Three-dimensional effects on the performance of multi-level overtopping wave energy converter

Abstract

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.

Constructal Design of a Two Ramps Overtopping Wave Energy Converter Integrated into a Breakwater: Effect of the Vertical Distance between the Ramps over its Performance

“…Some experimental studies about the Overtopping Device Wave Energy Converter (OTD-WEC) are found, such as: [4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. There are also studies into the numerical framework: [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. Concerning the employment of Constructal Design and numerical simulation in the OTD-WEC, the number of works has increased, highlighting: [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34].…”