Optimising Buoy Design for Wave Energy Harvesting using the WITT Device

This work considers the design of a wave energy converter employing the WITT device: a machine that is able to convert motion in all 6 degrees of freedom into electrical power. Various designs for housing the WITT device inside a buoy are investigated with the aim of converting the forcing from low-frequency ocean waves to a higher-frequency motion that the WITT generates power most effectively at. By modelling the rigid-body motion of a buoy in response to a provided ocean wave forcing and the dynamics of the internal mechanisms within the buoy, we explore how nonlinear oscillation dynamics may achieve the desired frequency amplification.