Experimental and Numerical Studies on the Hydrodynamics of a Novel Floating Solar-Wave Converter Hub

The sustainable offshore energy resources (OER) (e.g., solar, wind, wave and tide) are considered an alternative and supplement to meet the massive energy demands as well as to promote the global carbon mitigation. Due to the intermittent and low energy generation capacity of stand-alone OER systems, the concept of hybrid energy technology combing multiple OERs has become a promising and hopeful alternative towards sustainable energy exploitation. This paper introduces the design of a new Floating Solar Converter Hub (FloSCH) which is supported by four floaters and proposes the integration of a OWC-WEC concept to create a novel hybrid Floating Solar-Wave Converter Hub (FloSWACH). Then, the heave and pitch responses of FloSCH with three types of floaters due to regular waves are analyzed through a combination of model tests and numerical simulations. A noticeable agreement between the numerical and experimental results is observed. Compared to the FloSCH, the motion response of FloSWACH due to the wave around Hong Kong shows a significant improvement in predictability, potentially enhancing the conversion efficiency of solar energy.