Experimental study of the hydrodynamic performance of an onshore wave power device in the presence of an underwater mound

The hydrodynamic functioning of an oscillating water column (OWC) in the presence of an underwater tri-dimensional mound (UTDM) through large-scale ocean engineering basin experiments is described. Experiments are carried out with both regular and irregular waves and are compared to numerical models. The analysis is based on the measurements of the wave amplification in the water column for the OWC performance and on surface deformation upwave and over the UTDM for the wave transformation due to both UTDM and OWC. A significant increase of the capture-width ratio due to wave focusing above the mound is observed experimentally. This wave focusing is also well described numerically with a refraction-diffraction model. The wave amplification in the water column for both regular and irregular waves is compared to results from a linear potential model based on an integral matching method. Linear behaviour of the hydrodynamic response of the device is verified for both open and partially closed conditions, in particular for irregular waves.