Performance assessment of a Triple Coaxial-Cylinder Wave-Energy Converter (TCWEC)

We propose a novel Triple Coaxial-cylinder Wave-Energy Converter (TCWEC) system, as an evolution of the commonly deployed dual-coaxial cylinder WEC (DCWEC). TCWEC consists of one inner cylinder and two concentric outer cylinders, characterized by two coupled resonant frequencies, improving wave power absorption. A semi-analytical model, based on potential flow theory and matched eigenfunction expansions, is developed to analyze the 3-Degrees of Freedom (DOF) system. The viscous drag coefficients are determined by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations and employed as equivalent linear damping. Analysis of impact of the viscous flow-separation factor fvis on the capture width indicates that the higher energy-absorption capability of TCWEC is not merely attributed to a smaller fvis value, but rather a planned split of the outer cylinder in DCWEC design into two cylinders in TCWEC, so as to produce an effectively broader resonance property. Under identical sea conditions, it is found that, compared to DCWEC, the optimal capture width of TCWEC is increased by as much as 77% in regular waves. In irregular waves, the optimal capture width is increased up to 40% across the entire frequency range. These findings suggest that the energy absorption efficiency of TCWEC is promising and its potential for real-world applications.