波浪導板對振盪水柱式波能轉換器捕獲係數之影響

EFFECTS OF WAVE GUIDE PLATES ON THE CAPTURE FACTOR OF THE OWC

振盪水柱式（Oscillating Water Column, OWC）波能轉換器利用波浪進入其氣室推動空氣以驅動渦輪發電機，其效能關鍵之一在於入口波能的進入。本研究在OWC模型入口前方兩側設置波浪導板（wave guide plate, WGP），探討WGP開放角度大小對於捕獲係數（capture factor, CF）之影響。在不同波浪與WGP開放角度大小條件下，利用高速相機拍攝OWC模型氣室內水位線影像之時間序列，再以影像處理分析技術（image processing and analysis）獲得各條件下水位線上下運動之數據，最後代入一理論公式以計算CF。實驗結果顯示WGP在某些開放角度範圍中確實有助於CF之提升。 The working principle of the OWC (Oscillating Water Column) type of WEC (wave energy converter) is to use the oscillation of the water surface in the chamber due to waves to generate air flow to drive a turbine generator. One of the keys to effective energy conversion of the OWC is that the wave energy can effectively enter into the OWC. Therefore, we use two wave guide plates (WGP) respectively installed at the left and right sides outside the inlet of an OWC model, and experimentally investigate the relation of the open angle formed by these two guide plates to the wave capture capability (capture factor, CF) of the OWC. We use high-speed imaging and techniques of image processing and analysis to obtain data of the kinematics of the water level in the chamber, and then con-vert them into the CFs with the formulas derived from a simple hydrodynamic theory. The results show that the WGPs indeed increase the CF in certain range of the open angle.