Hydrodynamic Characteristics of A Shore-based Multi-chamber Oscillating Water-column Device Using the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics Method

Abstract

Oscillating water columns (OWCs) play an increasingly important role in marine renewable energy technologies. The efficiency of wave energy conversion and the effective frequency bandwidth of an OWC device are significantly influenced by the cross-sectional shape of its chamber. In this study, five distinct OWC configurations with varying chamber geometries are proposed, and a particle-based numerical method is employed to simulate complex wave propagation within the chambers. The chamber layout can be modified using two adjustable plates, enabling a single system to be partitioned into multiple chambers. This division enhances the water resonance effect inside the structure and improves wave energy capture efficiency. The hydrodynamic performance of OWC devices with these different geometric configurations was systematically analyzed. The results indicate that the chamber geometry significantly influences the internal flow velocity, which directly affects the overall wave energy capture efficiency. Specifically, the configuration with internal plates inclined at a 15° angle yielded the highest flow velocity among all tested models. At a wave period of 3.5 s, this design achieved a flow rate 16% greater than that of other configurations. However, this optimal hydrodynamic performance is accompanied by the largest slamming force exerted on the front panel.

Keywords

Oscillating water column / Wave load / Smoothed particle hydrodynamics / Geometric optimization / Efficiency

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