Hydrodynamic Analysis of Multi-Chamber Oscillating Water Column Device Using RANS Model

This study examines the hydrodynamic performance of multi-chamber Oscillating Water Column (OWC) devices using ANSYS 2022 R1 software, addressing gaps in existing wave energy research. While wave energy offers significant potential for sustainable power generation, most prior studies have focused on single-chamber OWCs or linear wave models, which do not capture the complexities of real-world ocean conditions. The study utilizes the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) model with the SST <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$k-\omega$</tex> turbulence model and the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method to analyze the performance of multi-chamber OWC devices. The analysis focuses on key parameters such as free surface elevation, velocity, and vorticity, offering insights into energy transfer, dissipation, and the effects of turbulent flow on power generation efficiency. The results highlight the importance of chamber interactions and vorticity in influencing energy losses and overall performance. The study finds that multi-chamber systems significantly improve energy capture, with the four-chamber configuration achieving the highest efficiency <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$(\eta=0.23)$</tex> and power output. These findings emphasize the need for optimizing chamber design to minimize energy losses and enhance system performance, particularly under nonlinear wave conditions, and contribute to advancing OWC device optimization and wave energy technology.