Abstract
This study aspires to analyze a wave energy converter (WEC) through its hydrodynamic efficiency featuring a stationary submerged thin vertical plate (STVP) situated at free surface level (z = 0 m). The investigation incorporates arrangements with both flat and uneven seabed profiles, and also various wave steepness conditions. To perform the computational work, a numerical wave tank (NWT) is developed utilizing the ANSYS Fluent 2024 R2 software, and the fluid interface tracking is done employing the volume of fluid (VOF) approach. Stokes waves of second-order are produced at NWT entrance using the inflow velocity approach, and the wave reflection is minimized at the end by using numerical damping. The effect of four distinct relative opening (α) and wave height (H), with uneven bottom, is evaluated and subsequently compared to the hydrodynamic efficiency over a flat sea bed. The study is conducted for four distinct wave time periods (T) in the range of 1.16–2 s. The axial flow velocity under the stationary plate is computed for various conditions, such as (a) thin plate only, (b) thin plate and a trapezoidal structure of distinct altitude below it. This research study illustrates that optimal efficiency occurs at α2 = 50%. Additionally, axial flow velocity (vx) exhibits elevated values at T = 1.87s for increased wave steepness. The findings indicate noticeably improved hydrodynamic efficiency with higher wave steepness.
Data availability
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Abbreviations
- d :
-
Depth of water
- g :
-
Gravitational acceleration
- H :
-
Incoming wave height
- a :
-
Wave amplitude
- T :
-
Time period
- P flow :
-
Water flow power
- αq :
-
Volume fraction function
- ρ :
-
Density
- φ :
-
Velocity potential
- α :
-
Relative opening
- ω :
-
Angular frequency
- L :
-
Wavelength
- k :
-
Wavenumber
- p :
-
Pressure
- V :
-
Velocity
- t :
-
Time
- P wave :
-
Wave power
- x :
-
Distance from the inlet boundary in x-direction
- µ :
-
Viscosity
- η :
-
Surface elevation
- h :
-
Height of opening
- b :
-
Width of opening area beneath the plate
- BC:
-
Boundary Condition
- CFD :
-
Computational Fluid Dynamics
- GE:
-
Governing Equation
- NWT :
-
Numerical Wave Tank
- OWC :
-
Oscillating Water Column
- SD :
-
Submergence Depth
- STVP:
-
Submerged Thin Vertical Plate
- VOF :
-
Volume of Fluid
- WEC :
-
Wave Energy Converter
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Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the Computational Laboratory at Chandigarh University, Mohali, Punjab, India for providing the computational resources and support that contributed to the research results reported in this paper.
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Open access funding provided by Manipal University Jaipur.
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S.S. Yadav: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Validation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Visualization, Writing - original draft preparation S. Roy: Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing -review and editing P.K.S. Rathore: Supervision, Writing -review and editing.
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Yadav, S.S., Roy, S. & Rathore, P.K.S. Computational investigation on the hydrodynamic performance of a vertically submerged plate-type wave energy converter under variable relative openings. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-38433-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-38433-7
