Optimization at different time scales for the design and management of an oscillating water column system Jalón Ramírez, María Lourdes Baquerizo Azofra, Asunción Losada Rodríguez, Miguel Ángel Wave power Oscillating water column (OWC) Stochastic optimization The work of the first author was funded by Abengoa Research (Research Project, Reliable) within the framework of a cooperation agreement between the company and the Environmental Fluid Dynamics Research Group of the University of Granada. The work of the second and the third author was partially funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the European Union (Research Project, Método Unificado para el Diseño y Verificacion de los Diques de Abrigo, REF: BIA2012-37554) and by the Andalusian Regional Government (Research Project, Aplicación del Conocimiento CEAMA-Aerogeneradores, REF:PI/ 11_57055). This research used an optimization method to highlight the importance of time scales in the design of a bottom-fixed OWC (oscillating water column). The different time scales studied were a sea state, a season, and a year. For the last two scales, a stochastic formulation was used to take into account the random nature of the wave climate in the time interval considered. This paper also describes a general methodology for the study of the non-stationary performance of an OWC device during its useful life, which was applied to obtain the available pneumatic power. It entailed simulations of the wave climate and the corresponding OWC-related performance magnitude, which reproduced the intra-annual and interannual climate variability at the site. This methodology was used to analyze the management-related random variables for three optimal OWC configurations on different time scales. The results of this study show that OWC performance can be enhanced by designing systems whose configuration can be adapted to successive sea states. This opens a line of research with promising technological implications that is well worth exploring in greater depth. 2026-01-26T12:39:39Z 2026-01-26T12:39:39Z 2016 journal article Published version: Jalón Ramírez, María Lourdes et al. Optimization at different time scales for the design and management of an oscillating water column system. Energy Volume 95, 15 January 2016, Pages 110-123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2015.11.062 https://hdl.handle.net/10481/110282 10.1016/j.energy.2015.11.062 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ open access Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional Elsevier