Experimental Research on the Hydrodynamic Performance of Wave Energy Converter Combined with Floating Breakwater

The cost and safety issues of the wave energy converter (WEC) are bottlenecks which restricts widely application of the wave energy. The combination of WEC and breakwater is one of the most effective ways to solve these problems. In this paper, an asymmetric oscillating float　WEC combined with a floating breakwater was proposed. Three different kinds of models, the independent WEC model, the combined model of WEC and fixed shelter and the combined model of WEC and floating breakwater, were tested in a towing tank and ultra-deep tank, respectively. The effect of the shelter and floating breakwater on response amplitude operator and capture width ratio of the WEC are studied. Experimental results show that the WEC integrated with floating breakwater shows the best hydrodynamic performance. The maximum energy conversion efficiency of the WEC with floating breakwater is 44.6%, and the average energy conversion efficiency of it is 22.7%, which is about three times of that of the independent WEC. The experimental result is important for the design of the prototype of the WEC, which has been operated in the sea area of China, and it is also significant for the development and application of the WEC combined with floating breakwater.