Multi-chamber oscillating water column wave energy converters and air turbines: A review

Abstract

Summary The oscillating water column (OWC) is a more common type of wave energy converter (WEC) that has been the subject of the study and development for several decades. Multi–chamber oscillating water column (MC–OWC) devices or arrays have the advantage of being more efficient in energy extraction compared to a single chamber system, particularly in more chaotic sea states. A variety of single and array OWC devices have been proposed and studied on a small–scale, whereas few large–scale devices have been tested under ocean wave conditions. This paper provides a concise review of the current state of MC–OWC device development in laboratory conditions. The review highlights explicitly the main stages of MC–OWC device development for one ongoing study as an example. This review was based on the available information in the literature from 2003 to 2012, in addition, further work is presented as part of the current study at the University of Technology Sydney. This study is from 2015 to 2018. The discussion shows the challenges that a device needs to overcome to be more competitive with other WECs in the global of wave energy converter area.

A review of marine renewable energy storage

“…In an OWC wave energy converter, there is an enclosed space formed. The water column oscillates with the oscillating incident wave, therefore, the air in the enclosed space is compressed and sucked to drive the air turbine to generate electricity . For an oscillating body wave energy converter, excited by the oscillating waves, the buoys oscillate up and down or swing from side to side, thereby driving the hydraulic cylinder, pneumatic cylinder, motors, generators, etc, to generate power .…”

“…The water column oscillates with the oscillating incident wave, therefore, the air in the enclosed space is compressed and sucked to drive the air turbine to generate electricity. [57][58][59] For an oscillating body wave energy converter, excited by the oscillating waves, the buoys oscillate up and down or swing from side to side, thereby driving the hydraulic cylinder, pneumatic cylinder, motors, generators, etc, to generate power. [60][61][62] Generally, the wave energy transfers to the hydraulic cylinder and the pressure energy of the fluid increases, thereby driving the motor and generator to output electricity.…”

Hydrodynamic Investigation of a Dual-Cylindrical OWC Wave Energy Converter Integrated into a Fixed Caisson Breakwater

“…Ocean renewable energy as one of the clean and low-carbon energies has drawn wide attention in recent years of all circles. Because of the advantages gained due to the high energy density and the wide distribution, a growing number of studies conducted by researchers and engineers focused on energy extraction from ocean waves [1,2]. There has been a wide range of wave energy converters proposed to improve the energy trapping performance, and some of them have been successfully applied to commercialization.…”

Development of multi-oscillating water columns as wave energy converters

“…The OWC and the associated devices in existence have been well reviewed in literature [5,[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. However, there has been much lesser focus on the multi-oscillating water column devices (M-OWCs) in the past [13,15,16], although a specific interest is starting to develop [17,18]. This paper aims to fill this gap by firstly discussing the evolution of the OWC concept, then introducing and reviewing the relevant M-OWC technology and devices.…”