Prediction of the Heave Response of a Floating Oscillating Water Column Wave Energy Converter

Abstract

The coupled dynamics of the chamber and the water column are central to the successful modelling of the performance of a floating oscillating water column (OWC) wave energy converter. This paper presents a novel system identification method to evaluate the parameters involved in the dynamics of partially submerged bodies in order to predict the motions of the chamber and the water column. The method, based on the reverse SISO approach was employed to allow frequency dependent parameters for both the floating structure and the oscillating water column to be independently determined from several forced vibration experiments. To validate the dynamic model proposed, direct and wave force excitation experiments were conducted using two circular floating OWC wave energy converters. The experimental results obtained agree reasonably well with the dynamic model established.