Eric’s presentation discussed the hydrodynamic performance and motion characteristics of a column-stabilised asymmetrical oscillating water column (OWC) wave-energy converter. A 1:36 scale model of the OWC was experimentally tested at the Australian Maritime College and was numerically modelled with Star CCM+ computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software.
The design incorporated several geometric relationships for high-performance asymmetrical OWCs and typical design requirements utilised in the offshore oil and gas industry. Detailed analysis included physical and numerical decay tests to quantify the natural period of the OWC moonpool and rigid-body motions, response amplitude operators, turbine damping coefficients for the power take-off system, and hydrodynamic capture-width ratios.
Question time was lengthy and elicited many more interesting points.
The certificate was subsequently posted to Eric, and the “thank you” bottle of wine delivered via an eGift card.
Eric’s presentation was recorded, and is expected to be available soon on the RINA YouTube channel
