• Journal of Drive and Control
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.25-35
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• 2015

The hydraulic power-take-off mechanism (HPTO) is one of the most popular methods in wave energy converters (WECs). However, the conventional HPTO with only one direction motion has a number of drawbacks that limit its power capture capability. This paper proposes an adjustable moving angle wave energy converter (AMAWEC) and investigates the effect of the moving angle on the performance of the wave energy converter to find the optimal moving angle in order to increase the power capture capability as well as energy efficiency. A mathematical model of components from a floating buoy to a hydraulic motor was modeled. A small scale WEC test rig was fabricated to verify the power capture capability and efficiency of the proposed system through experiments.

• Ocean Systems Engineering
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.203-217
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• 2013

A PTO (power-take-off) mechanism by using relative heave motions between a floating buoy and its inner mass (magnet or amateur) is suggested. The inner power take-off system is characterized by a mass with linear stiffness and damping. A vertical truncated cylinder is selected as a buoy and a special station-keeping system is proposed to minimize pitch motions while not affecting heave motions. By numerical examples, it is seen that the maximum power can actually be obtained at the optimal spring and damper condition, as predicted by the developed WEC(wave energy converter) theory. Then, based on the developed theory, several design strategies are proposed to further enhance the maximum PTO, which includes the intentional mismatching among heave natural frequency of the buoy, natural frequency of the inner dynamic system, and peak frequency of input wave spectrum. By using the intentional mismatching strategy, the generated power is actually increased and the required damping value is significantly reduced, which is a big advantage in designing the proposed WEC with practical inner LEG (linear electric generator) system.

• Journal of Drive and Control
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.31-40
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• 2014

This paper proposes a multi absorbing wave energy converter design, in which a hydrostatic transmission is used to transfer wave energy to electric energy. The most important feature of this system is its combination of the pressure coupling principle with the use of a hydraulic accumulator to eliminate the effects of wave power fluctuation; this maintains a constant speed of the hydraulic motor. Tilt motion of a floating buoy was employed as the power take-off mechanism. Furthermore, a PID controller was designed to carry out the speed control of the hydraulic motor. The design offers some advantages such as extending the life of the hydraulic components, increasing the amount of energy harvested, and stabilizing the output speed.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.73-80
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• 2013

Purpose: This study was conducted to compare tillage and loads characteristics of three types of rotavators in farmland working condition of Korea. Methods: Tillage operations using three types of rotavators, i.e. rotary-type, crank-type and plow-type, were carried out in a dry field of Korea. The same prime mover tractor was used for driving three types of rotavators, and under several operational conditions, tillage characteristics such as actual working speed, rotavating depth, rotavating width, actual field capacity, flow of tilled soil, soil inversion ratio, and pulverizing ratio were measured. In addition, loads characteristics like torque and required power of Power Take-Off (PTO) shaft were calculated. Results: The average rotavating depth was smaller than the nominal value for all rotavators, and the difference was the greatest in the plow-type rotavator. Nevertheless, the plow-type rotavator showed the largest rotavating depth. The rotavating width was the same as the nominal value of all rotavators. The flow of tilled soil at the same operational conditions was the greatest in the plow-type rotavator and was the smallest in the rotary-type rotavator. In the most commonly used gear conditions of L2 and L3, the average soil pulverizing ratio was the greatest in the rotary-type rotavator, and followed by crank-type and plow-type rotavators in order. In the gear L2 and L3, the plow-type rotavator also had the lowest average soil inversion ratio while the rotary-type and crank-type rotavators had the same soil inversion ratio each other. The average torque and power of PTO shaft in the gear L2 and L3 were the highest in the plow-type rotavator. The load spectra of PTO shaft applying rain flow counting method and Smith-Waston-Topper equation to the measured torque showed that the modified torque amplitude was the greatest in the crank-type rotavator. This may come from the large torque fluctuation of crank-type rotavator during tillage operations. Conclusions: The three types of rotavators had different tillage and loads characteristics. The plow-type rotavator had the deepest rotavating depth, the smallest soil inversion ratio, the largest soil pulverizing ratio and required PTO power. Also, the crank-type rotavator showed a large torque fluctuation because of their unique operational mechanism. This study will help the farmers choose a suitable type of rotavator for effective tillage operations.