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A Synthesis of Numerical 

Methods for Modeling Wave 

Energy Converter-Point 

Absorbers 

Preprint

Ye Li and Yi-Hsiang Yu

To be published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

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NREL/JA-5000-52115

May 2012
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1 

A synthesis of numerical methods for modeling wave energy converterpoint absorbers

Ye Li1

National Wind Technology Center 

 and Yi-Hsiang Yu 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

Golden, CO, 80401, USA 

 

1

 Corresponding author :Tel:1-303-384-6988;Fax 1-303-384-6950 Email:ye.li@nrel.gov 
2 

Abstract: 

During the past few decades, wave energy has received significant attention for harnessing ocean 

energy. Industry has proposed many topologies such as an oscillating water column, a point 

absorber, an overtopping system, and a bottom-hinged system. In particular, many researchers 

have focused on modeling the floating-point absorber, which is thought to be the most costefficient technology to extract wave energy. To model such devices, several modeling methods 

have been used such as the analytical method, the boundary-integral equation method, the 

Navier-Stokes equations method, and the empirical method. To assist the development of wave 

energy conversion (WEC) technologies, this report extensively reviews the methods for 

modeling the floating-point absorber. 

Keywords: Wave Energy Converter; Wave Theory; Floating-Point Absorber; Numerical 

Modeling; Wave Body Interaction; Computational Fluid Dynamics 
3 

Table of Contents

A synthesis of numerical methods for modeling wave energy converter- point absorbers ............ 1

Abstract: .......................................................................................................................................... 2

1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 4

1.1 Device Design ................................................................................................................ 4

1.2 Objective of this paper ................................................................................................... 9

2 Fundamentals of floating-point absorbers .......................................................................... 10

2.1 Point Absorber Dynamics ............................................................................................ 10

2.2 Free surface wave theory ............................................................................................. 12

3 Modeling Methods .............................................................................................................. 15

3.1 Analytical Methods ...................................................................................................... 15

3.2 Empirical Prediction .................................................................................................... 16

3.3 Boundary Integral Equation Methods .......................................................................... 17

3.4 Navier-Stokes Equation Methods ................................................................................ 19

4 Discussion ........................................................................................................................... 21

Acknowledgement ........................................................................................................................ 24

References ..................................................................................................................................... 24
4 

1 Introduction

While development of modern wave energy converter dates back to 1799 [1], the technology did

not receive worldwide attention until the 1970’s when an oil crisis occurred and Stephen Salter 

published a notable paper about the technology in Nature in 1974 [2]. In the early 1980s, after a 

significant drop in oil prices, technical setbacks and a general lack of confidence, progress 

slowed in the development of wave energy devices as a commercial source of electrical power. 

In the late 1990s, awareness of the depletion of traditional energy resources and the 

environmental impacts of the large utilization of fossil fuels significantly increased, thereby 

facilitating the development of green energy resources. The development of the wave energy 

technology grew rapidly, particularly in oceanic countries such as Ireland, Denmark, Portugal, 

the United Kingdom, and the United States. Quite a few pre-commercial ocean devices were 

deployed. For example, a United States company, Ocean Power Technology, deployed one of 

their 150kW wave energy conversion (WEC) systems in Scotland in 2011 [3]. An Irish company, 

Wavebob, tested a one-quarter scale model in Galway Bay, Ireland, in 2006 [4]. In Denmark, the 

half scale 600kW Wave Star energy system was deployed at Hanstholm in 2009 [5], and a 

quarter and a half size model Wave Dragon was tested at Nissum Bredning in 2003 [6]. 

Furthermore, international organizations, such as the International Energy Agency and the 

International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), are heavily involved in the development of 

wave energy devices. In 2001, the International Energy Agency established an Ocean Energy 

System Implementation Agreement to facilitate the coordination of ocean energy studies 

between countries [7]. In 2007, the IEC established an Ocean Energy Technical Committee to 

develop ocean energy standards [8]. 

1.1 Device Design

To date, there are more than one hundred prototypes of various WEC systems [7]. They can be 

sorted into a few types. According to their energy conversion principles, WEC systems include 

oscillating water column, overtopping, pitching, membrane, and point absorber. Most of these 

can be both bottom-mounted and floating. One may note that the focus of this paper is on 

floating-point absorbers. 

The floating-pitching device, whether it is composed of a single body or a number of connecting 

bodies, has rotational freedom (Fig. 1). The device converts wave energy from its pitching 

motion. The principal axis for floating-pitching devices is either perpendicular (terminator) or 

parallel (attenuator) to the wave direction. Among various developments since the 1970s, Salter 

proposed one of the most significant inventions in 1974 [2], which became the well-known 

Salter’s Duck (also referred to as the Edinburgh Duck). The Salter’s Duck and PS Frog Mk 5 [9] 

are two examples of the terminator, and McCabe Wave Pump [10] and Pelamis [11] are

examples of the attenuator. A wave farm consisting of 750 kW Pelamis devices was tested in 

northern Portugal in 2008 and another farm was deployed in Orkney, Scotland, in 2010. 
5 

Figure 1. An illustration of the floating-pitching devices: (top) multiple degree of freedom and 

(bottom) single degree of freedom. Illustration by Al Hicks, NREL
6 

The bottom-hinged pitching system includes a paddle, or a flap, that is connected to a hinge 

deflector on the seabed; the top of the device is generally above the free surface (Fig. 2). It is 

sometimes called a wave surge converter, because it converts wave energy from its pitching 

motion. Unlike the floating-pitching device, one end of the bottom-hinged device is fixed. That 

is, it shares a similar working principle as the floating terminators, e.g., Salter’s duck in Fig.1b. 

