Optimization of an omnidirectional gyroscopic wave energy converter

The work performed in this thesis is part of the design of an Inertia Sea Wave Energy Converter (ISWEC). This is a floating device devoted to the conversion of the kinetic energy carried by the sea waves. A new axially symmetric shape for the hull is studied: it consists of a revolution about the $z-axis$ of an already existing profile (inherited by previous experiments for Pantelleria device). By means of Solidworks, the new 3-D simplified geometry is created so that it can be imported in ANSYS AQWA environment. Once the hydrostatic and hydrodynamic analysis is completed, the productivity for the Pantelleria installation site is computed running the Iswec Design Tool (IDT). A parametric analysis is conducted changing the ballast, the gyroscope dimension and the PTO size. The resulting productivities are compared and the best configuration pointed out.Then, it is wondered if the profile chosen is the best possible. Thus an algorithm that optimizes the hull geometry together with the control parameters is required. A brief overview of global optimization methods is presented and comparisons among them in terms of calculation time and results achieved are made. In conclusion, a first attempt of the abovementioned algorithm is presented.