Free Running Model Tests and Numerical Simulation on a Wave Propelled Craft

To deal with the complexity and inefficiency of the driving device for actively controlled oscillating foils， the concept of passive oscillating foils， whose pitch motion is driven by the moment induced by the heave motion， is investigated and applied to a wave propelled craft. Particularly， the foils are installed beneath the craft to generate thrust so that the craft can move forward. In the following model test， free running speeds under different wave period， wave height， and foil control configurations are measured and then compared. It is shown that the free running speed of the craft is of positive correlation with wave heights， and the optimum performance is obtained when the ratio of incident wave length to ship length is approximately 1.8. Through numerical simulation， the working process of foils with two different control mechanism configurations is also demonstrated， where the free running speed under certain wave parameters is predicted， and the result is in good agreement with the measured data.