Examples of the bottom-hinged pitching system include the swing mace, also proposed by Salter 

in the 1990s [12], and the Aquamarine Power Oyster [13], which was connected to the electrical 

grid and tested in Scotland in 2009 [14]. 

Figure 2. An illustration of the bottom-hinged system. Illustration by Al Hicks, NREL

The oscillating water column includes a special chamber with a bidirectional turbine inside (Fig. 

3). One end of the chamber has an inlet that allows the incident wave to enter and the other end 

contains the turbine. The device converts wave power by utilizing the wave elevation to 

compress or decompress the air in a chamber. The compressed air goes through a bi-directional 

turbine. The turbine is a Wells turbine conceived by Professor Alan Wells of Queen’s University, 

in Belfast, in late 1970. A wide variety of oscillating water column devices include the LIMPET 

(shoreline system) [15], Sakata (integrated into breakwater) [16], and the floating Ocean Energy 

buoy. 
7 

Figure 3. An illustration of the oscillating water column. Illustration by Al Hicks, NREL

The overtopping device includes a large structure that embraces the incident wave and an outlet 

with turbines inside the large structure (Fig. 4). The device converts wave power by utilizing the 

wave overtopping phenomenon to let the water fall through the outlet of the designed structure. 

When the water falls through the outlet, it passes one or more turbines similar to a traditional 

hydro dam; the potential energy is converted to electric power. The design involves both 

kinematic energy and potential energy in the conversion process. Examples include the Tapchan 

(shoreline system) [17], the Wave Dragon (offshore floating system) [18], and the Seawave SlotCone Generator (SSG), which was integrated into a breakwater [19]. 
8 

Figure 4. An illustration of the overtopping device. Illustration by Al Hicks, NREL

The membrane device includes a membrane structure and a power conversion system that can be 

a turbine, piezoelectric, or other system (Fig. 5). The device converts wave power by utilizing 

the dynamic pressure change during wave propagation (e.g., Lilypad [20]).

Figure 5. An illustration of the membrane device. Illustration by Al Hicks, NREL
9 

A point absorber converts the wave energy by utilizing the heave motion (Fig.6). Typically, it is

either a single-body that generates energy by reacting against a fixed seabed frame, or it is a 

multiple-body device that generates energy from the relative motion between the two bodies. 

There are many popular devices such as the OPT PowerBuoy [16], Wavebob [21], and Inter 

Project Service buoy [22,23,24]. In particular, two prototypes of the 40-kW OPT PowerBuoy 

were deployed, one in Santona, Spain, in 2008 and the other in Oahu, Hawaii, in 2009. Since the 

point absorber is the focus of the paper, its principles are described in greater detail in Section 2. 

Figure 6. An illustration of the point absorber. Illustration by Al Hicks, NREL

1.2 Objective of this paper

Several literature reviews of WEC devices have been published providing information about 

various aspects of the technology. For example, Evans reviewed the analytical derivation of the 

absorber’s motion [25]. Falcão provide a comprehensive overview of the history and status of the 

development of WEC systems [26]. Sarmento discussed the non-technical aspects of the 

technology during its commercialization path [27]. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) 

developed a database to document various technology characteristics [28]. Some concise reviews 
10 

reporting interim progress were written by Falnes, about theoretical limit calculation [29], and by 

Khan et al. [30], about interconnection issues. There also are introductory textbooks on this 

subject such as Wave Energy Conversion by Brooke [31], Ocean Wave Energy by Cruz [32], 

Ocean Wave Energy Conversion by McCormick [33], and Ocean Waves and Oscillating Systems

by Falnes [34]. 

However, to date, there has been no systematic review of modeling methods. The rapid 

development has not led the industry to a commercial stage yet. From a pre-commercial stage to 

a full-scale commercial stage, a good understanding of device performance and reliability is 

required. This requirement has not been met yet. In addition to these non-technology barriers, it 

is believed that a lack of understanding and quantification of the device behavior is one of the 

main reasons industry development has been delayed. 

During the development of wave energy technology, many methods for modeling WECs were 

developed during the technology's evolution. To understand point absorber behavior, precise 

modeling tools are needed to simulate the dynamics of the device, along with a well-defined 

combination of modeling methods. Technology developers, engineers, and researchers need a 

guideline of which methods to employ for a specific purpose. To facilitate the development of 

the technology and help to model the device behavior more cost-effectively, we conducted a 

systematic review of various methods for modeling WECs. The reviews are summarized in this 

paper. Since there are a great number of device types, we will focus on the floating-point 

absorber as an example. Additionally, we focus on the hydrodynamic modeling methods in this 

paper. Other modeling methods, such as electrical or control modeling, are not discussed, 

although they are important as well. 

Specifically, this paper summarizes the numerical methods used for simulating point absorbers. 

After presenting the geometry and working principles of the point absorber, the discussion 

details the existing modeling work that uses analytical approaches, empirical methods, and 

numerical methods. In addition to these hydrodynamic modeling efforts, we also discuss other 

wave energy related modeling work, such as power take off, resource assessment, and 

environmental impacts. At the end, we compared the advantages and disadvantages of different 

hydrodynamic modeling methods. 

2 Fundamentals of floating-point absorbers 

The simulation of floating-point absorbers is a wave-body interaction topic. It requires 

knowledge of body dynamics and wave theory. Before we review the modeling methods for 

floating-point absorbers, we review the fundamentals of body dynamics and wave theory. 

