Since the nineties, the OWC (Oscillating Water Column) plants were developed at full scale to produce electrical power from ocean waves [1]. A prototype was built into a caisson breakwater of the Sakata Port, in Japan; other plants were built in India, in Scotland at Islay, in Portugal at the Azores. A new plant was built in Mutriku (Spain) recently. A new kind of OWC caisson, named U-OWC or REWEC3, was proposed by Boccotti [2]. With respect to a traditional OWC, a U-OWC plant includes an additional vertical duct, which enables to tune the eigenperiod of the plant to the peak period of the wave pressures acting on the converter-breakwater. In this way, resonance conditions can be reached without phase control devices and the wave pressures into the air pocket are increased in amplitude, amplifying the performance of the plant. In 2012, a full scale U-OWC (REWEC3) breakwater has been designed in Italy, for the harbour of Civitavecchia (the port of Rome – Port Authority of Civitavecchia). Such a breakwater embodies 19 caissons, each including 8 cells, 34m long. The paper disseminates the key issues pertaining the design stage. Further, it describes the main phases of the construction stage. The building of the caisson started in October 2012. The first caisson has been completed at the end of 2012. It is the first device for wave energy in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the biggest in the world.
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ASME 2013 32nd International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering
June 9–14, 2013
Nantes, France
Conference Sponsors:
- Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering Division
ISBN:
978-0-7918-5542-3
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
On Design and Building of a U-OWC Wave Energy Converter in the Mediterranean Sea: A Case Study Available to Purchase
Felice Arena,
Felice Arena
‘Mediterranea’ University, Reggio Calabria, Italy
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Alessandra Romolo,
Alessandra Romolo
‘Mediterranea’ University, Reggio Calabria, Italy
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Giovanni Malara,
Giovanni Malara
‘Mediterranea’ University, Reggio Calabria, Italy
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Alfredo Ascanelli
Alfredo Ascanelli
Impresa Pietro Cidonio S.p.A., Rome, Italy
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Felice Arena
‘Mediterranea’ University, Reggio Calabria, Italy
Alessandra Romolo
‘Mediterranea’ University, Reggio Calabria, Italy
Giovanni Malara
‘Mediterranea’ University, Reggio Calabria, Italy
Alfredo Ascanelli
Impresa Pietro Cidonio S.p.A., Rome, Italy
Paper No:
OMAE2013-11593, V008T09A102; 8 pages
Published Online:
November 26, 2013
Citation
Arena, F, Romolo, A, Malara, G, & Ascanelli, A. "On Design and Building of a U-OWC Wave Energy Converter in the Mediterranean Sea: A Case Study." Proceedings of the ASME 2013 32nd International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering. Volume 8: Ocean Renewable Energy. Nantes, France. June 9–14, 2013. V008T09A102. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/OMAE2013-11593
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