Multi-fidelity modelling of wave energy converter farms

Wave energy is considered one of the main actors in the decarbonization plan of the European Union. To drive the technologies to commercial power production, numerical simulations of wave energy converter farms are necessary. The design of such arrays is non-trivial because of the large area that multiple devices cover and the complexity of the hydrodynamics involved, that must take into account both the wave field close to the converter, and the wave propagation in the far-field. Motivated by the intrinsic necessity of high-fidelity, yet computationally efficient, dynamical models for arrays of wave energy systems, a versatile multi-fidelity model is presented, coupling the CFD method for the near-field in a small domain around the device, and a Reduced Order Model (ROM) for the far-field. The significant drop in the computational cost of the numerical simulation of wave energy converter farms permitted by this innovative coupling methodology facilitates its implementation in optimization strategies.