Application of numerical wave tank to OWC air chamber for wave energy conversion

Abstract

In this paper, a numerical wave tank (NWT) based on FLUENT using two-phase VOF model for incompressible viscous flow is presented for the investigation of wave energy converting performance of the Oscillating Water Column (OWC) chamber. The NWT consists of the continuity equation, the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes' equation and the two-phase fractional VOF function. The standard k-ε turbulence model, finite volume method, NITA-PISO algorithm and dynamic mesh technique are employed to generate the 2D and 3D regular incident waves. The oscillating amplitude of water column in the chamber and bi-directional air flow in the duct installed on the top of the chamber are calculated, and compared with experimental data to verify the validation of the present NWT. The nozzle effects of the chamber-duct system on the relative amplitudes of the inner free water surface and air flow rate in the duct are investigated. Copyright ？ 2008 by The International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers (ISOPE).