Experimental Study Seeking Optimal Geometry of a Heaving Body For Improved Power Absorption Efficiency

Experiments were carried out to measure the excitation force on variously shaped two-dimensional bodies impinged by linear progressive waves. The measured excitation force was then used to calculate the radiated wave amplitude at positive and negative infinity, �+ and �-. This, in turn, was used to determine the power absorption efficiency of a two-dimensional, heaving body, thus, allowing the evaluation of wave energy converting performance for various shapes. Our objective was to determine which type of geometry would provide the best converting efficiency. The experimental results showed that a concave body achieves a higher efficiency than a flat or convex body. The highest efficiency for a concave shape observed in this study was 94.5%. These results can be helpful to researchers and engineers in designing more efficient wave energy converters.