Abstract
The goals of this study were to develop tools to quantitatively characterize environments where wave energy converter (WEC) devices may be installed and to assess effects on hydrodynamics and local sediment transport. A large hypothetical WEC array was investigated using wave, hydrodynamic, and sediment transport models and site-specific average and storm conditions as input. The results indicated that there were significant changes in sediment sizes adjacent to and in the lee of the WEC array due to reduced wave energy. The circulation in the lee of the array was also altered; more intense onshore currents were generated in the lee of the WECs. In general, the storm case and the average case showed the same qualitative patterns suggesting that these trends would be maintained throughout the year. The framework developed here can be used to design more efficient arrays while minimizing impacts on nearshore environments.