Wave energy converter design optimisation is key to be able to explore the design space at early development stages to avoid expensive design-build-test iterations later on. This can be done with the help of improved tools for early stage design and optimisation of Wave Energy Converters (WECs). However, such tools have not been validated given the fact that they are generally developed to optimise single device components that are difficult to test in isolation, and the required investment associated to building and testing the resulting optimal designs.
This project builds on an ongoing industry-funded research project with Oscilla Power Inc. (OPI) in which optimised WEC shapes for OPI’s device are being generated, which are planned to be tested at MARIN this summer. The aim of this project is to support the test campaign of the optimised shapes to (1) gain testing experience and an understanding for the real performance of the optimised designs, and (2) to employ the data to validate the optimisation algorithms. This will be enabled through a secondment with OPI during this testing campaign.
