Design and experimental tests for novel shapes of floating OWC wave energy converters with the additional purpose of breakwater

Abstract

The oscillating water column (OWC) is a type of wave energy converter (WEC) that captures the energy of incoming waves. As waves reach the structure, their movement causes the water within an enclosed chamber to oscillate, creating airflow that powers a turbine, generating electricity. This principle can be applied to the design of breakwaters, which can protect marine structures such as floating solar farms and wind turbines. This study involved designing two types of buoyancy chambers for the OWC-WEC and two underneath baffles with adjustable spacing. These configurations were tested in a wave tank to assess wave energy capture, wave attenuation, hydrodynamics, and mooring forces. The experimental results demonstrate that a baffle spacing of 1 m, combined with a V-type buoyancy chamber, significantly enhances the wave energy capture and wave attenuation performance of the OWC. This configuration achieves up to a 57.09 % increase in the capture width ratio and a maximum reduction of 20.88 % in the wave transmission coefficient. Furthermore, mooring line forces are reduced by 21.86 %, while the baffles effectively mitigate pitch motion. Notably, greater pitch reduction improves the capture width ratio. In conclusion, this study introduces a novel wave energy converter, providing key insights for future marine energy development.