Apparatus and theory of a submerged point absorber using oscillating water column

We present a submerged point absorber using oscillating water column (SPA-OWC) that converts ocean wave energy into electric energy. The SPA-OWC comprises a hollow pipe with a power take off system and uses a heave motion of the water inside. Therefore, it has the lightweight and simple structure which would be helpful to reduce production and maintenance costs. The goal of the research described in this paper is to explain the operation principle of the SPA-OWC and to prove the its potential through showing its performance via linear wave theory. A model dynamics based on Newton´s law applied to the SPA-OWC will be derived and then simulations of the SPA-OWC with different submerged depths will be carried out with an analysis of the results.