The effect of heaving motion of multiple wave energy converters installed on a floating platform on global performance

Abstract

Targeting a floating wave and offshore wind hybrid power generation system (FWWHybrid) designed in the Republic of Korea, this study examines the impact of the interaction, with multiple wave energy converters (WECs) placed on the platform, on platform motion. To investigate how the motion of WECs affects the behavior of the FWWHybrid platform, it was numerically compared with a scenario involving a 'single-body' system, where multiple WECs are constrained to the platform. In the case of FWWHybrid, because the platform and multiple WECs move in response to waves simultaneously as a 'multi -body' system, hydrodynamic interactions between these entities come into play. Additionally, the power take-off (PTO) mechanism between the platform and individual WECs is introduced for power production. First, the hydrostatic/dynamic coefficients required for numerical analysis were calculated in the frequency domain and then used in the time domain analysis. These simulations are performed using the extended HARP/CHARM3D code developed from previous studies. By conducting regular wave simulations, the response amplitude operator (RAO) for the platform of both single-body and multi-body scenarios was derived and subsequently compared. Next, to ascertain the difference in response in the real sea environment, this study also includes an analysis of irregular waves. As the floating body maintains its position through connection to a catenary mooring line, the impact of the slowly varying wave drift load cannot be disregarded. To assess the influence of the 2nd-order wave exciting load, irregular wave simulations were conducted, dividing them into cases where it was not considered and cases where it was included. The analysis of multi -degree-of-freedom behavior confirmed that the action of multiple WECs had a substantial impact on the platform's response.