Effect of Inlet Geometry Modification of Wave Energy Conversion System

The ocean holds a tremendous amount of untapped energy which is a non-polluting and renewable source. Due to development of standalone renewable energy systems, it is a trend to install the Oscillating Water Column (OWC) with rechargeable batteries on the buoy. It is important to improve the energy conversion efficiency to keep a certain rage of battery voltage in order to extend the battery’s replacement cycle. Two types of inlet geometry (the trumpet type and the cylindrical type) are designed and compared their performances through scale model experiment in a 2-D wave tank as well as through the full scale experiment in the sea. The results confirm that the trumpet-shaped inlet of OWC generates more electric power than the cylindrical-shaped inlet.