Research on Size Optimization of Wave Energy Converters Based on a Floating Wind-Wave Combined Power Generation Platform

Abstract

Wind energy and wave energy often co-exist in offshore waters, which have the potential and development advantages of combined utilization. Therefore, the combined utilization of wind and waves has become a research hotspot in the field of marine renewable energy. Against this background, this study analyses a novel integrated wind-wave power generation platform combining a semi-submersible floating wind turbine foundation and a point absorber wave energy converter (WEC), with emphasis on the size optimization of the WEC. Based on the engineering toolset software ANSYS-AQWA, numerical simulation is carried out to study the influence of different point absorber sizes on the hydrodynamic characteristics and wave energy conversion efficiency of the integrated power generation platform. The well-proven CFD software STAR CCM+ is used to modify the heaving viscosity damping of the point absorber to study the influence of fluid viscosity on the response of the point absorber. Based on this, the multi-body coupled time-domain model of the integrated power generation platform is established, and the performance of the integrated power generation platform is evaluated from two aspects, including the motion characteristics and wave energy conversion efficiency, which provides an important reference for the design and optimization of the floating wind-wave power generation platform.