A review of hydrodynamic investigations into arrays of ocean wave energy converters

TL;DR

This review synthesizes theoretical, numerical, and experimental research on ocean wave energy converter arrays, highlighting their hydrodynamic modeling, experimental validation, and identifying key knowledge gaps for future development.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of the hydrodynamic modeling of wave energy arrays and compares modeling with scaled experiments, addressing gaps in current understanding.

Findings

Hydrodynamic models are crucial for array design.

Scaled experiments complement numerical modeling.

Knowledge gaps identified for future research.

Abstract

Theoretical, numerical and experimental studies on arrays of ocean wave energy converter are reviewed. The importance of extracting wave power via an array as opposed to individual wave-power machines has long been established. There is ongoing interest in implementing key technologies at commercial scale owing to the recent acceleration in demand for renewable energy. To date, several reviews have been published on the science and technology of harnessing ocean-wave power. However, there have been few reviews of the extensive literature on ocean wave-power arrays. Research into the hydrodynamic modelling of ocean wave-power arrays is analysed. Where ever possible, comparisons are drawn with physical scaled experiments. Some critical knowledge gaps have been found. Specific emphasis has been paid on understanding how the modelling and scaled experiments are likely to be complementary to each other.