2.1 Point Absorber Dynamics 

The motion of a point absorber in six degrees of freedom is plotted in Fig. 7. The dynamics of 

the device can be expressed by the following equations, 

mbat = Fd + Fr +Fext,

IgaΩ +Ω × IgΩ = Md +Mr +Mext,

 (1) 
11 

where mb is the mass of the body, at is the acceleration vector for the translation, Ω and aΩ are 

the angular velocity and acceleration vectors, Ig is the moment of inertia tensor at the center of 

gravity, F and M are the resulting force and moment acting on the body. The subscripts 'd' and 'r' 

represent the hydrodynamic excitation component and the restoring component, respectively. 

The subscript 'ext' represents the external forcing terms induced by the mooring system and the 

Power Take Off (PTO) mechanism. Faltinsen [35] comprehensively reviewed the wave-induced 

motion and loads on offshore structures due to linear, nonlinear, and viscous effects.

Figure 7. The translation and rotation of the body (6 degrees of freedom)

To generate power, this type of WEC system generally uses a two-body heaving system, which 

converts energy from the relative motion between the two oscillating bodies, a float section, and 

a reaction section. The float is only allowed to move freely in one degree of freedom, with 

respect to the reaction section (generally in heave). When the PTO component was included, the 

additional PTO force FPTO was considered. A mass-spring-damper system can be used to 

represent the PTO mechanism, and PTO force becomes

, PTO PTO rel rel uCF −−= kz (2) 

Where zrel and urel are the relative motion and velocity of the two bodies, k is the spring stiffness, 

CPTO is the power absorption (damping) coefficient. The equations of motion for the float and 

reaction sections in their relative motion direction become

Float: ,

Reaction: .

F F F PTO

R R R PTO

m a Fz F

m a Fz F

= +

= − (3) 
12 

Where a is the acceleration in their relative motion direction, m is the mass of the body, FzF

and FzR are the forces on the floater and reaction plate. The generated power from PTO is 

defined as 

P , 2

PTO relPTO = uC (4) 

which is proportional to the square of the relative translational velocity of the two sections. To 

optimize the power generation, different control strategies can be applied to the system. An 

introduction to latching phase-control was given in [36], and a review on the implementation of a 

spring in phase control, which is called reactive phase-control, was described in [26]. 

2.2 Free surface wave theory 

The free surface waves are a representation of various forces, e.g., the wind or a ship, acting on 

and deforming the fluid surface against the action of gravity and surface tension. Naturally, 

waves occur in all sizes and forms. Depending on their magnitude, they act on the fluid along 

with other environmental conditions, such as bottom topography, temperature and fluid density. 

In general, waves can be described as linear or nonlinear, regular or irregular, unidirectional or 

omni-directional. The analytical solutions of free surface waves were derived based on the 

potential flow method, where the flow is assumed to be incompressible and irrotational. The 

velocity potential φ(X,t) therefore, is obtained by solving the Laplace equation 

∇2φ = 0, (5) 

where the boundary condition at the seabed is given as 

= .0

∂

∂

n

φ (6) 

By following [37,38], the kinematic free surface boundary condition (KFSBC) is 

Dη

Dt

= w at z =η, (7) 

where D/Dt=(∂/∂t)+∇φ ∇ is the material derivative, w is the vertical flow velocity, and η is the 

free surface elevation. The dynamic free surface boundary condition (DFSBC) assumes the 

pressure is continuous over the free surface. The DFSBC is then obtained by following the 

Bernoulli’s equation, 

,zat 0 2

1 2

ηφ η φ ==+∇+

∂

∂

g

t

 (8) 

where g is gravity. 

The exact solution of the above equation is very complex. We start the review at the linear wave 

theory, which is obtained using simplified assumptions. Linear wave theory, also referred to as 
13 

small amplitude wave theory and airy wave theory [39,40], is the simplest solution (first-order 

approximation) for the flow field. For progressive gravity waves of period T, amplitude H, and 

water depth d, linear wave theory assumes H is much smaller than d and wavelength λ, and the 

boundary conditions are linearized. The free surface boundary conditions are then reduced to 

KFSBC: ∂φ

∂z

− ∂η

∂t

= 0 at z = 0,

DFSBC: -∂φ

∂t

+ gη =C(t) at z = 0,

 (9) 

where both the linearized KFSBC and DFSBC are defined at the mean free surface. The flow 

properties of linear waves can be expressed as 

)],(cos[ 2

H :elevation Wave η = − ctxk (10) 

Velocity potential: φ = gH

2ω

cosh[k(z + d)]

cosh(kd) sin[k(x − ct)], (11) 

 :relation Dispersion ),tanh( 2

2

2 kd

k

g

k

c == ω (12) 

)],(cos[ )sinh(

)](cosh[ flow Horizontal : velocity ctxk

kd

dzk

T

H

u − + = π (13) 

)],(sin[ )sinh(

)](sinh[ flow Vertical : velocity ctxk

kd

dzk

T

H

w − + = π (14) 

where x and z are the horizontal and vertical positions, k (=2π/λ) is the wave number, c (=λ/T) is 

the wave speed, and ω is the wave frequency. Depending on the water depth, the waves can be 

categorized as shallow water waves when d/λ<1/20, as intermediate-depth waves when 

1/20<d/λ<1/2, and as deep water waves when d/λ>1/2. 

