scholarly journals Wave-to-Wire Model of an Oscillating-Water-Column Wave Energy Converter and Its Application to Mediterranean Energy Hot-Spots

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 5582
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Ciappi ◽  
Lapo Cheli ◽  
Irene Simonetti ◽  
Alessandro Bianchini ◽  
Giampaolo Manfrida ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Column ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Analytical Models ◽  
Oscillating Water Column ◽  
Sea Waves ◽  
Energy Potential ◽  
Impulse Turbine ◽  
Electric Generator ◽  
Air Turbine ◽  
Secondary Air

Oscillating water column (OWC) systems are among the most credited solutions for an effective conversion of the notable energy potential conveyed by sea waves. Despite a renewed interest, however, they are often still at a demonstration phase and additional research is required to reach industrial maturity. Within this framework, this study provides a wave-to-wire model for OWC systems based on an impulse air turbine. The model performs a comprehensive simulation of the system to estimate the attendant electric energy production for a specific sea state, based on analytical models of the primary (fixed chamber) and secondary (air turbine) converters coupled with the tertiary converter (electric generator). A rigid piston model is proposed to solve the hydrodynamics, thermodynamics, and hydrodynamics of the chamber, in a coupled fashion with the impulse turbine aerodynamics. This is solved with a novel method by considering the cascades as sets of blades, each one consisting of a finite number of airfoils stacked in the radial direction. The model was applied for two Mediterranean sites located in Tuscany and Sardinia (Italy), which were selected to define the optimal geometry of the turbine for a specified chamber. For each system, the developed analytical wave-to-wire model was applied to calculate the performance parameters and the annual energy production in environmental conditions typical of the Mediterranean Sea. The selected impulse turbines are able to convert 13.69 and 39.36 MWh/year, with an efficiency of 4.95% and 4.76%, respectively, thus proving the interesting prospects of the technology.

Fundamental Research on Oscillating Water Column Wave Power Absorbers

1985 ◽  
Vol 107 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Maeda ◽  
T. Kinoshita ◽  
K. Masuda ◽  
W. Kato
Keyword(s):  
Water Column ◽  
Prediction Method ◽  
Electric Circuit ◽  
Floating Body ◽  
Wave Power ◽  
Oscillating Water Column ◽  
Electric Generator ◽  
Power Characteristics ◽  
Air Turbine ◽  
Fundamental Research

An oscillating water column (OWC) wave power absorber is one of the most promising devices, as well as the Salter Duck and the Clam. This paper presents a simple prediction method, in which the equivalent floating body approximation is used, for absorbing wave power characteristics of an oscillating water column device. The effects of the compressibility of air and inertia of an air turbine and electric generator on absorbed wave power are obtained by using the equivalent electric circuit concept. Both the experimental and theoretical studies are carried out in this paper.

scholarly journals A BEM for the Hydrodynamic Analysis of Oscillating Water Column Systems in Variable Bathymetry

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 3403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kostas Belibassakis ◽  
Alexandros Magkouris ◽  
Eugen Rusu
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Element Method ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Black Sea ◽  
Bottom Topography ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Device Performance ◽  
Oscillating Water Column ◽  
Energy Potential ◽  
Hydrodynamic Analysis

In this work, a novel Boundary Element Method (BEM) is developed and applied to the investigation of the performance of Oscillating Water Column (OWC) systems, taking into account the interaction of the incident wave field with the bottom topography. The modelling includes the effect of additional upwave walls and barriers used to modify the resonance characteristics of the device and improve its performance as the U-OWC configuration. Numerical results illustrating the effects of depth variation in conjunction with other parameters—such as chamber dimensions as well as the parameters associated with the turbine and power take-off system—on the device performance are presented and discussed. Finally, a case study is presented regarding the potential installation of an OWC in a selected port site in the Black Sea, characterized by a good wave energy potential, on the coast of Romania.

Design synthesis of oscillating water column wave energy converters: Performance matching

1997 ◽  
Vol 211 (6) ◽  
pp. 489-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Curran ◽  
T P Stewart ◽  
T J T Whittaker
Keyword(s):  
Water Column ◽  
Limited Range ◽  
Power Converter ◽  
Analytical Models ◽  
Wave Power ◽  
Oscillating Water Column ◽  
Wells Turbine ◽  
Design Synthesis ◽  
Wave Energy Converters ◽  
Pneumatic Power

The matching of a Wells air turbine to an oscillating water column (OWC) is addressed, with particular reference to design synthesis at the Islay prototype wave power converter. The level of damping applied by the turbine must optimize the hydraulic performance of the OWC in order to facilitate efficient conversion from wave power to pneumatic power. Furthermore, a Wells turbine is only able to convert pneumatic power to mechanical power over a limited range of flow coefficients. Therefore, the efficient operational range of the turbine must extend over a sufficient and optimal proportion of the range of flow coefficients generated by the OWC. Suitable analytical models that describe the behaviour of the system are presented and subsequently the wave conditions and conversion performance at the Islay plant are outlined in order to exemplify the design synthesis to be achieved.

