The performance of a multi-level overtopping wave energy converter has been numerically investigated in a three-dimensional wave tank. The device has three extra slots and is positioned on a breakwater. The span length of the breakwater is the main parameter associated with the three-dimensional effects on the hydraulic efficiency of the wave energy device. It has been shown that the device with a finite span yields a lower captured crest energy due to waves falling-down the edges during the run-up process. The result also implies that as the span of the device is increased, the efficiency tends to increase further to resemble the two-dimensional device. The three-dimensional mechanism has a significant influence on the potential energy in the water being stored by the higher reservoirs, while that of lower ones have relatively smaller effects. In addition, a relation between hydraulic efficiencies of two and three-dimensional devices has been proposed.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.