Array design of a wave farm composed of multiple WECs is an essential issue during the design phase of an offshore wave energy farm. Although various research has looked into the optimal array design, the optimization process usually takes a lot of time.

The objective of this thesis is to reduce the time required during the WEC design phase. The study focuses on performing a hydrodynamic analysis of a wave farm consisting of four single-point absorbers, examining the relationship between excitation force and array spacing, and determining the average total power production of the wave farm.

This thesis employs the Boundary Element Method (BEM) to analyze the hydrodynamic interactions of waves and oscillatory motions in WECs. Using the open-source software Capytaine, it estimates key hydrodynamic coefficients and solves the system of equations via Green's theorem to evaluate added mass and excitation forces. By selecting excitation force as a design parameter, a linear regression model is established. Furthermore, a machine learning model based on the Random Forest algorithm is developed to capture the complex relationship between total power output and the design parameter. After the machine learning model is created, the optimal array spacing for a specific site can be estimated quickly by combining results with a wave scatter diagram.

These findings aim to contribute to wave energy systems design by providing a reliable link between hydrodynamic results and design parameters and accelerating development in the wave energy sector.

Ocean waves being considered to have huge potential on providing renewable energy resources. While significant research and application of wave energy converters have been conducted in many seas, exploration on low-energy seas is still an ongoing endeavour. In this study, a point absorber array is being studied in the scenario of implementing at low-energy site within Caspian Sea.
The primary objective of this study is to give an optimal layout for a point absorber array with five devices. Firstly, hydrodynamic analysis is conducted by Boundary Element Method using a frequency domain model in NEMOH and WEC-Sim. Layouts with different spacing factor are examined to obtain the power matrices for each case. The q-factor, a measure that quantifies the WEC array’s power absorption efficiency, and annual power production are readily calculated. Furthermore, given the annual energy production, an economic model is built to assess the CapEx, OpEx and LCOE, the Levelized Cost of Energy of the WEC array with different layouts. The final optimization phase finds a solution that simultaneously maximizes the q-factor and minimizes the LCOE by executing a multi-objective algorithm. The best layout configuration for the point absorbers array in the Caspian Sea site is determined, taking into account both high energy output and economic viability.