Optimizing Performance and Reliability of the Hawaii Wave Surge Energy Converter through Fluid-Structure Interaction Analysis

In this work, we report our most current work on the Hawaii Wave Surge Energy Converter (HAWSEC), a Wave Energy Converter (WEC) that harvests nearshore ocean wave energy via surge-induced pitch motion of a surface-piercing flap structure. The research focuses on understanding the fluid-structure interaction (FSI) of the HAWSEC to optimize its performance and structural reliability. The study utilizes a numerical wave tank (NWT) with a strongly coupled Incompressible Computational Fluid Dynamics (ICFD) solver within LS-Dyna, allowing for accurate representation of the complete FSI. Experimental data that was collected at the O.H. Hinsdale Wave research laboratory at Oregon State University is used to validate the simulation, and critical structural parameters such as stress and strain are predicted. Overall, the ICFD solver in LS-DYNA proves to be a powerful tool for studying strongly coupled FSI problems in shallow water wave dynamics, contributing to advancements in marine renewable energy technologies and WEC optimization.

This research work is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's Water Power Technologies Office.