Validation of the U-Oscillating Water Column model by full-scale experimental data

This paper deals with the validation of a mathematical model used for estimating the water column displacement in a U-Oscillating Water Column (U-OWC) wave energy harvester. The model is widely applied in the open literature for calculating the U-OWC response in the time domain. However, its reliability has not been assessed against measurements from a full-scale prototype. In this paper, we utilize experimental data recorded on a U-OWC breakwater installed in the port of Civitavecchia (Rome, Italy). The U-OWC is equipped with sensors for measuring the water pressure and the air pressure in the absorbing chamber, which allows determining the water column displacement indirectly. The comparison between the measured time histories and the estimated ones show that the model calibrated via small-scale data shows discrepancies that are removed by a re-calibration of the coefficients.