A review on flow energy harvesters based on flapping foils

This article presents an overview of the state of the art investigations on the recently developed oscillating foil energy converters. A summary of available knowledge and upto-date progress in the application of such bio-inspired systems for renewable energy devices is provided. Starting from concepts and achieved results in three distinguishable categories, various parametric studies are reviewed, along with an in-depth discussion on the potential device performance enhancement via flow control mechanisms. Finally, potential future research directions are discussed. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.