Comparison between a U-OWC and a conventional OWC

With an additional vertical duct at the wave-beaten side, an OWC is expected to give some much better performances. This is, essentially, due to two reasons. First, an OWC with the additional vertical duct (U-OWC) has an eigenperiod greater than the eigenperiod of a conventional OWC. Second, the amplitude of the pressure fluctuations on the opening of a U-OWC is greater than the amplitude of the pressure fluctuations on the opening of a conventional OWC (the greater the smaller the wave period is). For the first reason, a U-OWC can give performances better than those of a conventional OWC both with swells and large wind waves. For the second reason, a U-OWC can give performances better than those of a conventional OWC also with small wind waves.