Hybrid axisymmetric model for forced heave of a shallowly submerged cylindrical wave energy converter

Shallowly submerged oscillating structures may be found in wave energy devices or semi-submersible vessels. Predicting the force on such structures is critical for design purposes, but complicated due to nonlinear phenomena which can occur in shallow water, including wave breaking and bore formation. Such effects are particularly important around the first ‘resonance’ frequency of the fluid on top of the device, where linear theory predicts large flows on/off the cylinder and corresponding surface elevations and forces. In an effort to create a reliable and efficient model to predict the hydrodynamic force on a shallowly submerged truncated vertical cylinder, an axisymmetric nonlinear hybrid model is developed for forced heave oscillations. The flow above the cylinder is modelled using the nonlinear shallow water equations, and linear potential flow theory is used in the surrounding fluid. The model is compared with experimental results for forced heave oscillations and performs well for predicting the heave force. It is then used to examine linearised heave force for increasing amplitudes of (prescribed) harmonic heave motion. There is a significant reduction in the peaks of radiation damping and added mass coefficients with increasing amplitude, and associated shifts in the frequencies of the peaks.