US wave energy simulation team wins COER award

Wave energy converter (WEC) modelling team, sponsored by the US Energy Department, has won the Center for Ocean Energy Research (COER) Hydrodynamic Modeling Competition.

Through the competition, researchers were challenged to predict the dynamic motion of a floating body in an irregular wave field using computer-based modeling software.

Teams had three months to compile and submit their final simulation results which were then compared with data from an experimental scenario outlined by COER.

The team comprised from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) managed to scoop the award using NREL’s FAST modeling tool and WEC-Sim, a WEC simulation software tool that was jointly developed by NREL and SNL.

The winning team was revealed at this year’s international conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering (OMAE).

The competition was organized by the Maynooth University in Ireland.

WEC-Sim is an open source wave energy converter simulation tool developed to aid device manufacturers, project developers, and other interested parties to analyze and optimize proof-of-concept and prototype wave energy conversion devices.

Image: US Department of Energy