Energy from Sea Waves: System Optimization by Diffraction Theory

The paper deals with a computerized method for the determination of the optimal conditions for an efficient extraction of energy from sea waves. The analyzed system is a floating cylinder connected to an energy extracting device. The system has been studied parametrically, by calculating its maximum efficiency in function of the geometric dimensions and layout configuration. The diffraction theory has been used in order to calculate the hydrodynamic terms (forces, added masses, damping coefficients) taking into account the real interaction between the body and the sea. Moreover a true statistic of waves is used in order to compare the efficiency of various systems in real sea conditions. The results obtained have confirmed the possibility of optimizing the system efficiency with respect to the parameters examined.