Expected Values of Wave Power Absorption Around the Japanese Islands Using OWC Types With Projecting Walls

Abstract

This paper describes performance improvement of wave power absorption by using a new concept. Basic system proposed is an oscillating water column (OWC) type. An artificial harbor surrounded by projecting walls is installed. The type is called as PW-OWC in this paper. Standing waves occur in the artificial harbor, the absorbing device consequently has a resonance frequency differing from that of OWC. From the effect, the system is able to absorb wave power in very wide range of the wave frequency. From the experimental results, PW-OWC types are very good performance of wave power absorption comparing with conventional OWC types. In addition, the performance of the PW-OWC type is insensibility to the nozzle ratio of an orifice. The performance can be easily improved by installing the harbor part even if the performance of a base OWC device is not good. Finally, we investigate the expected values of acquirable wave power in not only a year but also every season. The expected values of PW-OWC types are greater than that of conventional OWC ones in seas around the Japanese islands.