A study on design and modeling of a Wave Energy Converter

파력발전기의 에너지 회생을 위한 연구

Motions in nature, for example ocean wave, has been playing a significant role for generating electricity production in our modern life. This paper presents an innovative approach for electric power conversion of the vast ocean wave energy. Here, a floating-buoy wave energy converter (WEC) using hydrostatic transmission (HST), which is shortened as HSTWEC, is proposed and designed to enhance the wave energy harvesting task during all wave fluctuations. In this HSTWEC structure, the power take-off system (PTO) is a combination of the designed HST circuit and an electric generator to convert mechanical energy generated by ocean wave into electrical energy. Several design concepts of the HSTWEC have been considered in this study for an adequate investigation. Modeling and simulations using MATLAB/Simulink and AMESim are then carried out to evaluate these design concepts to find out the best solution. In addition, an adaptive controller is designed for improving the HSTWEC performance. The effectiveness of the proposed HSTWEC control system is finally proved by numerical simulations.