When the wave amplitude is not small, the waves become nonlinear. The linearized KFSBC and 

DFSBC are not satisfied, and the nonlinear KFSBC and DFSBC can be written as 

2 2

KFSBC: at z ( , ),

1 DFSBC: [( ) ( ) ] ( ) at z ( , ), 2

x t

t xx z

P gz C t x t xzt

η φ η φ η

φφφ η

ρ

∂ ∂∂ ∂

+ =− =

∂ ∂∂ ∂

∂∂∂

+ + − += =

∂∂∂

 (15) 

The nonlinear solution can only be obtained by solving Eqs. (5~8). The nonlinear higher-order 

solution is generally the superposition of additional components, which are at higher wave 

frequencies, on the fundamental linear wave-theory terms. There have been numerous nonlinear 
14 

higher-order wave theories developed since the 1800s. The Stokes theory [41,42] is the most 

well known and studied. An extension of the fifth-order Stokes waves was presented in [43], and 

it has been widely used in engineering applications. The wave profile and the velocity potential 

of the fifth-order Stokes waves are given as

5

1

Wave elevation: cos[ ( )], n

n

k A nk x ct η =

= ∑ − (16) 

5

1

Velocity potential: cosh[ ( )]sin[ ( )]. n

n

k C nk z d nk x ct

c

φ

=

= +− ∑ (17) 

More details and the coefficients An and Cn are described in [43]. The applicability of various 

wave theories was studied in [44,45], and the figure plotted by Le Méhauté is shown in Fig. 8. It 

illustrates the validity limitation of these approximation approaches for different wave 

conditions. A review of the introduction of wave theories and the applications to wave load 

prediction on offshore structures is provided in [46], and a more comprehensive review of the 

theories and the applications of linear and nonlinear waves is given in [47]. 

In the real world, waves are not monochromatic. There are a large variety of waves with different 

frequencies, phases, and amplitudes. For an adequate description of the free surface, a large 

number of waves must be superimposed together. Usually, we use spectra to describe them. 

Furthermore, the behavior of waves is rather random. In this situation, the waves are called 

irregular waves. The random wave field can be approximated by using an infinite sum of 

sinusoidal components propagating with various wavelengths. Pierson-Moskowitz spectrum [48] 

and Jonswap spectrum [49] are the two most widely used spectra profiles. Refer to textbooks 

such as [47] and [50] for wave theory and [35,46,51] for wave-body interactions. 

Figure 8. The applicability of various wave theories [44,46] 
15 

3 Modeling Methods

The main purpose of hydrodynamics modeling of floating-point absorbers is to understand the 

interaction between waves and floating bodies, as well as the dynamic response of the mooring 

system. The dynamics of the floating-point absorbers can be calculated by solving Eq. (1). 

Theoretically, the hydrodynamic forces that affect the absorber motion can be obtained 

analytically2

3.1 Analytical Methods 

, empirically or numerically, depending on the modeling purpose, the operational 

condition, and the detailed design. The boundary integral equation method (BIEM) and the 

Navier-Stokes equation method (NSEM) are the two numerical methods that are often used for 

numerical modeling. These modeling methods evolved for modeling offshore floating structures, 

such as offshore platforms and ships. Therefore, we apply the methods of offshore floating 

structures when we review modeling methods for floating-point absorbers. 

Analytical methods can be sorted, with or without detailed descriptions, by WEC systems. The 

first analytical study of a floating-point absorber’s power output focused on maximum 

efficiency, without the detailed description of the device, in 1975 [52,53]. The linearized 

equation of motion for the floating-point absorber device in heave is 

)( , r r PTO +=+++ FFSzzRzmm ext  (18) 

where m is the mass of the body, mr is the hydrodynamic coefficient of added mass, Rr is the 

radiation damping coefficient, S is stiffness of hydrostatic restoring force, FPTO is the vertical 

force due to power-take-off mechanism, and Fext is excitation force. The maximum energy 

absorption Pmax for different incident wave frequencies can be reached when the oscillating body 

system is at resonance. Based on the linear deep-water wave assumptions, the time averaged 

optimal power absorption at resonance is

. 8

1 2

max ext

r

F

R

P = (19) 

An absorption width Lmax is defined as

2 ,

max

max π

λ == J

P L (20) 

32 ,

22

π

ρg TH J = (21)

where J is the wave energy flux for linearized deep water waves. Note that Evans [54], Mei [55] 

and Newman [56] also independently derived the same result in Eq. (20) using similar 

approaches in 1976. 

 

2 The analytical method can be derived by an equivalent linearization of the empirical calculation. Therefore, the 

former can be viewed as a special case of the latter.
16 

The maximum power that can be absorbed from waves and the absorption width is derived based 

on linear wave theory and consideration of wave radiation. Budal and Falnes [57] proposed 

another upper limit (also referred to as Budal’s upper bound) for wave power that is absorbed by 

a given submerged body volume V 

, 4V T

Pu πρgH < (22) 

where the diffraction effect is neglected, and the size of the body is assumed to be small 

compared with the wave length. The two curves represent the theoretical prediction of the 

maximum wave energy that can be captured by a semi-submerged heaving body with optimum 

heaving amplitude. 

The power output for a practical device is below the two upper limits, and the maximum power 

that can be absorbed is about half of Pmax, when a phase control method is applied [29]. In 

reality, the wave condition is often beyond linear wave theory, and the viscous damping effect 

can be significant. More details on the prediction of maximum converted useful power, energy 

loss due to viscous damping, and PTO, as well as the optimal control of the WEC systems can be 

found in [34]. Moreover, some engineering constraints, such as mooring lines, are unavoidable. 

