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A numerical and experimental study of wave energy converter number of bodies and degrees of freedom

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  • Beringer, Courtney
  • Bosma, Bret
  • Robertson, Bryson

Abstract

Wave energy converters (WECs) currently have a wide design space and vary in the number of hydrodynamically active bodies, degrees of freedom (DOF), operating principles, geometries, and controls. It is common to simplify these complexities by reducing the number of bodies and/or restricting motions to the dominant degree of freedom. A knowledge gap exists on the impacts of the number of bodies and motion degrees of freedom which are investigated by comparing experimental and numerical results from the open-source, Laboratory Upgrade Point Absorber (LUPA) WEC in regular and irregular waves. Novelly, the numerical WEC-Sim model is modified to better represent the physical experimental device by including associated friction and mooring forces. These case study results showed the one-body heave-only configuration captured more power over a larger frequency band than the two-body heave-only configuration. Additionally, increasing the DOF from two-body heave-only to six-DOF results in 40 % more normalized power capture below the resonant period and up to 94 % less power capture above the resonant period. While these results are based on a case-study WEC, they do provide new considerations for secondary submerged bodies, heave constraints, and the impacts of physical experimental losses in numerical models.

Suggested Citation

  • Beringer, Courtney & Bosma, Bret & Robertson, Bryson, 2026. "A numerical and experimental study of wave energy converter number of bodies and degrees of freedom," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 259(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:259:y:2026:i:c:s0960148125027533
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2025.125089
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