System Design and Operation: Numerical Simulation and In-Water testing of a Wave Energy Converter

Led by: James VanZwieten, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geomatics Engineering

This project will numerically simulate the performance of a wave energy converter using the WEC-Sim numerical simulation tool developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and validate/tune this numerical simulation using data collected from the in-water testing of a prototype system. Multiple design variants of a prototype WEC system will be simulated, and their performance will be evaluated in a variety of different wave conditions. This will allow for their power production potential to be clearly understood, and for the most promising designs to be identified. Students with a strong background in Mechanical Engineering, Ocean Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Physics (or similar) that have some computer programming experience should be a good match for this project. Also, the exact focus of this project (i.e., simulation development vs prototype development and in-water testing), will be based on the selected participants background and the state of an ongoing project at the start of the REU program.