Hydrodynamic Investigation of a Novel Concept of Oscillating Water Column Type Wave Energy Converter Device

Abstract

The hydrodynamic performance of a novel and efficient concept of a floating oscillating water column device has been investigated. The new concept consists of two chambers. These chambers are positioned on the upstream (fore chamber) and on the downstream (rear chamber) of the incident wave direction. The rear chamber acts mainly similar to a backward bent duct buoy system, while the design of the fore chamber follows conventional types of oscillating water column systems with the harbor plates (bottom plates and side plates) elongated outside of the fore chamber. The primary efficiency of the devised concept has been investigated in the frequency domain. In this context, to solve the corresponding diffraction and radiation problems due to the influence of the air pressure inside the chambers as well as motions of the body, an in-house code has been developed in two-dimensional using the boundary element method based on the linear wave theory. The obtained numerical results show that the introduced concept has advanced hydrodynamic efficiency in a broad range of waves.