In the past twenty years, the use of wave energy systems has significantly increased, generally depending on the oscillating water column (OWC) concept. Wells turbine is one of the most efficient OWC technologies. This article provides an updated and a comprehensive account of the state of the art research on Wells turbine. Hence, it draws a roadmap for the contemporary challenges which may hinder future reliance on such systems in the renewable energy sector. In particular, the article is concerned with the research directions and methodologies which aim at enhancing the performance and efficiency of Wells turbine. The article also provides a thorough discussion of the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for performance modeling and design optimization of Wells turbine. It is found that a numerical model using the CFD code can be employed successfully to calculate the performance characteristics of W-T as well as other experimental and analytical methods. The increase of research papers about CFD, especially in the last five years, indicates that there is a trend that considerably depends on the CFD method.

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Wells turbine for wave energy conversion: a review

Trends in turbomachinery turbulence treatments

Reducing the cost of energy of wave energy converters is key for the advancement of the technology. The costs associated with the device structure show the highest potential to achieve this reduction. For this reason, many hull geometry optimisation studies have been performed over the last 20 years, with the aim of finding improved hull shapes, that maximise the power generation and minimise the costs. These studies have been performed for different types of devices, applying a number of optimisation algorithms and representing power generation and costs with various strategies. The definition of the optimisation problem and the use of the most suitable strategies is key for a successful optimisation process, which will provide meaningful results and support device design at early development stages. This paper reviews all these different approaches, with a view to distilling the main findings and best practices; it then formulates recommendations based on these. The work is intended to serve as reference for any technology developer wishing to perform wave energy converter optimisation and for any funding body wanting to assess different device designs.

A review of geometry optimisation of wave energy converters

Machine learning methods to assist energy system optimization

Detailed entropy generation analysis of a Wells turbine using the variation of the blade thickness

High performance ocean energy harvesting turbine design–A new casing treatment scheme

Improved design of a Wells turbine for higher operating range

Numerical optimization of Wells turbine for wave energy extraction

Oscillating water column wave energy harvesting system uses pneumatic power to run a turbine and generate power. Both reaction (mainly Wells turbine) and impulse type turbines are tested in oscilla...

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1759313117693639

Paresh Halder

Papers

High performance ocean energy harvesting turbine design–A new casing treatment scheme

Improved design of a Wells turbine for higher operating range

Numerical optimization of Wells turbine for wave energy extraction

Optimal design of air turbines for oscillating water column wave energy systems: A review:

Wave energy conversion: Design and shape optimization