Optimizations Based on Considerations of Power Take-Off and Restoring Moment for Flap-Type Wave Energy Converters

• Main Authors: Wei-Ming Huang, 黃偉銘
• Other Authors: Yi-Chih Chow
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2013
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/71654500930167768641

碩士 === 國立臺灣海洋大學 === 系統工程暨造船學系 === 101 === Energy and environment are world-wide hot issues, resulting in the situation that renewable energy becomes a highly-sought solution to both of them. Wave energy, as one type of marine energy as well as renewable energy has considerable potential for exploitation for island countries such as Taiwan. Nowadays many types of wave energy converter (WEC) exist. For the sea area around Taiwan that is characterized with small-amplitude waves, WECs designed not domestically may not be appropriate. Therefore, it is important to develop technologies of highly-efficient wave-energy conversion in order to promote utilizations of such renewable energy at Taiwan. In this thesis have developed an efficiency-impedance theory for flapper WEC, and it shows that power take-off (PTO) and Restoring Moment(RMI) would be an important factor for the efficiency of the WEC. The experiments are conducted in a wave flume for a model WEC which has two hydraulic pumps as its PTO and a means to adjust the restoring moment experienced by the WEC. The flapping motions of the WEC under different conditions of wave period and restoring moment are recorded using a high-speed camera. Images are analyzed based on the correlation algorithm to measure the amplitudes (strokes) of flapping motions that are considered to represent the efficiencies performed by the WEC at various conditions. The results at least qualitatively verify the theory and therefore shows the of optimizing flapper WEC’s efficiency.