Extracting wave energy as propulsion for surface vehicles saves non-renewable energy. The fluid moves in a circular or elliptical trajectory in the wave, and its direction of motion varies regularly by 360 degrees. The angle of attack of fixed-angle wave foil cannot be controlled as the direction of incoming flow changes, so the propulsion obtained from the wave is limited. This paper discusses a wave propulsion method by actively controlling the foil to follow the changing incoming current direction, thereby increasing the propulsion extracted by the foil. The wave phase at the foil position is obtained by measuring the free surface level, so as to estimate the direction of the incoming flow and adjust the foil rotation angle accordingly. The wave propulsion system was modeled and simulated in Matlab/Simulink to analyze the incoming flow and the corresponding foil angle. To take into account the foil wave interaction, STAR-CCM+ is used for numerical study. Simulation results show that the active wave foil can provide wave propulsion and has better performance than the fixed-angle wave foil.
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