Wave energy scavenging performance of heaving and pitching ship bow foils
Wave energy scavenging performance of heaving and pitching ship bow foils
Bow foils have the potential to significantly improve the efficiency of marine craft. Conventionally, ship bow foils act as an energy saving device, directly converting wave energy to hydrodynamic forces, reducing the added resistance in waves and generating an additional ship thrust. In this paper, experimental results from a novel, bow foil arrangement that is free to heave relative to the ship are presented and described, as a means to generate electrical power directly. The experimental results, which demonstrate a new mode of operation for bow foils, compares the ship performance with and without the foil, on a free running 2 m bulk carrier model, over a range of wave frequencies, in regular head waves with a constant forward speed. The effect on ship motions, delivered power and the generated power, efficiency, Strouhal number and capture width ratios are presented. The results show experimentally that power can be recovered and that the system acts to reduce the pitch motion, with negligible influence on the heave motion. The concept represents a new mode of operation for bow foils and an approach for marine craft to effectively act as wave energy converters for improved efficiency and capability, with potential applications to a variety of ships that loiter e.g., patrol vessels, offshore supply vessels, wind farm crew transfer vessels and autonomous surface vehicles.
Bow foils, Energy harvesting, Energy scavenging, Renewable energy, Ship motions, Wave energy
Bowker, J.A.
6807b909-8733-423c-8c43-b86a626292b1
Oster, A.
5eb3e8c4-91a5-4085-82a2-3e5028a51331
Townsend, N.C.
3a4b47c5-0e76-4ae0-a086-cf841d610ef0
22 October 2025
Bowker, J.A.
6807b909-8733-423c-8c43-b86a626292b1
Oster, A.
5eb3e8c4-91a5-4085-82a2-3e5028a51331
Townsend, N.C.
3a4b47c5-0e76-4ae0-a086-cf841d610ef0
Bowker, J.A., Oster, A. and Townsend, N.C.
(2025)
Wave energy scavenging performance of heaving and pitching ship bow foils.
Renewable Energy, 256 (1), [124615].
(doi:10.1016/j.renene.2025.124615).
Abstract
Bow foils have the potential to significantly improve the efficiency of marine craft. Conventionally, ship bow foils act as an energy saving device, directly converting wave energy to hydrodynamic forces, reducing the added resistance in waves and generating an additional ship thrust. In this paper, experimental results from a novel, bow foil arrangement that is free to heave relative to the ship are presented and described, as a means to generate electrical power directly. The experimental results, which demonstrate a new mode of operation for bow foils, compares the ship performance with and without the foil, on a free running 2 m bulk carrier model, over a range of wave frequencies, in regular head waves with a constant forward speed. The effect on ship motions, delivered power and the generated power, efficiency, Strouhal number and capture width ratios are presented. The results show experimentally that power can be recovered and that the system acts to reduce the pitch motion, with negligible influence on the heave motion. The concept represents a new mode of operation for bow foils and an approach for marine craft to effectively act as wave energy converters for improved efficiency and capability, with potential applications to a variety of ships that loiter e.g., patrol vessels, offshore supply vessels, wind farm crew transfer vessels and autonomous surface vehicles.
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Accepted/In Press date: 12 October 2025
e-pub ahead of print date: 16 October 2025
Published date: 22 October 2025
Keywords:
Bow foils, Energy harvesting, Energy scavenging, Renewable energy, Ship motions, Wave energy
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 506869
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/506869
ISSN: 0960-1481
PURE UUID: c0440ca5-e6d9-400e-9f07-895904daeb43
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Date deposited: 19 Nov 2025 17:41
Last modified: 22 Nov 2025 02:40
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Author:
J.A. Bowker
Author:
A. Oster
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