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In this study, an alternative way, a so called caisson based type of oscillating water column (OWC) wave energy converting system was proposed to capture and convert wave energy. Since the caisson structure is constructed to protect the coastal line or ports, it is important to know if a built-in associated OWC system will be a burden to affect the safety of the structure or it is safe enough to work appropriately. In this study, three steps of structural analysis were performed: firstly, the analysis for the structural safety of the whole caisson structure; secondly, performing the mechanic analysis for the chamber of the associated OWC system; and finally, performing the analysis for the wave induced air-pressure in the chamber under the design conditions of a local location during the wave-converting operation. For the structural safety analysis, a typical structural model associated with caisson breakwater was built and analyzed while the shape of the structure, material applied to the construction, and associated boundary conditions were all set-up according to the wave and structures. The motion and the strain distribution of the caisson structure subjected to designated waves of 50-year return period were evaluated and compared to the safety requirement by the code. For the analysis of the energy converting performance, a numerical method by using a theorem of unsteady Navier–Stokes equations in conservation form was used to analyze the proposed OWC model when the structure subjected to an incident wave of a 10-year return period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on the analysis of the parameters of an oscillating water column (OWC) wave energy conversion system and wave conditions. Interactions between the dimensions of the OWC chambers and wave conditions are all taken into account to design an alternative OWC converter, called caisson-based OWC type wave energy converting system. A numerical method using an unsteady Navier-Stokes equations theorem in conservation form is used to analyze the proposed analytical model. The objective of this study is to try to apply an OWC wave energy converter to a caisson breakwater, which has been constructed in a harbor. The structure proposed in this study is a series of sets of independent systems, in which each set of converters is composed of three chambers to capture the wave energy, while better ensuring the safety of the caisson breakwater. Responses to be analyzed related to the conversion efficiency of the caisson-based OWC wave energy converting system include the airflow velocity from the air-chamber, the pneumatic power and the conversion efficiency in terms of a ratio between the pneumatic power and the energy of the incident waves. Parameters examined in this study include the dimensions of the OWC chamber features such as the orifice of the air-chamber allowing airflow in/output, the chamber length along the direction of incident waves, the size of the opening gate for incident waves and the submersion depth of the air-chamber. As found from the results, a best conversion efficiency from incident waves of 32% can be obtained for the extreme case where the orifice is very small, but for most other cases in the study, the best efficiency is about 15%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]