Investigation on the wave focusing effects and energy capture of Oscillating Water Column array

The study of OWC array hydrodynamic performance has been a focus of attention. However, due to the complex flow and strong nonlinearity generated during its interaction with waves, the main challenge and key focus in current research is how to simulate this process both quickly and accurately. A fast-numerical model of the OWC is developed using the open-source software package OpenFOAM. The numerical model replaces the orifice plate with Forchheimer-flow and the vertical walls with an immersed boundary. Compared to the traditional numerical model, the fast-numerical model can speed up the simulation by at least 10 times. The impact of row spacing and column spacing on the array gain is systematically investigated through the simulations of two-OWCs array, four-OWCs lattice array, and five-OWCs interlaced array. The results show that a two-OWCs array can generate a wave focusing area at its rear, and the location of this area changes with row spacings. For the four-OWCs lattice array, the row spacing increasing causes the wave focusing area to move closer to the array. The proximity of the wave focusing area enhances the power output of the second row of OWCs. After increasing the row and column spacing, the reflection of waves from the second row of OWCs to the first row is decreased, resulting in a reduction in the power output of the first row of OWCs. In contrast to the four-OWC lattice array, the five-OWCs interlaced array demonstrates a lower array gain in the first row of OWCs, with the second row displaying a higher array gain.