Abstract
Marina-installed wave energy converters (WECs) operate under confined hydrodynamic conditions dominated by wave reflection, flow separation, and wall-induced vorticity, which are not adequately captured by traditional low-fidelity approaches such as linear potential flow theory (LPFT). Although computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been widely applied to offshore WECs, convergence assessment in near-wall marina environments has largely relied on device motions or integral response quantities, with limited attention to turbulence-field accuracy. This study develops a mesh-converged three-dimensional CFD model for wave-structure interaction around a cylindrical WEC positioned near a vertical wall and introduces a novel turbulence-based convergence assessment as a key criterion for resolving wall-induced hydrodynamics. The results demonstrate that near-wall flow structures generate strong velocity gradients and enhanced vorticity, highlighting the importance of including viscous flow dynamics in the modelling framework. The model was applied to over 25 cases to analyse the influence of wall proximity on the hydrodynamic response of a cylindrical WEC. Depending on wall proximity, the kinetic energy of the device can increase by up to a factor of 9.5, demonstrating the critical influence of deployment location on device performance.