A Study on Integrated OWC System within Turbine Effects

Abstract

Oscillating Water Column is one of the most widely used converting systems all over the world. The operating performance is influenced by the efficiencies of the two converting stages in the OWC chamber-turbine integrated system. In order to study the effects of the pressure drop induced by the air turbine, the experiments using the impulse turbine and the orifice device are carried out in the wave simulator test rig. The numerical simulation utilizing the orifice and porous media modules is calculated and validated by the corresponding experimental data. The numerical wave tank based on the two-phase VOF model embedded with the above modules is employed to investigate the wave elevation,pressure variation inside the chamber and the air flow velocity in the duct. The effects of the air turbine on the integrated system and interaction among the wave elevation, pressure and air flow velocities variations are investigated, which demonstrates that the present numerical model are more accurate to be employed.