Evans [58] and Pizer [59] showed that additional constraints may further reduce the motion 

response of the device.

In addition to a single body, this method has been used to study arrays of WEC systems. For 

example, through the use of linear theory and multiple-scale approximation, Garnaud and Mei

[60] presented an analytical solution to the wave energy extraction using infinite strips of buoys 

and a circular array. The study showed that an array of heaving wave-absorbing buoys can have

a broader range of wave frequencies than a single large buoy, with good energy-absorbing 

efficiency. 

All of these studies either use existing calculations of the coefficients or assume that the optimal 

coefficients can be obtained. In the real world, the geometry is more complicated and the scale is 

different. The addition of the mass and damping coefficient should be re-evaluated. A method for 

calculating the added mass and damping coefficient for offshore engineering applications was 

proposed by Yeung [61]. The paper suggests a method to calculate the coefficient using the 

Eigen functions. The proposed method has been widely used in ocean engineering problems, 

especially for an array of cylinders [62] [63]. In the past decade, many researchers have used this 

method to calculate the power output of point absorbers [64] [65] [66]. 

In general, analytical methods are very efficient for providing a quick performance estimation of 

floating-point absorbers using simple geometry. If one needs to conduct a more detailed analysis, 

or to study devices with a more complicated geometry, analytical methods are not appropriate. 

3.2 Empirical Prediction

In addition to the methods presented above, for sinusoidal wave conditions, the empirical 

solution is an acceptable approach as well. The most popular empirical approach is Morison’s 

equation. The method was developed by four authors, J.R. Morison, M.P. O'Brien, J.W. Johnson 

and S.A. Schaaf, at the University of California, in 1950 [67]. The approach presumes that the 
17 

force exerted by unbroken waves on a cylinder is the sum of the drag and inertial force 

components. These loads are determined based on the flow velocity and acceleration, and 

Morison’s equation assumes that the flow acceleration is almost uniform at the location of the 

body. When D/λ>0.2, the inertia force is no longer in phase with the flow acceleration, the 

effects of wave radiation and diffraction should be taken into account. Therefore, the Morison’s 

equation is not applicable for larger bodies. The empirical force on the body, obtained from 

Morison’s equation, is calculated by using appropriate drag Cd and inertia Cm coefficients, where 

Cm=1+Ca, and Ca is the added-mass coefficient. The simplest form for the instantaneous in-line 

force on a vertical cylinder can be given as 

F = (1+Ca )ρ

πD2

4

u −Caρ

πD2

4

ub ds

L

 +

1

2

CdρD u − ub (u − ub )

L

 ds (23) 

in which ρ indicates the density of sea water, u is the flow velocity, L is the length of the 

cylinder, and ub is the velocity of the body. More details of the use of Morison’s equation on 

predicting the force on a fixed or an oscillating cylinder, as well as the appropriate values for the 

empirical hydrodynamic coefficients, can be found in [46,68]. 

Many modifications and applications of Morison’s equation have been proposed over the years. 

In particular, by introducing a buoyancy term and by changing the floating body volume with 

time, the Morison type approach has successfully predicted the wave load of a submerged 

horizontal cylinder [69]. Moreover, a hybrid model has been developed by Zhang et al. [70]; it 

combined the Morison’s equation with a second-order wave theory in which the effects of the 

interaction between the wave components of irregular waves were considered up to the secondorder. An application of this hybrid model, with six degrees of freedom, to a mini-tension leg 

platform was presented in [71]. 

For WEC system modeling, Brekken et al. [72] applied a Morison-type approach to calculate the 

excitation force on an oscillating body for optimal control analysis. Elwood et al. [73]. also used 

the dynamic response modeling of a Taut-moored dual-body WEC device (SeaBea I). They 

coupled the Morison type calculation, with a finite element method based commercial code 

OrcaFlex, and applied the method to analyze the dynamics of the mooring system. 

3.3 Boundary Integral Equation Methods 

BIEM is an advanced potential flow method that can be used for handling more complicated 

geometries. Given that the velocity potential of the boundary value problem is solved by 

discretizing along the boundary surfaces, BIEM reduces the dimension of the problem so that it 

can be solved numerically. The governing equation, Eq. (5), is formulated in a boundary integral 

equation form, which is derived by introducing a Green’s function G (p,q), where p and q

represent the field point and the source point, respectively. The boundary integral equation 

obtained through the use of Green’s third identity gives 

+ − = ,0),()(),()()()(  G n dsG

S

φφα n φ qppqpppp (24) 
18 

where S indicates the boundaries of the fluid domain, α(p) is the internal angle formed at the 

boundaries, Gn=∇G⋅nq and φn=∇φ⋅nq, with nq being the normal vector at q. By using Dirichletand Neumann-type boundary conditions, the potential flow field can be obtained by solving the 

resulting system of linear equations. 

After solving the potential flow field, the pressure on the body surface is evaluated using 

Bernoulli’s equation,

. 2

1 



 





p +∇⋅∇+−= gz t φφφρ (25) 

The forces F and moment M acting on the body are calculated by integrating the pressure on the 

immersed body surface SB, 

∫∫ = ×=

SB SB

 ; rnMnF dspdsp , (26) 

where n indicates the unit normal vector on the body surface, and r is the distance vector from 

the center of rotation.

