• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.132-142
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• 2022

We investigate the performance of multi-body wave energy converters (WECs). This investigation considers multiple scattering of water waves by the buoys of a WEC under the generalized mode approach. Predominantly, the effect of a WEC's configuration on its energy extraction is studied in this research. First, single-row terminator and single-column attenuator arrays of vertical cylinders have been studied. The performance of these attenuator arrays shows that the wall effect induced by the periodic buoys influences the wave propagation and energy extraction in these WECs. Further studies show that a single-row terminator array of vertical cylinders performs better than the corresponding single-column attenuator array. Subsequently, multi-row terminator arrays of vertical cylinders are investigated by conducting a parametric study. This parametric study shows that the hydrodynamic property of three resonance phenomena makes energy extraction efficiency drop down, and the magnitude of energy extracted oscillates between the resonance points in these WECs. Finally, a 4×8 terminator array of vertical cylinders is studied to determine the effect of various d_x (x-directional distance between adjacent rows) within this WEC on its performance. In particular, this study enforces at least two equal d_x values within the 4×8 terminator array of vertical cylinders. It shows that a small value of this d_x leads to better energy extraction efficiency in some of these various d_x arrays than that of a corresponding regular array with the same d_x.

• International Journal of Fluid Machinery and Systems
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.222-228
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• 2016

Almost 70% of the earth is covered by the ocean. Extracting the power available in the ocean using a wave energy converter has been seen to be eco-friendly and renewable. This study focuses on developing a method for analyzing a wave energy device that uses a cross-flow turbine. The motion of the ocean wave causes an internal bi-directional flow of water and the cross-flow turbine is able to rotate in one direction. This device is considered of double-hull structure, and because of this structure, sea water does not come into contact with theturbine. Due to this, the problem of befouling on the turbine is avoided. This study shows specific relationship for wave length and several motions.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.305-314
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• 2017

Ocean wave energy harvesting is still too expensive despite developing a variety of wave energy converter (WEC) devices. For the cost-effective wave energy harvesting, it can be an effective measure to use existing breakwaters or newly installed breakwaters for both wave control and energy harvesting purposes. In this study, we investigated the functionality of both breakwater and wave-power generator for the oscillating water column (OWC)-type wave energy converter (WEC) installed in a pneumatic floating breakwater, which was originally developed as a floating breakwater. In order to verify the performance of the breakwater as a WEC, the air flow velocity from air-chamber to WEC has to be evaluated properly. Therefore, air flow velocity, wave transformation and motion of floating structure was numerically implemented based on BEM from linear velocity potential theory without considering the compressibility of air within the chamber. Air pressure, meanwhile, was assumed to be fluctuated by the motions of structure and the water level change within air-chamber. The validity of the obtained values can be determined by comparing the previous results from the numerical analysis for different shapes. Based on numerical model results, wave transformation characteristics around OWC system mounted on the fixed and floating breakwaters, and motions of the structure with air flow velocities are investigated. In summary, all numerical results are almost identical to the previous research considering air compressibility. Therefore, it can be concluded that this analysis not considering air compressibility in the air chamber is more efficient and practical method.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.32 no.8
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• pp.1123-1128
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• 2008

Marine facilities like buoy, lighthouse are operated with stand alone power supply system. This power system can consist of a stand-alone type power system such as PV(Photovoltaic) system, wave system or hybrid system which is not cooperated with a commercial power system. Generally, PV power system for marine facilities can not supply a sufficient power to buoy, because it is so influenced from weather condition. For solving this problem the hybrid power system with PV and wave is studied on a various area, that is why a hybrid power system is requires to overcome these problems. This paper will describe a generation characteristic of WEC(Wave Energy Converter) for buoy, and an AFS(Anti-Fouling System) influence on WEC.

• 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.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.167.2-167.2
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• 2011

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.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.91-99
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• 2017

The parametric study was performed for performance enhancement of wave energy converter(WEC) using a submerged pendulum plate. The wave exciting moment and hydrodynamic moment were obtained by means of eigenfunction expansion method based on the linear potential theory, and then the roll response of a pendulum plate and time averaged extracted power were investigated. The optimal PTO damping coefficient was suggested to give optimal extracted power. The peak value of optimal extracted power occurs at the resonant frequency. The resonant peak and it's width increase, as the height and thickness of a pendulum plate increase. The mooring line installed at the end of the pendulum plate is effective for extracting wave energy because it can not only induce the resonance with the waves of the installation site but also increase the restoring moment in case of PTO-on. The WEC using a rolling pendulum plate suitable for the shallow water acts as breakwater as well as energy extraction device.

• 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 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.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.33 no.7
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• pp.501-504
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• 2009

There are many difficulties to supply constant power to marine facilities which operate in the sea. Especially, there is a limit to stand alone power supply systems due to the influence of weather conditions. That's why a hybrid power supply system is required to overcome these problems. This paper will describe an Electronic Anti-Fouling System (EAFS) to maximise the power efficiency for a solar - wave hybrid power generation system. A main factor reducing the efficiency of a Wave Energy Converter (WEC) is due to the attachment of aquatic life forms. Therefore the aim of this research is to develop a simulation programme to enable the design of more efficient EAFS for hybrid power generation systems and to provide valuable data for production of more efficient EAFS.