Abstract
The Tupperwave device is a wave energy converter based on the Oscillating Water Column (OWC) concept. Unlike conventional OWC devices, which are opened to the atmosphere, the Tupperwave device works in closed-circuit and uses non-return valves and accumulator chambers to create a smooth unidirectional flow across a unidirectional turbine. The EU-funded OceanEraNet project called Tupperwave was undertaken by a consortium of academic and industrial partners, aimed at designing and modelling the Tupperwave device. The device was numerically modelled using two different methods. It was also physically modelled at the laboratory scale. The various modelling methods are discussed and compared. An analysis of the dependence of the device efficiency on the valves and turbine aerodynamic damping is carried out, using both physical and numerical approaches.
Highlights
Among the various types of wave energy converter technologies, Oscillating Water Column (OWC) devices are some of the most promising for extracting energy from the ocean
The variation of damping coefficient led to a variation in the valves’ efficiency to rectify the flow through the turbine. This is a major difference compared to the ideal valves used in the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model that are open instantaneously with a given opening area and with a given damping and given efficiency
The modelling of the Tupperwave device was approached with three different methods, which all enabled various observations of the device behaviour
Summary
Among the various types of wave energy converter technologies, Oscillating Water Column (OWC) devices are some of the most promising for extracting energy from the ocean. The pressure variations in the OWC chamber create a bidirectional air flow across the turbine, which rotates in a single direction for both flow directions. This kind of turbine is able to harness both directions of flow and does not require a system of non-return valves. The flow across the turbine is highly fluctuating and reverses at every half wave period. In these conditions, the average efficiency of self-rectifying turbines drops by 5–10% [4]
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