In this paper we use the CFD toolbox OpenFOAM to perform numerical
simulations of multiple floating point absorber Wave Energy Converters (WECs) in a
numerical wave basin. The two-phase Navier-Stokes fluid solver is coupled with a motion
solver to simulate the wave-induced rigid body heave motion. The key of this paper is
to extend numerical simulations of a single WEC unit to multiple WECs and to tackle the issues of
modelling individual floating objects close to each other in an array lay-out. The developed
numerical model is validated with laboratory experiments for free decay tests and for
a regular wave train using two or five WECs in the array. For all the simulations presented, a good
agreement is found between the numerical and experimental results for the WECs’ heave
motions, the surge forces on the WECs and the perturbed wave field. As a result, our coupled
CFD–motion solver proofs to be a suitable and accurate toolbox for the study of
wave-structure interaction problems of multiple floating bodies in an array configuration