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Hydrodynamic and power-capturing performances of the dual-tube oscillating water column device: A numerical study

Author

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  • Bian, Qizhi
  • Dong, Xiaochen
  • Xu, Chuanli
  • Liu, Zhen
  • Ding, Lei

Abstract

A compact oscillating water column (OWC) multi-tube array called “PILOT” is proposed in this study, which is expected to enhance the energy-harvesting capability of the system and reduce the construction cost in the areas with large tidal differences and a broad wave frequency band by modularized design. The multi-tube system can share a common air chamber to be integrated for linked operation. A 3D numerical model is established based on a commercial computational fluid dynamic platform ANSYS Fluent® 16.0 to investigate the hydrodynamic and energy-harvesting performance of a simplified PILOT system with two tubes. The numerical model is verified and validated using experimental results on a single-tube OWC system. The effects of the tube diameter, tube spacing, and orifice area of the shared chamber on the system performance are investigated numerically. The peak capture width ratio of the system is obtained at 0.37. The numerical predictions could provide valuable information for further development and engineering design of the compact OWC arrays.

Suggested Citation

  • Bian, Qizhi & Dong, Xiaochen & Xu, Chuanli & Liu, Zhen & Ding, Lei, 2025. "Hydrodynamic and power-capturing performances of the dual-tube oscillating water column device: A numerical study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 336(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:336:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225041842
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.138542
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    References listed on IDEAS

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