Abstract
This paper aims at developing a mooring methodology for floating point absorber arrays. To date, the literature gives no clear indications of the mooring influence on the potential energy conversion of a floating wave energy converter. Hence, this study targets to provide general insights into the dynamics of a floating wave energy converter under the influence of moorings. These are gained by conducting an experimental study on the motion response of a wave energy converter array in regular wave conditions using three different mooring systems: a taut line mooring, a vertical tension leg mooring, and a conventional slack catenary mooring. Results show that the potential energy conversion is strongly influenced by the choice of the mooring system and the incident wavelength. In intermediate wavelengths, a taut mooring system leads to a 8% increase in energy conversion potential. In contrast, the tension-leg moored array exceeds the potentially converted energy of the catenary moored array in wavelengths significantly longer than the wave energy converter’s length by over 80%. The results of this study provide an insight into the site-specific design of point absorber arrays and the best choice of the mooring system to increase the potential power output.