Regarding simulation of the interaction between waves and floating bodies, two types of 

approaches have been used for modeling. One follows a weak nonlinear theory that uses a 

perturbation expansion for the solution and specifies the boundary conditions at the mean freesurface and body-surface through the use of Taylor series expansion. The other method uses a 

fully nonlinear time-domain approach. 

The weakly nonlinear approach has the advantage of having the same coefficient matrix for the 

system of equations solved at every time step. One can solve the problem in the time domain 

[74] or in the frequency domain, which is the method used in the panel code WAMIT [75]. In the 

frequency domain calculation, radiation, diffraction, and excitation forces are calculated through 

the use of the linear superposition principle, which is limited to weak nonlinear waves [76]. The 

complexity of the method increases significantly for higher order schemes. Studies, for example, 

that used this weak nonlinear approach for wave radiation and diffraction problems can be found 

in [71,77,78,79,80,81,82]. A discussion on the use of linear and second-order approaches for 

predicting the wave excitation of floating bodies was given in [83]. 

The weak nonlinear type approach has been widely used for modeling the dynamics of heaving 

or pitching WEC systems. For example, the BIEM-based code, WAMIT, was applied to obtain 

the frequency-dependent hydrodynamic coefficients in the study of the pitching plate [84] of the 

PS Frog Mk. 5 WEC device [9], and for heaving axisymmetric bodies in irregular waves [85]. It 

also was adopted by Cruz and Salte [86], to model a modified version of the Salter’s Duck, in 

which the numerical results were compared with those measured from experimental tests. 

Moreover, several researchers have used WAMIT in the study of control strategies for a heaving 

WEC device in irregular seas [87] and for the analysis of array systems for floating-point 

absorbers [88,89]. In these, the interaction effect was considered through the use of a multiplescattering method. A similar approach was adopted by Vicente et al. [90] to analyze the 
19 

dynamics of the array system of WEC buoys, with inter-body connections and bottom slackmooring lines. 

The fully nonlinear time domain approach for wave analysis was first proposed by LonguetHiggins and Cokelet, using a Mixed Eulerian-Lagrangian (MEL)-type method for modeling 

surface waves [38,91]. Fully nonlinear boundary conditions were applied on the instantaneous 

water free surface and body surface, and the free surface was computed using a tracking method. 

With BIEM, the computational domain is discretized along the domain boundaries, including the 

free surface and the body surface. Therefore, the coefficient matrix for the system of equations 

should be updated at every time step, and the method is only solved in the time domain. A high 

order Runge-Kutta scheme is often used to update the time varying free surface and body 

surface. The nonlinear time-domain approach is more accurate for modeling the highly nonlinear 

interaction between waves and floating bodies. Using this approach, researchers successfully 

predicted the nonlinear irregular wave radiation [92] and diffraction [93] of vertical cylinders, as 

well as the ventilating entry of surface-piercing hydrofoils [94]. 

Additionally, modeling a floating-point absorber in a numerical wave tank requires a boundary 

that generates waves and absorbs reflected waves at the same time, and a boundary that absorbs 

outgoing waves. Over the years, many efforts have been made to develop a numerical method to 

simulate these types of boundaries, without creating additional numerical disturbances. A review 

on unbounded domains, with various types of artificial boundary conditions and absorbing 

methods, was given in [95]. Most of the studies between the 1970s and the 1990s were based on 

potential flow theory. In particular, a sponge-layer method was proposed by Israeli and Orszag 

[96], in which an artificial damping layer (zone) was implemented to attenuate the outgoing 

wave before it reached the outer boundary. Similar approaches also were proposed in [97,98]. 

3.4 Navier-Stokes Equation Methods 

The viscous effects of boundary layer separation, turbulence, wave breaking, and overtopping 

are important to the prediction of hydrodynamic forces of the devices. The potential flow method 

cannot capture them. Therefore, modelers often turn to a fully viscous solution by implementing 

the Navier-Stoke Equation Methods (NSEM). The velocity vector U and pressure p of the 

incompressible flow field are obtained by solving the continuity equation and the momentum 

equations, which are given as 

∇⋅U = 0,

ρ(Ut + U⋅ ∇U) = −∇p + Fb +∇⋅T,

 (27) 

where Ut is the time derivative of U, Fb is the body force vector (such as gravity), and T

indicates the stress tensor. The computational domain can be discretized using a finite 

difference/volume/element method, and the resulting system of linear equations can be solved 

directly, or preferably, through iterations using an appropriate linear equation system solver. A 

well known Semi-Implicit Method for Pressure-Linked Equations (SIMPLE) algorithm [99] and 

its variants have been widely used for solving Navier-Stokes equations. More details on the 

numerical discretization methods, as well as the physical phenomena, are given in [100,101]. 

The force and moment calculation is similar to that applied in the potential flow theory, except 

that the frictional force also is included in the calculation. 
20 

Basically, using the Navier-Stokes equation-based method for modeling the hydrodynamics of 

floating bodies in waves involves the calculation of the free surface in a numerical wave tank and 

the simulation of the turbulent flow. In general, two types of approaches have been applied for 

predicting the free surface. One is the surface tracking method, which treats the free surface as a 

sharp boundary and updates it with time [102]. However, the method does not have the ability to 

model wave breaking and overtopping. The other is the interface-capturing method, where the 

simulation is performed on a grid that includes both air and water phases. Marker-and-Cell 

(MAC) method [103], Volume Of Fluid (VOF) method [104], and the level set approach 

[105,106] are the most often used interface-capturing methods. In particular, the VOF method is 

the most widely used for commercial and open source Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) 

codes. Review of these methods and their application to wave hydrodynamics can be found in

[101,107]. The artificial damping layer method also is widely used in the Navier-Stokes 

equation-based approaches for absorbing the outgoing and reflecting waves in the wave-body 

interaction simulation. For example, Lara et al. [108] combined the sponge-layer method, with 

an internal-wave maker method [109], to model the wave generating-absorbing boundary and 

simulated the interaction between waves and permeable structures.

