Hydrodynamic Performance of an Oscillating Water Column Device Installed in an Offshore Wind Turbine

Abstract

Hybrid wind–wave energy devices have attracted significant attention for their potential to efficiently harness marine energy while reducing construction costs. In this work, the hydrodynamic performance of an oscillating water column (OWC) device installed in an offshore wind turbine was investigated. A three-dimensional numerical model was developed based on computational fluid dynamics. The numerical predictions demonstrate good agreement with the corresponding experimental results. The effects of key factors, such as chamber diameter, chamber draft, and pneumatic damping, on the energy capture performance were analyzed. The variation patterns of the free surface elevation, the air pressure, and the capture width ratio were analyzed. Additionally, flow characteristics and vortex dynamics around the device were presented for better understanding the energy capture process of the hybrid device. The results reveal that a larger chamber diameter is beneficial for energy conversion, and the optimal chamber draft and pneumatic damping were identified. Furthermore, the operating performance of the optimized device under irregular wave conditions was predicted.

Keywords

• wave energy
• offshore wind turbine
• hybrid device
• numerical study
• performance optimization