Modelling performance of a small array of Wave Energy Converters: Comparison of Spectral and Boussinesq models

This paper presents results from numerical simulations of three Oscillating Wave Surge Converters (OWSC) using two different computational models, Boussinesq wave (BW) and Spectral wave (SW) of the commercial software suite MIKE. The simulation of a shallow water wave farm applies alternative methods for implementing a frequency dependent absorption in both the BW and SW models, where energy extraction is based on experimental data from a scaled Oyster device. The effects of including wave diffraction within the SW model is tested by using diffraction smoothing steps and various directional wave conditions. The results of this study reveal important information on the models realms of validity that is heavily dependent on the incident sea state and the removal of diffraction for the SW model. This yields an increase in simulation accuracy for far-field disturbances when diffraction is entirely removed. This highlights specific conditions where the BW and SW model may thrive but also regions where reduced performance is observed. The results presented in this paper have not been validated with real sea site wave device array performance, however, the methodology described would be useful to device developers to arrive at preliminary decisions on array configurations and to minimise negative environmental impacts.