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On the modelling of water column oscillations in U-OWC energy harvesters

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  • Malara, Giovanni
  • Romolo, Alessandra
  • Fiamma, Vincenzo
  • Arena, Felice

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to investigate the reliability of the mathematical model used for estimating the U-Oscillating Water Column (U-OWC) response in the time domain. This device is a wave energy harvester belonging to the family of Oscillating Water Columns. It comprises a water column, an air chamber with a self-rectifying turbine and a vertical U-shaped duct connecting the water column to the open wave field. The model used for describing the water column oscillations is based on the application of the unsteady Bernoulli equation for a real fluid and involves the determination of energy losses occurring over the entire duct length. The reliability of this mathematical model is assessed against experimental data. For this purpose, a U-OWC experimental model is installed in a benign natural basin, the Natural Ocean Engineering Laboratory NOEL. The experimental model is exposed to waves stochastically characterized. Thus, its response is described by relevant statistics. The paper shows that the current mathematical model may yield relevant overestimations of the system response. This relates to the approximate representation of the head losses, which are based on the Darcy-Weisbach formula traditionally employed in the analyses of steady flows. For overcoming these limitations, the paper proposes the utilization of the instantaneous acceleration-based model, which includes unsteady head losses proportional to the water column inertia. In this context, the model shows a general good agreement with the experimental measurements and demonstrate a superior capability of predicting the U-OWC response in all the processed records.

Suggested Citation

  • Malara, Giovanni & Romolo, Alessandra & Fiamma, Vincenzo & Arena, Felice, 2017. "On the modelling of water column oscillations in U-OWC energy harvesters," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 964-972.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:101:y:2017:i:c:p:964-972
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2016.09.051
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Malara, Giovanni & Arena, Felice, 2013. "Analytical modelling of an U-Oscillating Water Column and performance in random waves," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 116-126.
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    Cited by:

    1. Scialò, A. & Henriques, J.C.C. & Malara, G. & Falcão, A.F.O. & Gato, L.M.C. & Arena, F., 2021. "Power take-off selection for a fixed U-OWC wave power plant in the Mediterranean Sea: The case of Roccella Jonica," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(PA).
    2. Moretti, Giacomo & Malara, Giovanni & Scialò, Andrea & Daniele, Luca & Romolo, Alessandra & Vertechy, Rocco & Fontana, Marco & Arena, Felice, 2020. "Modelling and field testing of a breakwater-integrated U-OWC wave energy converter with dielectric elastomer generator," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 628-642.
    3. Emiliano Renzi & Simone Michele & Siming Zheng & Siya Jin & Deborah Greaves, 2021. "Niche Applications and Flexible Devices for Wave Energy Conversion: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-25, October.
    4. Malara, Giovanni & Arena, Felice, 2019. "Response of U-Oscillating Water Column arrays: semi-analytical approach and numerical results," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 1152-1165.
    5. Scandura, Pietro & Malara, Giovanni & Arena, Felice, 2021. "The inclusion of non-linearities in a mathematical model for U-Oscillating Water Column wave energy converters," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    6. Cui, Lin & Zheng, Siming & Zhang, Yongliang & Miles, Jon & Iglesias, Gregorio, 2021. "Wave power extraction from a hybrid oscillating water column-oscillating buoy wave energy converter," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    7. Deng, Zhengzhi & Wang, Lin & Zhao, Xizeng & Wang, Peng, 2020. "Wave power extraction by a nearshore oscillating water column converter with a surging lip-wall," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 662-674.
    8. Cheng, Yong & Du, Weiming & Dai, Saishuai & Yuan, Zhiming & Incecik, Atilla, 2024. "Wave energy conversion by an array of oscillating water columns deployed along a long-flexible floating breakwater," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    9. Trivedi, Kshma & Koley, Santanu, 2021. "Mathematical modeling of breakwater-integrated oscillating water column wave energy converter devices under irregular incident waves," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 403-419.
    10. Xu, Conghao & He, Yuanyuan & Yao, Yu & Zuo, Jun, 2023. "Experimental and numerical study of a circular OWC with a U-shaped duct for wave energy conversion in long waves: Hydrodynamic characteristics and viscous energy loss," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(C).
    11. Moretti, Giacomo & Santos Herran, Miguel & Forehand, David & Alves, Marco & Jeffrey, Henry & Vertechy, Rocco & Fontana, Marco, 2020. "Advances in the development of dielectric elastomer generators for wave energy conversion," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).

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