title: On the concept of sloped motion for free-floating wave energy converters.
abstract: A free-floating wave energy converter (WEC) concept whose power take-off (PTO) system reacts against water inertia is investigated herein. The main focus is the impact of inclining the PTO direction on the system performance. The study is based on a numerical model whose formulation is first derived in detail. Hydrodynamics coefficients are obtained using the linear boundary element method package WAMIT. Verification of the model is provided prior to its use for a PTO parametric study and a multi-objective optimization based on a multi-linear regression method. It is found that inclining the direction of the PTO at around 50° to the vertical is highly beneficial for the WEC performance in that it provides a high capture width ratio over a broad region of the wave period range.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Energy Systems , University of Edinburgh , Edinburgh EH9 3FB, UK.
authors.forename: Grégory S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Payne
authors.affiliation: Abengoa Seapower , ETTC, Alrick Building, The King's Buildings , Edinburgh EH9 3JL, UK.
authors.forename: Rémy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pascal
authors.affiliation: Institut Jean Le Rond d'Alembert , Université Pierre et Marie Curie , Place Jussieu, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vaillant
keywords: WAMIT; boundary element method; optimization; wave energy