Mathematical Modeling and Experimental Verification of a New Wave Energy Converter

Abstract

As traditional energy sources are increasingly depleting, ocean energy has become an emergent potential clean energy source. Wave energy, as an important part of ocean-derived energy, has been studied and utilized by coastal countries worldwide, which have developed various wave energy converters. In this paper, a new wave energy converter is designed, and water movement in fluid channels is analyzed. The results are, then, used to generate a mathematical model that simulates water movement. Based on this approach, the water movement state is analyzed, and a formula for calculating the natural frequency of water movement in the power generator is derived. The formula shows that the characteristic length of the water movement in the proposed generator and the backboard tilt angle at the exit point of the fluid channel are two design-related variables that can be used to alter the natural frequency; a regular wave experiment is conducted based on the fluid model, which is designed based on the natural frequency formula, to verify the changes in model torque and speed as well as whether the model can operate under normal wave conditions. This study lays a theoretical foundation for the design of further experiments and engineering prototypes to verify the validity of mathematical models by way of experimental analysis.

The Shape Optimization and Experimental Research of Heave Plate Applied to the New Wave Energy Converter

“…Figure 1 shows the generating principle. This device was divided into three parts, as shown in Figure 2: a generating part (a), heaving plate (b), and mooring system (c) [45][46][47][48][49]. The water depth, h, of the test area was approximately 15 m, and the submerged water depth, h 1, of the wave energy conversion device was approximately 4.75 m. The overall height, h 2 , of the device was 5.443 m, and the height, h 3 , of the generating part was 2.948 m. Catenary mooring can restrict the motion of the platform with the gravity of catenaries, so this method is usually adopted by marine-energy-generating devices.…”

Mooring Stability Study for Novel Wave Energy Converter Based on Regular Wave

“…The water depth of the area where the device is placed is 15 m, and the device´s draft is 4.7 m; thus, the vertical length of the anchor chains is 10.3 m. The weight of the chains is 7/8 of their weight in a vertical position. There are four anchor chains with a total vertical length of 41.2 m. According to the prototype of the anchor chains, a chain's diameter is 50 mm and its weight is 49.5 kg/m; therefore, the total weight of the chains is 2040 kg, and their weight in the water is about 1759 kg when the buoyant force is excluded [28][29][30]. Dangling chain length:…”

Special Issue “Advances and Challenges in Harvesting Ocean Energy”

“…Further on, in the work entitled Mathematical Modelling and Experimental Verification of a New Wave Energy Converter [11], a new wave energy converter is designed, and the water movement in fluid channels is analyzed. The results are used to generate a mathematical model that simulates the water movement.…”