In general, four types of numerical methods are applied for turbulent flow modeling, including 

direct numerical simulations (DNS), large eddy simulations (LES), Reynolds-averaged NavierStokes (RANS) methods, and detached eddy simulations (DES). DNS gives a complete 

description of turbulent flow by directly solving the Navier-Stokes equations. However, the mesh 

resolution requirement, and the corresponding computational cost for DNS, is very high. 

Therefore, DNS is often viewed as a research tool in the study of turbulence [110]. LES, on the 

other hand, is a turbulent model that directly solves those time-dependent flow equations for 

mean flow and large scales of turbulence, and models the effect of the small scales of turbulence. 

LES is less computationally costly when compared to DNS. A review of LES was given in [111]. 

An example of applying LES to a vortex-induced vibration simulation for a truss spar geometry 

can be found in [112]. The computation of LES remains too costly to merit consideration for 

most floating body dynamics problems. Therefore, the RANS method is the most widely used 

scheme for modeling turbulent flow. The unsteadiness of the turbulence is time averaged and the 

computation of turbulent flow relies on simplified engineering approximations. DES is a hybrid 

method that combines the RANS and LES methods. It handles the near wall region, with a 

RANS-type model, and treats the rest of the flow field using a LES-type method. Different types 

of RANS models are designed for different turbulent flows, and the physical phenomena and the 

basic assumptions for each turbulence model were comprehensively reviewed in [113]. 

An example of applying a RANS model for analyzing the wave load of a jack-up platform under 

freak waves was presented by Moctar et al. [114], where the VOF method was adopted for the 

free-surface calculation and was coupled with a finite element model for the structure’s stress 

analysis. The study demonstrated the significance of using a Navier-Stokes type approach, where 

the effects of wave run-up on the platform leg and the impact-related wave loads on the hull 

were all considered. Their study also showed that the difference between the shear and 

overturning moment for the platform under freak waves calculated from the Morison’s approach, 

and those obtained from the RANS calculation, can increase up to 25%, especially for larger and 

breaking waves. 
21 

A few studies on the fluid-structure interaction of WEC systems were performed using the 

Navier-Stokes-type approaches. A RANS code (COMET) was applied by Agamloh et al. [115] 

to model the dynamics of a single buoy and a double buoy system in waves. The PTO 

mechanism was considered as the damping system based on the energy that was captured. 

Studies on the Wave-driven, Resonant, Arcuate-action, Surging Point-Absorber (WRASPA) 

were presented by Bhinder et al. [116,117]. To investigate the hydrodynamics of a floating-point 

absorber wave energy system in real seas, Yu and Li performed a series of studies using a RANS 

model. In particular, for operational wave conditions, a two-body, heave-only floating-point 

absorber system was modeled. The power take off was represented using a mass-spring-damper 

system, and the maximum power that this particular device generated, with a constant value 

spring-damper system, was examined [118]. 

Another method being considered for solving the Navier-Stokes equation is the Smooth Particle 

Hydrodynamics (SPH) [119]. SPH is a mesh free Lagrangian method developed during the past 

couple of decades [120]. It uses a smoothing kernel to approximate a delta function, with many 

sampling points in the fluid domain. 

4 Discussion 

In Section 3, we have summarized the existing numerical methods for simulating a floating-point 

absorber resulting in the review of existing analytical methods including, Morison Equation 

methods, boundary BIEM, and NSEM. Here, we provide further insights into these methods. 

In terms of cost-effectiveness, selecting a method for simulating floating-point absorber WEC 

devices involves determining the capability of the method to describe the physics of flow. Table 

1 illustrates the features of each hydrodynamic modeling method. Depending on the purpose of 

the study, each method has its advantages. The analytical method and MEM only can be used for 

simple geometries while BIEM and NSEM can be used for studying a more complicated 

geometry. If one intends to conduct an optimization or real time analysis, the analytical method, 

the MEM, and the frequency domain BIEM have often been used. Note that the frequency 

domain BIEM is generally used for calculating the hydrodynamic coefficients of the excitation 

force, and these coefficients need to be carefully determined and adjusted near resonance. Time 

domain BIEM can be used for optimization, but the computational cost remains too high for the 

purpose of real time analysis, particularly for 3D simulations. Since NSEM requires longer 

computational time, it is used only for detailed analyses, particularly when wave breaking and 

overtopping and viscous damping effects are significant. 

