Wave induced thrust on a submerged hydrofoil: pitch stiffness effects

Abstract

Submerged flapping foils can convert wave energy directly into thrust, which could be potentially utilised for green marine propulsion. This study analyses the wave-induced flapping hydrofoil propulsion using an in-house developed, new computational fluid dynamics (CFD) framework. The numerical model was initially validated against a few benchmarked problems and then used for the numerical investigation of wave-induced flapping hydrofoil propulsion. The transition between drag and thrust can be observed from the vortex flow pattern. The pitch stiffness and other physical parameter were non-dimensionalised for the first time. The optimal wave conditions and the optimal pitch stiffness are given for the future green marine system design.