power take-off system and its hydrodynamic performance," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:324:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225016032
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.135961
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544225016032
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2025.135961?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Li, Xiaofan & Chen, ChienAn & Li, Qiaofeng & Xu, Lin & Liang, Changwei & Ngo, Khai & Parker, Robert G. & Zuo, Lei, 2020. "A compact mechanical power take-off for wave energy converters: Design, analysis, and test verification," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
    2. Liang, Changwei & Zuo, Lei, 2017. "On the dynamics and design of a two-body wave energy converter," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 265-274.
    3. Chandrasekaran, Srinivasan & Sricharan, V.V.S., 2020. "Numerical analysis of a new multi-body floating wave energy converter with a linear power take-off system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 250-271.
    4. Al Shami, Elie & Wang, Xu & Zhang, Ran & Zuo, Lei, 2019. "A parameter study and optimization of two body wave energy converters," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 1-13.
    5. Weller, S.D. & Johanning, L. & Davies, P. & Banfield, S.J., 2015. "Synthetic mooring ropes for marine renewable energy applications," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 1268-1278.
    6. Stansby, P. & Carpintero Moreno, E. & Stallard, T. & Maggi, A., 2015. "Three-float broad-band resonant line absorber with surge for wave energy conversion," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 132-140.
    7. Sahu, Alok & Yadav, Neha & Sudhakar, K., 2016. "Floating photovoltaic power plant: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 815-824.
    8. Wei Jiang & Chenyu Liang & Tao Tao & Yi Yang & Shi Liu & Jiang Deng & Mingsheng Chen, 2024. "Fully Coupled Analysis of a 10 MW Floating Wind Turbine Integrated with Multiple Wave Energy Converters for Joint Wind and Wave Utilization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-31, October.
    9. Clément, Alain & McCullen, Pat & Falcão, António & Fiorentino, Antonio & Gardner, Fred & Hammarlund, Karin & Lemonis, George & Lewis, Tony & Nielsen, Kim & Petroncini, Simona & Pontes, M. -Teresa & Sc, 2002. "Wave energy in Europe: current status and perspectives," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 6(5), pages 405-431, October.
    10. Yi Yang & Chenyu Liang & Shi Liu & Jiale Jiang & Zheng Huang & Chonggan Liang & Wenjun Ou & Tao Tao & Mingsheng Chen, 2025. "Frequency and Time Domain Simulations of a 15 MW Floating Wind Turbine Integrating with Multiple Flap-Type WECs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-28, March.
    11. López, M. & Taveira-Pinto, F. & Rosa-Santos, P., 2017. "Influence of the power take-off characteristics on the performance of CECO wave energy converter," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 686-697.
    12. Zhang, Xiantao & Tian, XinLiang & Xiao, Longfei & Li, Xin & Lu, Wenyue, 2019. "Mechanism and sensitivity for broadband energy harvesting of an adaptive bistable point absorber wave energy converter," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    13. Xu, Sheng & Wang, Shan & Guedes Soares, C., 2019. "Review of mooring design for floating wave energy converters," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 595-621.
    14. Zhao, Huai & Zhang, Haicheng & Bi, Rengui & Xi, Ru & Xu, Daolin & Shi, Qijia & Wu, Bo, 2020. "Enhancing efficiency of a point absorber bistable wave energy converter under low wave excitations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    15. Rusu, Eugen & Onea, Florin, 2019. "An assessment of the wind and wave power potential in the island environment," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 830-846.
    16. Xu, Sheng & Wang, Shan & Guedes Soares, C., 2020. "Experimental investigation on hybrid mooring systems for wave energy converters," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 130-153.
    17. Silvia Bozzi & Adrià Moreno Miquel & Alessandro Antonini & Giuseppe Passoni & Renata Archetti, 2013. "Modeling of a Point Absorber for Energy Conversion in Italian Seas," Energies, MDPI, vol. 6(6), pages 1-19, June.
    18. Zhang, Haicheng & Xi, Ru & Xu, Daolin & Wang, Kai & Shi, Qijia & Zhao, Huai & Wu, Bo, 2019. "Efficiency enhancement of a point wave energy converter with a magnetic bistable mechanism," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 1152-1165.
    19. Medina-López, E. & Moñino, A. & Bergillos, R.J. & Clavero, M. & Ortega-Sánchez, M., 2019. "Oscillating water column performance under the influence of storm development," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 765-774.
    20. Gunn, Kester & Stock-Williams, Clym, 2012. "Quantifying the global wave power resource," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 296-304.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Li, Demin & Sharma, Sanjay & Borthwick, Alistair G.L. & Huang, Heao & Dong, Xiaochen & Li, Yanni & Shi, Hongda, 2023. "Experimental study of a floating two-body wave energy converter," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    2. Chen, Zihe & Zhang, Xiantao & Liu, Lei & Tian, Xinliang & Li, Xin, 2024. "Mechanical property identification and performance evaluation of a power take-off combined with a mechanical motion rectifier and a magnetic bistable device," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 353(PA).
