Improving the Hydrodynamic Performance of OWC Wave Energy Converter by Attaching a Step

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kourosh Rezanejad ◽  
Jorge F. M. Gadelho ◽  
Ivan López ◽  
Rodrigo Carballo ◽  
C. Guedes Soares
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Water Depth ◽  
Hydrodynamic Performance ◽  
Experimental Investigations ◽  
Efficiency Improvement ◽  
Oscillating Water Column ◽  
Energy Converter ◽  
Irregular Wave ◽  
Wave Characteristics

Abstract The influence of attaching a step to the conventional shore based Oscillating Water Column device on the hydrodynamic performance has been assessed by carrying out experimental investigations. The level of the efficiency improvement in various wave characteristics and Power Take-Off damping conditions were investigated. Three different Power Take-Off damping conditions have been applied to the system and experiments were carried out for both regular and irregular wave conditions. The results obtained from the experimental study prove that the Oscillating Water Column with the attached step has substantially improved hydrodynamic performance in all the Power Take-Off damping conditions compared to the Oscillating Water Column model in uniform water depth.

Nonlinear NWT Simulation for Oscillating-Water-Column Wave Energy Converter

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weoncheol Koo ◽  
Moo-Hyun Kim
Keyword(s):  
Water Column ◽  
Time Varying ◽  
Numerical Wave Tank ◽  
Oscillating Water Column ◽  
Energy Converter ◽  
Airflow Velocity ◽  
Fully Nonlinear ◽  
Irregular Wave ◽  
Experimental Values ◽  
Nonlinear Free Surface

A two-dimensional time-domain, fully nonlinear numerical wave tank (NWT) technique based on potential theory, the mixed Eulerian-Lagrangian (MEL) approach, and the boundary element method was developed and applied to a land-based oscillating water column (OWC) system with compressed air inside the chamber. The nonlinear free-surface inside the chamber was specially treated to represent both the viscous effect of the water column motion and the pneumatic pressure of the time-varying airflow velocity in the chamber. The developed NWT was verified through comparison with viscous-flow-based numerical and experimental results by Liu et al. (2008) with and without air ducts. The NWT simulations correlated well with experimental values with tuned viscous damping coefficient for a variety of wave conditions. The fully nonlinear simulations were also performed with irregular wave input, so that the developed numerical tool can be practically used for the optimal design of land-based OWCs.

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