scholarly journals Optimization of Radial Impulse Turbine for Oscillating Water Column Wave Renewable Energy

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 5699-5703
Keyword(s):  
Water Column ◽  
Oscillating Water Column ◽  
Peak Efficiency ◽  
Impulse Turbine ◽  
Trapped Air ◽  
Turbine Efficiency ◽  
Turbine Performance ◽  
Radial Turbine ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Computational Fluid Dynamics Cfd

An oscillating water column (OWC) extracts the power of waves by trapping air above a water column. This trapped air is compressed and decompressed by the wave action flow inside a turbine power to the mechanical power during process, and it is important as the turbines are expected to operate in oscillating and reversing flows over a wide range of conditions. The objectives of this study are to determine and analyze the type of radial impulse turbine of OWC and to optimize the performance of a radial impulse turbine for OWC by using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). This requires a comprehensive investigation on turbine configuration, turbine efficiency, OWC integration, and turbine operation with respect to climate condition. The outcome of this study to settle the main drawbacks of radial turbine namely lower peak efficiency and damping on OWC can be considered. Later, these problems will be further study to identify the behavior of the airflow through the machine, sources of energy loss, and impact of different parameters on the turbine performance.

scholarly journals DEVELOPMENT OF A NUMERICAL MODEL FOR THE STUDY OF AN OSCILLATING WATER COLUMN DEVICE CONSIDERING AN IMPULSE TURBINE

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 99
Author(s):  
A. L. dos Santos ◽  
L. A. Isoldi ◽  
L. A. O. Rocha ◽  
M. N. Gomes ◽  
R. S. Viera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Model ◽  
Energy Conversion ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Velocity Ratio ◽  
Power Coefficient ◽  
Working Fluid ◽  
Speed Ratio ◽  
Oscillating Water Column ◽  
Impulse Turbine

The present work brings a numerical study of an energy conversion device which takes energy from the waves through an oscillating water column (OWC), considering an impulse turbine with rotation in the chimney region through the implementation of a movable mesh model. More precisely, a turbulent, transient and incompressible air flow is numerically simulated in a two-dimensional domain, which mimics an OWC device chamber. The objectives are the verification of the numerical model with movable mesh of the impulse turbine in the free domain from the comparison with the literature and, later, the study of the impulse turbine inserted in the geometry of the OWC device. In order to perform the numerical simulation on the generated domains, the Finite Volume Method (FVM) is used to solve the mass and momentum conservation equations. For the closure of the turbulence, the URANS (Unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes) model k-ω SST is used. To verify the numerical model employed, drag coefficients, lift, torque and power are obtained and compared with studies in the literature. The simulations are performed considering a flow with a Reynolds number of ReD = 867,000, air as the working fluid and a tip speed ratio of λ = 2. For the verification case, coefficients similar to those previously predicted in the literature were obtained. For the case where the OWC device was inserted it was possible to observe an intensification of the field of velocities in the turbine region, which led to an augmentation in the magnitude of all coefficients investigated (drag, lift, torque and power). For the case studied with the tip velocity ratio λ = 2, results indicated that power coefficient was augmented, indicating that the insertion of the turbine in a closed enclosure can benefit the energy conversion in an OWC device.

scholarly journals Optimal design of air turbines for oscillating water column wave energy systems: A review

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tapas Kumar Das ◽  
Paresh Halder ◽  
Abdus Samad
Keyword(s):  
Water Column ◽  
Wave Energy ◽  
Guide Vane ◽  
Optimization Techniques ◽  
Maximum Efficiency ◽  
Oscillating Water Column ◽  
Peak Efficiency ◽  
Wells Turbine ◽  
Impulse Turbine ◽  
Operating Range

Oscillating water column wave energy harvesting system uses pneumatic power to run a turbine and generate power. Both reaction (mainly Wells turbine) and impulse type turbines are tested in oscillating water column system and the performances are investigated. Reaction turbines are easy to install, and the operating range is narrow and possesses higher peak efficiency. On the contrary, impulse turbines have the wider operating range and lower peak efficiency. Some of the key parameters for Wells turbine are solidity, tip clearance, and the hub-to-tip ratio. Significant performance improvement is possible by redesigning the turbines using optimization techniques. Till date, surrogate modeling and an automated optimization library OPAL are commonly used in optimization of oscillating water column air turbines. In this article, various types of oscillating water column turbines are reviewed, and optimization techniques applied to such turbines are discussed. The Wells turbine with guide vane has the maximum efficiency, whereas the axial-impulse turbine with pitch-controlled guide vane has the widest operating range. Turbines with optimized geometry have better overall performance than other turbines.

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