A two-way coupling CFD method to simulate the dynamics of a wave energy converter

The aim of this work is to present a numerical approach to solve accurately the coupled dynamic interaction between a floating body and the incoming wave. This floating body is a Wave Energy Converter (WEC) based on the use of gyroscope in order to extract energy from the slope of the sea waves. The hydrodynamic model is based on a Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) approach suited to simulate incompressible viscous flows around an arbitrary moving and morphing body. The mechanical model of the energy converter is given by the conservation laws of the flywheel angular momentum equipped with a control algorithm designed for the power optimization. The interaction of the hull of the energy converter with an incoming wave is computed by switching on the effect of the gyroscope and the mooring and both of them.