Numerical Analysis for Hydrodynamic Performance of OWC Devices with Multiple Chambers in Waves

In recent years, various studies have been conducted on oscillating-water-column-type wave energy converters (OWC-WECs) with multiple chambers with the objective of efficiently utilizing the limited space of offshore/onshore structures. In this study, a numerical investigation based on a numerical wave tank was conducted on single, dual, and triple OWC chambers to examine the hydrodynamic performances and the energy conversion characteristics of the multiple water columns. The boundary value problem with the Laplace equation was solved by using a numerical wave tank based on a finite element method. The validity of the current numerical method was confirmed by comparing it with the measured data in the previous experimental research. We undertook a series of numerical simulations and observed that the water column motion of sloshing mode in a single chamber can be changed into the piston motion of different phases in multiple OWC chambers. Therefore, the piston motion in the multiple chambers can generate considerable airflow at a specific resonant frequency. In addition, the division of the OWC chamber results in a reduction of the time-dependent variability of the final output power from the device. As a result, the application of the multiple chambers leads to an increase of the energy conversion performance as well as a decrease of the variability of the wave energy converter.