Laboratory experiments on the performance of an OWC-WEC: fixed condition versus floating platform-embodied condition

So far, Oscillating Water Column (OWC) devices have been proposed both for harvesting the wave energy and for attenuating the motion of floating platforms. In order to study the performance of the OWC device embodied in a Very Large Floating Structure (VLFS), a laboratory-scale physical model was manufactured and tested in the wave-current flume of LABIMA, the Laboratory of Maritime Engineering of University of Florence, Italy. Both regular and irregular waves were tested. The floating behaviour of the VLFS under the action of waves with different steepness was measured by using contactless ultrasonic distance sensors installed along the VLFS length. Moreover, the oscillation of the water level inside the OWC device, the differential pressure and the related air flow velocity through the duct housing the power take off were measured. This work aims at describing the conducted laboratory experiments and to discuss the performance of the OWC devices integrated in the VLFS in terms of the comparison with the performance of the same OWC tested in fixed conditions.