Abstract:
The study of ways of converting ocean wave energy into a useful one and the improvement of the
existing equipment are complex engineering problems and very important issues in today’s society. In
this paper, the onshore oscillating water column device, in a 10 m deep channel subjected to 1 m high
incident wave and wave periods from 4 s to 15 s, is investigated. The numerical analyses are carried out
using Fluinco model that deals with incompressible flow problems based on the NaviereStokes equations
and employs the two-step semi-implicit TayloreGalerkin method. An aerodynamic model is
implemented in the algorithm to determine the air pressure that is imposed on the free surface. Analyses
are divided into two sections. In the first section, the flow variables obtained by Fluinco and the commercial
model Fluent are compared and similar results are obtained. In the second section, an investigation
of the chamber geometry and turbine characteristic relation that provide the best device
performance is carried out. In this case, variations in the front wall depth, the chamber length, the
turbine characteristic relation and the chamber height, are made.
