Abstract
Designing wave energy converters (WECs) requires thorough knowledge of WEC operation to improve efficiency and survivability in a diverse range of wave conditions. Due to the expense of physical testing and prototyping concepts, numerical simulations are used extensively to assess performance and aid developers and researchers to make informed design decisions. To decrease the overall computational expense of numerical simulations, assumptions and simplifications are often made. Reducing the numerical complexity can compromise the accuracy of the simulation, increasing the overall uncertainty of WEC performance. As wave energy technology advances, realistic representation of the resource and WEC performance will be crucial for at-sea testing and applications like incorporating technology into grid systems. Misrepresentation in the projected power variability could lead to damaging power fluctuations. The random-phase method, a conventional time series generation method used in WEC modeling, doesn't capture the true variability of real waves, and under-represents extreme waves. Performance outputs obtained from simulations featuring more realistic, statistically accurate wave scenarios will yield a more comprehensive analysis of WECs, enabling more informed design decisions for physical prototyping and testing. Prior work using the random-amplitude method has demonstrated improved representation of realistic waves and shown the impact this representation has on increasing the power variability of WECs. In our study, a statistical analysis will be conducted to determine the number of time series required to represent key wave height percentiles from artificial time series. Specifically, focusing on the larger wave percentiles to better understand WEC performance in extreme wave conditions is key to the survival and operation of WECs. Additionally, we will investigate whether the time series duration impacts the overall time required to represent desired wave percentiles most effectively. We aim to provide a more comprehensive analysis of WEC performance under diverse wave conditions by establishing simulation guidelines to capture under-represented waves.