TUPPERWAVE

Among the various wave energy converter (WEC) technologies, oscillating water column (OWC) systems are one of the most promising for extracting energy from the ocean.

Common OWC systems are based on self-rectifying bidirectional air turbines, such as Wells turbines. These turbines present inherent disadvantages such as lower efficiency at high flow coefficient and poor starting characteristics in comparison with conventional turbines. To overcome these drawbacks as well as to reduce the acoustic impact of the systems, TUPPERWAVE aims to design and validate at laboratory level a new concept of OWC converter.

The new device will be based on a chamber with two air valves that generate a unidirectional flow to the turbine situated between them. The hydrodynamic performance in terms of energy conversion efficiency as well as the structural stability will be studied in order to demonstrate the feasibility of the new concept.

WavEC Offshore Renewables contributes to the project with its knowledge on the OWC technology, in the stage of the device design, and also in the implementation of a time domain model which simulates its dynamics.

General Information

Funding: OCEANERA-NET/FCT
WavEC Coordinator: Miguel Vicente
Total Funding (Requested EU contribution): € 380 217
WavEC Funding: € 69 720
Duration: October 2015 – September 2017 (24 months)
Coordinator: Interga – SPAIN/Asturias
Partners: HMRC-UCC, CADFEM and WavEC Offshore Renewables.
Website: N/A