    3. Sun, Pengyuan & Liu, Senming & He, Hongzhou & Zhao, Yingru & Zheng, Songgen & Chen, Hu & Yang, Shaohui, 2021. "Simulated and experimental investigation of a floating-array-buoys wave energy converter with single-point mooring," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 637-650.
    4. Li, Xiaofan & Liang, Changwei & Chen, Chien-An & Xiong, Qiuchi & Parker, Robert G. & Zuo, Lei, 2020. "Optimum power analysis of a self-reactive wave energy point absorber with mechanically-driven power take-offs," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    5. Guo, Bingyong & Ringwood, John V., 2021. "Geometric optimisation of wave energy conversion devices: A survey," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 297(C).
    6. Azam, Ali & Ahmed, Ammar & Yi, Minyi & Zhang, Zutao & Zhang, Zeqiang & Aslam, Touqeer & Mugheri, Shoukat Ali & Abdelrahman, Mansour & Ali, Asif & Qi, Lingfei, 2024. "Wave energy evolution: Knowledge structure, advancements, challenges and future opportunities," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    7. Rahimi, Amir & Rezaei, Saeed & Parvizian, Jamshid & Mansourzadeh, Shahriar & Lund, Jorrid & Hssini, Radhouane & Düster, Alexander, 2022. "Numerical and experimental study of the hydrodynamic coefficients and power absorption of a two-body point absorber wave energy converter," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 201(P1), pages 181-193.
    8. Qin, Jian & Zhang, Zhenquan & Huang, Shuting & Wang, Wei & Liu, Yanjun & Xue, Gang, 2024. "Energy capture performance enhancement of point absorber wave energy converter using magnetic tristable and quadstable mechanisms," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    9. Bao, Jian & Qu, Ming & Xu, Zhigang & Yu, Dingyong & Xu, Peng & Chen, Yuanjie, 2025. "Hydrodynamics performance and dynamic analyses of a low-frequency broadband heaving WEC-type breakwater with customized tri-stable restoring force: A 2D numerical study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 323(C).
    10. Bozzi, Silvia & Archetti, Renata & Passoni, Giuseppe, 2014. "Wave electricity production in Italian offshore: A preliminary investigation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 407-416.
    11. Portilla-Yandún, Jesús & Acero, Wilson Guachamín & Soria, Rafael & Bravo, Jorge & Alvarez, Ricardo & Paredes, Ruben & Arias, Mijail, 2025. "Spectral and Entropy-based Wave Energy resource assessment: A global view, and point analysis at the Galapagos Islands," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    12. Li, Demin & Dong, Xiaochen & Borthwick, Alistair G.L. & Sharma, Sanjay & Wang, Tianyuan & Huang, Heao & Shi, Hongda, 2024. "Two-buoy and single-buoy floating wave energy converters: A numerical comparison," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 296(C).
    13. Ma, Yong & Zhang, Aiming & Yang, Lele & Li, Hao & Zhai, Zhenfeng & Zhou, Heng, 2020. "Motion simulation and performance analysis of two-body floating point absorber wave energy converter," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 353-367.
    14. Al Shami, Elie & Wang, Zhun & Wang, Xu, 2021. "Non-linear dynamic simulations of two-body wave energy converters via identification of viscous drag coefficients of different shapes of the submerged body based on numerical wave tank CFD simulation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 983-997.
    15. Shadmani, Alireza & Nikoo, Mohammad Reza & Gandomi, Amir H. & Chen, Mingjie & Nazari, Rouzbeh, 2024. "Advancements in optimizing wave energy converter geometry utilizing metaheuristic algorithms," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    16. Clemente, D. & Rosa-Santos, P. & Taveira-Pinto, F., 2021. "On the potential synergies and applications of wave energy converters: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    17. Qi, Lingfei & Song, Juhuang & Wang, Yuan & Yi, Minyi & Zhang, Zutao & Yan, Jinyue, 2024. "Mechanical motion rectification-based electromagnetic vibration energy harvesting technology: A review," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 289(C).
    18. Chen, Shuo & Jiang, Boxi & Li, Xiaofan & Huang, Jianuo & Wu, Xian & Xiong, Qiuchi & Parker, Robert G. & Zuo, Lei, 2022. "Design, dynamic modeling and wave basin verification of a Hybrid Wave–Current Energy Converter," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 321(C).
    19. Elie Al Shami & Ran Zhang & Xu Wang, 2018. "Point Absorber Wave Energy Harvesters: A Review of Recent Developments," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-36, December.
    20. Tay, Zhi Yung, 2022. "Energy generation enhancement of arrays of point absorber wave energy converters via Moonpool's resonance effect," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 830-848.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:324:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225016032. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.