Experimental Proof-of-Concept of a Hybrid Wave Energy Converter Based on Oscillating Water Column and Overtopping Mechanisms

Abstract

This paper presents the results of laboratory tests on a hybrid wave energy converter concept, the O2WC (Oscillating-Overtopping Water Column) device. The proposed device aims at providing an alternative to the classical OWC concept, storing part of the wave energy of the highly energetic sea states in a second chamber at atmospheric pressure, through overtopping phenomena. In this way, the maximum airflow rate and air pressure in the OWC chamber are reduced, possibly aiding the safe functioning of the air turbine, and allowing to exploit the excess of energy instead of dissipating it through by-pass valves. The performance of the device is investigated under different incident wave conditions, for different design parameters. The height of the overtopping threshold from the second chamber of the device which allows to maximize the performance has been selected. Results show that the decrease of the primary conversion efficiency of the OWC component of the device caused by the decreased air pressure in the OWC chamber can be partially compensated by the additional energy stored in the overtopping chamber of the O2WC device. Overall, the studied O2WC device has capture width ratio values ranging between 0.3 and 0.7.