WEC-SIM (Wave Energy Converter SIMulator)
Dr. Jorge Leon-Quiroga
WEC-Sim (Wave Energy Converter SIMulator) is an open-source software for simulating wave energy converters (WECs), jointly developed by Sandia National Laboratories and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the United States. WEC-Sim is developed in the MATLAB/SIMULINK framework utilizing Simscape Multibody to solve the multi-body dynamics problem. WEC-Sim predicts WEC dynamics through time domain simulations based on the radiation and diffraction method using hydrodynamic coefficients obtained from frequency-domain boundary element methods (BEM: e.g., WAMIT, NEMOH, Aqwa, Capytaine). WEC-Sim is developed for the purpose of predicting, analyzing, and optimizing WEC dynamics and power performance. WEC-Sim includes prebuilt drag and drop Simulink blocks that have been developed to simulate a wide range of WEC systems consisting of multiple bodies, oscillating water columns, joints, various power take-off systems, and mooring systems. The first release of WEC-Sim was late 2014 and through continued development has become a well-established software within the marine energy community.
The WEC-Sim development team will host a workshop about WEC-Sim capabilities and applications. The workshop will have two sessions: The first session is aimed for new and existing users of WEC-Sim to learn the basic purpose, use-cases, structure, and theory of WEC-Sim. In the second session, the attendees will learn about the advanced capabilities of WEC-Sim. Advanced features include nonlinear excitation forces, passive yaw, large horizontal displacements, integration with MoorDyn, PTO-Sim, generalized body modes, multiple conditions runs, and visualization capabilities.
Workshop Agenda
| Session | Duration (min) | Topic | Description |
| WEC-Sim Theory and Basics | 0:20 | WEC-Sim Overview | Overview of course topics and WEC-Sim code |
| 0:15 | Theory | Linear potential flow theory, Cummins' equation, equations of motion. Assumptions | |
| 0:30 | Workflow | Inputs to and running WEC-Sim (CAD->Meshing->BEM->BEMIO->WEC-Sim) |
|
| 0:10 | Break + Q&A | ||
| 0:15 | Code Structure | Overview of WEC-Sim’s input file (wecSimInputFile.m), classes (*.m) and library blocks (*.slx) | |
| WEC-Sim Deep Dive | 0:20 | Wave Class | Describe how waves are modeled in WEC-Sim using waveClass.m and variant subsystems |
| 0:10 | Break + Q&A | ||
| 0:20 | Body Class | Describe how bodies are modeled in WEC-Sim using bodyClass.m and variant subsystems | |
| 0:30 | RM3 Example | Run BEMIO, build RM3, write the wecSimInputFile, and run WEC-Sim, userDefinedFunctions. Break intentionally and highlight errors/debugging | |
| 0:10 | Break + Q&A | ||
| WEC-Sim Applications and Developments | 1:00 | Applications and Software Development | WEC-Sim Applications (free decay, PTO-Sim, MCR, controls, TEAMER) |
| Adjourn | 0:00 | Adjourn | |
| Total time | 4:00 | ||