Ocean Wave Energy Converters Optimization: A Comprehensive Review on Research Directions

Abstract

Ocean wave energy is one of the latest renewable energy resources, projected to be commercialized and competitive with other energy technologies in the near future. However, wave energy technologies are not fully developed, so various criteria must be optimized to enter the energy market. To optimize the performance of wave energy converters (WECs) components, three challenges are mostly considered: i)Power take-off systems settings (PTO), ii)Geometry parameters of WECs, iii)WECs' layout. As each of them plays a significant role in harnessing the maximum power output, this paper reviews applied optimization techniques in WECs. Furthermore, due to the importance of fidelity and computational cost in numerical methods, we discuss methods to analyze a WEC together with the basics and developments of WECs interactions. Moreover, the most popular optimization methods applied to optimize WEC parameters are categorized, and their key characteristics are briefly discussed. As a result, in terms of convergence rate, a combination of bio-inspired algorithms and local search can outperform the competition in layout optimization. A review of PTO coefficients and the geometry of WECs have emphasized the indispensability of optimizing PTO coefficients and

Modelling and Optimisation of Wave Energy Converters

“…The array had a total installed capacity of 2.25 MW (see Figure 1.31). The Swedish wave energy company, CorPower Ocean, has secured a 10 year marine licence to install and begin testing an array of four full-scale C4 WEC devices at the Aguçadoura site [293]. The project, HiWave-5, aims to demonstrate that the technology has reached TRL 8.…”

“…This section has documented a case study on a wave farm optimisation based on [280], and compared it with similar studies to analyse the results and draw general conclusions. A number of authors have carried out attempts to draw general conclusions from the many optimisation studies of wave farms [41,303,293]. The WEC designs, wave climates, objective functions, and optimisation methods differ, but some general trends can be observed.…”

“…This chapter aims to review these works and identify some directions for future research. The interested reader is directed to other review papers on modelling and optimisation of wave farms, including [249,126,303,293].…”

Comparative Study of Oscillating Surge Wave Energy Converter Performance: A Case Study for Southern Coasts of the Caspian Sea

“…The limited supply of fossil fuels, the detrimental effect of such resources on the environment, and the growing demand for energy have led to a significant breakthrough in the searching process for other clean and renewable energy resources such as ocean energy [1]. The share of these resources has increased in recent decades, which indicates the gradual and growing acceptance of these energy sources from the industry [2].…”