Abstract
The present paper aims at investigating the efficiency properties of a cylindrical WEC placed in front of a vertical, surface piercing, breakwater of infinite length. A theoretical model is presented based on the linearized velocity potential, the image theory and the matched axisymmetric eigenfunction expansion formulations. The WECs under examination are the heaving absorber and the oscillating water column device. From the present analysis it is demonstrated that the absorbed wave power by the examined WECs in front of a vertical wall is strongly affected by the geometrical parameters of the converters and their mechanical components, and these should be considered when designing the WEC-breakwater system so as to increase its wave power efficiency.