• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.25-31
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• 2013

This paper describes an electrical linear generator (IntELG) based on permanent magnets, containing heaving buoy, and its applications for the floating wave energy converters riding in parallel waves. The permanent magnets are integrated with the heaving buoy as a component and the integrated component is configured within the cylindrical IntELG to be filled with fluid. Thus, the IntELG can effectively be applied for the power-take-off of the floating wave energy converter riding in parallel waves. Typical applications are exampled with the Pelamis and Anaconda and they are investigated for the diversely redundant power source of nuclear power plant and the cooperation with submerged tunnel(s).

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.86-101
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• 2021

This study examined the effects of buoy shape and Nonlinear Froude-Krylov force (NFK) on a heaving-buoy-type Wave Energy Converter (WEC). Based on the Maclaurin expansion, the theoretical solutions of the NFK were derived for three different buoy shapes; hemispheric buoy, circular vertical cylinder, and truncated conical cylinder. A hydraulic power take-off system was adopted, and the latching control strategy was applied to maximize the extracted power from the WEC. The nonlinear effects of the Froude-Krylov force and restoring force on the heaving point absorber were investigated by comparing the heave Response Amplitude Operator (RAO) and time-averaged power extraction. The results showed that the conventional linear analyses were overestimated by up to 50% under the high amplitude wave condition. The latching control strategy was the most effective when peak wave period of regular or irregular wave was 0.4-0.45 times the heave natural period of the buoy.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.9-16
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• 2011

The feasibility of wave energy extraction from a heaving truncated cylinder and the corresponding response of the linear electric generator (LEG) composed of spring, magnet, and coil has been investigated in the frame of three-dimensional linear potential theory. The heaving motion of a circular cylinder is calculated by means of the matched eigenfunction expansion method. Further, the analytical results are validated by numerical results using the ANSYS AQWA commercial code. By the action of a heaving circular cylinder, the magnet suspended by a spring can slide vertically inside the heaving cylinder. The mechanical power is extracted from the magnet motion relative to the coil/stator which is attached to the cylinder. The coupled ODE of a heaving cylinder and LEG system in waves is derived to obtain the magnet motion relative to a cylinder. To maximize the relative motion of the magnet, both the buoy draft and the LEG system parameters (spring stiffness, damping) should be selected properly for generating the double resonance considering the peak frequency of the target spectrum.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.151-160
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• 2016

The diffraction and radiation of linear waves by an array of truncated floating multiple buoys are solved using the interaction theory based on a matched eigenfunction expansion method (MEEM). The interaction processes between multiple buoys are very complex and numerous, because the scattered and radiated waves from each buoy affect the others in the array. Our primary aim is therefore to construct the rigorous wave exciting forces and hydrodynamic forces to deal with the problem of multiple interactions. This present method is applied to a square array of four buoys with two incidence angles, and the results are given for the wave excitation forces on each buoy, heave RAO for each buoy heaving independently, and wave elevations around the buoys and wave run-up. The analytical solutions are in good agreement with the numerical solutions obtained from commercial code (WAMIT).

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.614-624
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• 2013

The resonance power buoy is a convincing tool that can increase the extraction efficiency of wave energy. The buoy needs a corresponding draft, to move in resonance with waves within the peak frequency band where wave energy is concentrated. However, it must still be clarified if the buoy acts as an effective displacement amplifier, when there is insufficient water depth. In this study, the vertical displacement of a circular cylinder-type buoy was calculated, with the spectrum data observed in a real shallow sea as the external wave force, and with the corresponding draft, according to the mode frequency of normal waves. Such numerical investigation result, without considering Power Take-Off (PTO) damping, confirmed that the area of the heave responses spectrum can be amplified by up to about tenfold, compared with the wave energy spectrum, if the draft corresponds to the peak frequency, even with insufficient water depth. Moreover, the amplification factor of the buoy varied, according to the seasonal changes in the wave spectra.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.25-34
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• 2017

