CFD study of a Dual Chamber Floating Oscillating Water Column device

A comprehensive Computational Fluid Dynamics study of a Dual Chamber Floating Oscillating Water Column device fixed in space is presented. Firstly, the numerical wave flume model is calibrated and validated for a simple case of a floating box fixed in space. Spectral components of the vertical wave force on the box are evaluated and the Computational Fluid Dynamics numerical model uncertainty is assessed. Secondly, the numerical wave flume is used to study the hydrodynamics around the Dual Chamber Floating Oscillating Water Column. The wave forces acting on the device when fixed in space are calculated, also free surface elevations and air pressures inside the chambers are evaluated and the efficiency of the device is determined. The present numerical results show that the model can describe properly the two main components of the vertical force of a fixed floating box. Efficiency results of the device show that it is the same whether it is moving or not for the low wave height. For higher wave heights, the efficiency improves when the device is moving due to its resonance mechanisms.