Article

Coupled dynamics of a point absorber array with a shared mooring system

Ocean Engineering

Ning, Daosheng; Wang, Shan; Guedes Soares, C. — 2026 — Elvesier

Key information

Authors:

Ning, Daosheng (Daosheng Ning); Wang, Shan (Shan Wang); Chen, Haifei; Guedes Soares, C. (Carlos Guedes Soares)

Published in

January 15, 2026

Abstract

This study presents a coupled Computational Fluid Dynamics model capable of simulating wave energy converter (WEC) arrays with shared mooring systems. The model integrates the OpenFOAM solver, via the foamMooring library, with the lumped-mass mooring solver MoorDyn to simulate mooring dynamics. The overset mesh method captures the motions of individual floaters, while the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method tracks free-surface variations. This work evaluates the effects of shared mooring line lengths and wave heights on the hydrodynamic interactions. Results reveal that the shared mooring lines experience significantly higher tension peaks (4-5 times greater) and more frequent fluctuations than the anchor lines, making them more vulnerable to wave-induced forces. The seaward anchor line exhibits greater tension than the leeward line, though both remain substantially lower than shared lines. Increasing shared line length amplifies pitch motion amplitudes in both the leftmost and central WECs, while heave motion remains unaffected. Notably, Model 1 (with bilateral shared lines) demonstrates lower sensitivity to wave height in pitch motion compared to other models. These insights advance the understanding of shared mooring dynamics and provide critical guidance for optimizing the design and survivability of multi-body WEC arrays in real-sea conditions.

Publication details

Authors in the community:

Publication version

VoR - Version of Record

Publisher

Elvesier

Link to the publisher's version

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0029801825031300

Title of the publication container

Ocean Engineering

First page or article number

123447

Volume

343

Issue

Part 4

DOI

10.1016/j.oceaneng.2025.123447

Fields of Science and Technology (FOS)

other-natural-sciences - Other natural sciences

Keywords

  • Shared mooring system
  • Computational fluid dynamics
  • Lumped mass method
  • Point absorber

Publication language (ISO code)

eng - English

Rights type:

Open access

Financing entity

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

Identifier for the funding entity: https://doi.org/10.13039/501100001871

Type of identifier of the funding entity: Crossref Funder

Number for the project, award or grant: UIDB-UIDP-00134-2020