Improvement of Wave Power Take-Off Performance due to the Projecting Walls for OWC Type WEC

Abstract

This paper describes a method in order to improve the performance of the primary conversion of wave power take-off. A corresponding wave energy convertor (WEC) is an oscillating water column (OWC) type. The method of the improvement has been proposed and its usefulness has been confirmed in past researches. In the method, projecting walls were attached onto front of inlet-outlet of OWC. The prediction method of hydrodynamic behaviors for the projecting walls installed OWC type WEC is explained in the paper. The boundary element method with the Green’s function is applied and influence of air pressure and free surface within every an air-chamber was directly taken into consideration in the prediction method based on a linear potential theory. Validity of the prediction method was proved comparing with results of model experiments. Series calculations are performed with the prediction method. Behaviors of air pressure, water elevation and the efficiency of primary conversion of wave power are investigated. From the calculations, length of the projecting walls was shown to affect the efficiency of primary conversion. It was available to equip the projecting walls for the improvement in oblique waves to beam sea condition as well as head sea condition. As well as only the projecting walls, application and effects of the end walls with the slit were investigated in the paper. The end walls were very useful to improve the efficiency.