초록
This study concentrates on the design of floater for 15kW-class wave energy converter that extracts the ocean energy by oscillating vertically along the wave motion. The floater connects to a arm structure that connects to a hydraulic cylinder, which drives a hydraulic generator. The study mainly focuses on the structural analysis of the floater. Previous studies have been conducted using a miniature model; however, this study focuses on the size selection of the floater for a full scale model. Static structural analysis is conducted using fine numerical grids. Due to the complexity of the whole model, it is analyzed as a separate component. There are several load cases for each floater size, and they are analyzed thoroughly for stress (von-mises, shear, and normal) and deformation. The initial design was conducted by scaling up from the miniature model of the previous study, and the final design has been redesigned by changing the thickness and internal support structure shape.