The concentric dual-buoy Wave Energy Converter (WEC), which consists of external buoy (hallow-cylinder) with toroidal appendage and cylindrical internal buoy within the moon-pool is suggested in this research and its performance in various wave conditions is studied. The Linear Electric Generator (LEG), consisting of a permanent magnet and coils, is used as a direct Power Take-Off (PTO) system. To maximize the electrical energy extracted from the PTO system, the relative heave motions between the dual buoys must be highly amplified by the multiple resonance phenomena of dual-buoy and internal-fluid motions. The high-performance range can be widened by distributing those natural frequencies with respect to the peak frequency of the wave spectrum. The performance of the newly developed dual-buoy WEC was measured throughout the systematic 1:5.95-model test in regular and irregular waves conducted in a wave tank at Seoul National University. The model-test results are also validated by an independently developed numerical method.

• Ocean Systems Engineering
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-19
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• 2019

Latching control was applied to a Wave Energy Converter (WEC) buoy with direct linear electric Power Take-Off (PTO) systems oscillating in heave direction in waves. The equation of the motion of the WEC buoy in the time-domain is characterized by the wave exciting, hydrostatic, radiation forces and by several damping forces (PTO, brake, and viscous). By applying numerical schemes, such as the semi-analytical and Newmark ${\beta}$ methods, the time series of the heave motion and velocity, and the corresponding extracted power may be obtained. The numerical prediction with the latching control is in accordance with the experimental results from the systematic 1:10-model test in a wave tank at Seoul National University. It was found that the extraction of wave energy may be improved by applying latching control to the WEC, which particularly affects waves longer than the resonant period.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.32 no.9
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• pp.705-709
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• 2008

In the sea various methods have been conducted to capture wave energy which include the use of pendulums, pneumatic devices, etc. Floating devices, such as a cavity resonance device take advantages of both the water motion and the wave induced motions of the floating body itself. The wave energy converter is known commercially as the WAGB(Wave Activated Generator Buoy) and is used in some commercially available buoys to power navigation aids such as lights and horns. This wave energy converter consists of a circular flotation body which contains a vertical water column that has free communication with the sea. A theoretical analysis of this power generated by a pneumatic type wave energy converter is performed and the results obtained from the analysis are used for a real wave energy converter buoy. This paper is shown to have an optimum value for which maximum power is obtained at a given resonant wave period Also, the length of the internal water column corresponds to that of the water mass in the water column. If designed properly, wave energy converter can take advantage not only of the cavity resonance, but also qf the heaving motion of the buoy. Finally, simulation is performed with a LabVIEW program and the simulation results are applied to a wave energy simulator for modifying design data for a wave energy converter.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.282-290
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• 2015

In this study, a latching control technology, proposed by Sheng et al.(2015), was applied in order to maximize the extraction efficiency of WEC (Wave Energy Converter), which is the heaving buoy coupled with linear electric generator. The latching control is the phase-control technique for improving the wave energy conversion with appropriate latching duration of keeping the buoy fixed. From the time-domain analysis in regular waves, the latching control technology can significantly improve the heave velocity and extracted power, even though the resonance condition is not satisfied. By using the latching control technology, the draft of buoy as well as the required PTO damping force can be significantly reduced along with increased extracted power, which is a big advantage in manufacturing the WEC.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.474-483
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• 2014

The majority of existing WECs (wave energy converters) are designed to achieve maximum power at a resonance condition. In the case of a single WEC, its size must be large enough for tuning, and it has high efficiency only within a limited frequency band. Recently, wave power extraction by deploying many small buoys in a compact array has been studied under the assumption that the buoy's size and separation distance are much smaller than the water depth, wave length, and size of the array. A boundary value problem involving the macro-scale boundary condition on the mean surface covered by an infinite strip of buoys is solved using the eigenfunction expansion method. The energy extraction efficiency (${\varepsilon}=1-R^2_f-T^2_r$), where $R_f$ and $T_r$ are the reflection and transmission coefficients for a strip array of buoys, is assessed for various combinations of packing ratio, strip width, and PTO damping coefficient.