A U-OWC wave energy converter in the Mediterranean sea: Preliminary results on the monitoring system of the first prototype

The objective of this paper is to present the results of a small-scale field experiment on a U – Oscillating Water Column wave energy converter. The experiment has been carried out at the Natural Ocean Engineering Laboratory of the Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria. It has been conducted from November 2013, when the first steps of the construction of the model started, to September 2014, when a strong sea storm exposed the small plant to the optimal conditions for pursuing the experimentation. The key results of this field experiment are: the plant is able to reach the resonance condition with the pressure head at the opening of the U-duct during the whole duration of a sea state without the use of phase control devices; the turbine used during the experimentation was able to produce and average power of about 500W with peaks of 1 kW