Power Production of the Novel WLC Wave Energy Converter in Deep and Intermediate Water Depths

In the present paper contour plots of the power production of the Wave Energy Converter named as Water Level Carpet (WLC) are presented for deep and intermediate water depths. WLC consists of four rectangular shaped floating modules connected flexibly in two directions by connectors and by Power Take-Off (PTO) mechanisms with known damping characteristics. Initially, patents dealing with Wave Energy Converters and more specifically with oscillating bodies are presented. Afterwards, the estimation of the power production of the WLC is assessed through spectral analysis along with linear hydroelastic analysis in frequency domain. Shoaling phenomena are included in the spectral analysis. The hydroelastic analysis is performed in frequency domain with a radiation/diffraction 3D hydroelastic model considering both the effect of the flexibility of the WLC as well as the damping forces associated with the energy extraction by the PTO mechanism. The power production of WLC obtains large meaningful values for wave frequencies close to the resonance of the generalized degrees of freedom. The WLC introduced in the present paper can be considered as a promising WEC for further future development that can be used efficiently in both deep and intermediate water depths.