Table 1. Features of hydrodynamic modeling methods 

Methods

Features Analytical Morison Frequencydomain BIEM

Time-domain 

BIEM NSEM

Viscous Effect No (but can be 

input)

Yes

(Empirical)

No (but can be 

input)

No (but can be 

input) Yes

Wave/floating 

body 

interaction

Linear (when 

wave diffraction 

and reflection 

are considered)

Body motion 

has no effect 

on the waves

Weakly 

nonlinear Fully nonlinear 

(time domain)

Fully 

nonlinear

Wave 

Breaking N/A N/A N/A N/A Use VOF
22 

General 

accuracy Acceptable Acceptable for 

mooring line Good Good Very good

Accuracy 

around 

resonance

Barely 

acceptable

Acceptable 

(with modified 

hydrodynamic 

coefficients)

Barely 

Acceptable 

(higher order 

scheme)

Acceptable Very good

Given that the BIEM is only discretized along the boundary surface, it reduces the dimensions of

the problem to be solved numerically. The conventional two-dimensional BIEM is typically 

applied using a direct matrix solver to the system of linear equations. Even though the BIEM 

reduces the spatial dimension of the problem by one, and the resulting BIEM matrix is usually 

fully populated and asymmetric, the computational cost increases exponentially with the number 

of elements. Therefore, the three-dimensional BIEM generally uses accelerated iterative 

algorithms, such as fast multiple methods [121], and generalized minimal residual methods

[122], to reduce the CPU time. Of course, one can choose the frequency domain BIEM instead of 

the time domain BIEM. The frequency domain BIEM solves the problem at the mean water and 

body surfaces. Conversely, the time domain method solves the problem at each time step, with 

instantaneous water surface profiles and body surface locations. The time domain BIEM is 

feasible for capturing the fully nonlinear interaction between waves and the floating body, except 

for wave breaking and overtopping. However, the total CPU time of a time domain BIEM 

simulation is much longer than a frequency domain BIEM simulation. 

The NSEM numerical model requires much more CPU time than BIEM to model the details of 

the fluid. As typical NSEM solvers discretize across the fully three-dimensional computational 

domain, the CPU time depends on many factors, including the CPU speed, convergence 

criterion, mesh quality, parallel efficiency, and the complexity of the interaction between waves 

and the floating body. The latter generally involves the calculation of the body location and mesh 

morphing or the application of overset meshes. Due to the sparse nature of the linear equation 

system generated by the NSEM, iterative methods are widely used. The convergence rate of the 

iterative method and its parallel efficiency influence the total CPU time of an NSEM method 

significantly. An algebraic multi-grid method is commonly used in existing CFD packages for 

accelerating the convergence of an iterative method, and the details of the AMG method are 

described in [123]. 

An example for modeling the power generation performance of a two-body floating-point 

absorber system is presented to demonstrate the utilization of these methods. The two most 

commonly used methods, a frequency-domain BIEM and a NSEM (CFD), were selected. In the 

frequency-domain BIEM, the hydrodynamic forces were calculated using WAMIT, and the 

viscous damping coefficient was estimated based on the empirical solution of [46]. The details of 

the device geometry and the numerical settings in the CFD simulation were described in [118]. 

To compare the results obtained from the two methods, the computational time for each model is 

shown in Table 2, and the power generation performance is plotted against incident wave periods 

in Fig. 9. The study shows that the frequency-domain BIEM is much more cost-effective.

However, the selection of viscous damping coefficients has a significant influence on the 

frequency-domain BIEM results, particularly near the resonance. Note that the maximum power 

generally occurs when floating-point absorber systems are close to the resonance. The 
23 

calculation of viscous damping is essential to the prediction of power generation, where the 

selection of viscous damping coefficients can result in a large uncertainty in the modeling. A 

study on the variation of the drag coefficients was presented in [121]. They showed that if the 

drag coefficients were varied by a factor of 4, the effect on power generation could be up to 30%. 

Table 2. Run-time benchmark for modeling FPA WEC systems 

Hydrodynamics 

Modeling Discretization Number of Panels/Meshes Wall Clock Time 

Frequency domain 

BIEM (WAMIT) & 

Quadratic Drag 

Boundary 

Discretization 

5096 

(Low-order panels) 

2804 seconds3

(30 wave frequencies)

NSEM: 

Floating BodyDynamics CFD 

Computational 

Domain 

Discretization 

≈1 million 

(Finite volume mesh) 

12 hours on 64 cores4

(one wave frequency)

Figure 9. Power generation prediction from NSEM and BIEM (CPTO=507 kNsm-1) 

In general, a more cost-effective method should be developed for optimization purposes. Such a 

method should be able to provide sufficient accuracy, even in the resonance stage, with a 

minimal time requirement. In particular, this method should be able to work with the modeling 

tools of other disciplines. For example, control is very important for maximizing the power 

output of the wave energy converters in real seas. Many investigations have been published 

focusing on real time control strategies, e.g., [125,126,127]. In terms of hydrodynamic input, 

they take the solutions from analytical methods or BIEM in the frequency domain. With an 

advanced computational facility, it is possible to integrate the control strategies together with the 

time domain solutions, or at least add a high accuracy frequency domain solution near the 

resonance stage. Additionally, other disciplines, such as power electronics, hydrology, and 

environmental science, seek a better integration with the hydrodynamic modeling of wave 

energy devices. 

 

3

 On a 3.33 GHz Intel i5 processor with 8GB of memory 

4

 Each compute node consists of dual socket/quad-core 2.93 GHz Intel Nehalem processor, with 

12 GB of memory shared by all 8 cores. 
24 

In short, all these four methods have their own strength and weakness as summarized in Table 1. 

Simply speaking, analytical methods and MEM are suitable for optimization purposes, which are 

in the conceptual design stage. On the contrary, BIEM and NSEM are more appropriate for 

further analysis. Particularly, frequency domain BIEM may be used in between of two stages. 

Furthermore, lower order methods tend to be easy to be combined with the modeling techniques 

of other aspects of the floating-point absorbers such as the power system. 

Acknowledgement 

We would like to acknowledge the U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind and Water Power

Program for funding this work under the funding agreement of 26067. 

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