Practical calculation of parabolic overtopping wave energy converter

Abstract

Overtopping Wave Energy Convertor (OWEC) is an offshore wave energy convertor for collecting the overtopping waves and converting the water pressure head into electric power through the hydro turbines installed in the vertical duct which is fixed in the sea bed. The numerical wave tank based on the commercial computational fluid dynamics code Fluent is established for the corresponding analysis. The Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes and two-phase VOF model are utilized to generate the 2D numerical linear propagating waves, which has been validated by the overtopping experiment results. Several incident wave conditions and shape parameters of the overtopping device are calculated. The straight line type and parabolic type of the sloping arm are compared in the optimal designing investigation of the overtopping characteristics and discharge for OWEC device. The numerical results demonstrate that the parabolic sloping arm is available for wave running up and the overtopping discharge increasing. Copyright ？ 2008 by The International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers.