WELCOME

MANGALAM COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

STUDY OF WAVE ENERGY

CONVERTER MACHINES

GUIDED BY PRESENTED BY

Mr. VIPINRAJ A.R. TIJO M JOY

Asst. Professor, Mechanical Engineering 13008604
S7 ME B
 OUR FUTURE
WITHOUT RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES WITH RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

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 WAVE ENERGY
• Waves produced by wind -an indirect form of solar energy.

• 2% of 800 000 km coastline - wave power density 30 KW/m.

Global potential 500 GW with conversion efficiency of 40%.
• Wave energy converters were installed in Australia (1MW),

china(220KW), Norway (240 KW), Portugal (400 KW), Spain (296 KW),

Sweden (230 KW),UK (3.8 MW)

• Europe to provide 10% (188 GW) of electricity market by 2050

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WAVE ENERGY CONVERTERS(WEC’S)

3 types
1.ATTENUATOR Attenuator-pelamis

 Parallel predominant wave direction and ‘ride’ the waves.

 Eg: Pelamis system

2.POINT ABSORBER
 Small dimension relative to incident wavelength -wave direction not important.
 Floating or submerged. Point absorber -powerbouy

 Eg :Powerbuoy

3.TERMINATOR
 Principal axis parallel to wave front and ‘intercept’ waves.
 Eg: Wave dragon, Salter’s duck
Terminator-salter’s duck
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Modes Of Operation

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1.OSCILLATING WATER COLUMN (OWC)
• Chamber opening below waterline

• Water compresses air and escapes into atmosphere through turbine.

• Water retreats, air drawn in through turbine.

• Wells turbine used- so no need of rectification

• Simple and robust

• Eg: Wavegen Limpet.

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2. OSCILLATING BODIES

Further classified as systems working on

I. Submerged Pressure Differential

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 Uses pressure difference above the device between wave crests and troughs.
 Fixed bottom cylinder and movable upper cylinder.
 Crest causes top cylinder move down and trough causes to move upward.
 As fully submerged no exposure to slamming forces.
 Maintenance is difficult.
 Eg: Archimedes wave swing.

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II. Oscillating Wave Surge Converter
 Hinged deflector positioned perpendicular to wave (terminator).

 Back and forth motion exploit the horizontal velocity of wave.

 Eg: AQUAMARINE POWER OYSTER -deflector above wave and is hinged at bottom.

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3. OVERTOPPING DEVICE
 Captures sea water in reservoir above sea level, releases to sea through turbines.

 Pair of large curved reflectors gather waves, Flow up ramp into reservoir.

 Water return to sea via a number of low-head turbines like kaplan turbine.

 Eg: Wave dragon.

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Power Take Off Mechanisms (PTO)
 Electricity produced by rotating generator or direct drive linear generator.

 Air turbines 50-60%

 Hydraulic turbines 70-90%
 High-pressure oil hydraulic motors with gas accumulator systems

 Of WECs concepts developed 42% use hydraulic systems, 30% -direct-drive systems ,11%- hydraulic turbines
and 11%- pneumatic systems

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1.TURBINE
 ‘Turbine transfer’ represents the flow fluid to drive turbine thereby generating electricity
for general use
 In low pressure situations we use propeller type turbines , eg:-kaplan design.

 Most popular air turbine design -wells turbine

 Pitch control of turbine blades increases efficiency

ADVANTAGES -

When air is used as a working fluid, Slow velocities of the waves are converted to high air
flow rate.
 An advantage of this system is that Leakage of fluid causes no environmental problems.

DISADVANTAGES –

 Sea water has unpredictable constituents. Abrasive particles could damage seals and
valves. There are chances of cavitations in turbine
 Air turbine has low efficiency (around 60–65 per cent ) compared to other conventional
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turbines, it also has poor starting, high noise, and high axial thrust.
2.HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS
• Suitable to convert energy from very large forces by the waves on
oscillating bodies

• Uses high pressure gas accumulators

• Body motion to hydraulic energy by hydraulic cylinder or ram.

• Hydraulic motor drives a generator.

• Axial-piston bent-axis variable-displacement machine commonly used

• Rated power - few KW - 1 MW, Operating oil-pressures up to 350 bar.

• It can drive electrical generator at speeds exceeding 1500 rpm.

• The motor consist- drive shaft with a flange, constrained to rotate

together with cylinder block with pistons inside
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Problems Of Hydraulic Systems

Fluid Containment
• Fluid containment affects performance and environment.

Sealing
• Standard dynamic seals operate at velocities lower than WEC. Temperature rise due to shear and friction cause
wear.
Efficency
• Most of the time device operates at a time fraction of its ideal rating,so the system must have high part-load
efficiencies.

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Maintenance
• Doing maintenance in marine environment is expensive,it is very time-consuming and posseses many risks.

• It has several parts so there is a high need for maintenance.

End-Stop
• High forces due to motion of linear hydraulic rams at extreme conditions cannot be suddenly absorbed at the
end of stroke hence it may be damaging the system.
• This can be Prevented by high stroke actuators but they require high mass and expense.

So the full stroke capability will not be exploited most of the time.
Energy Storage
• Fluctuations in absorbed wave power result variable electrical power output which is Unsuitable for the grid

• Energy storage is an essential requirement in this system so accumulators are needed

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3.LINEAR ELECTRIC GENERATOR
 
 Translator (rotor in a rotary machine) has magnets mounted with alternating

polarity directly coupled to a heaving buoy.

 The stator containing windings is stationary structure.

 As the heaving buoy oscillates, an electric current will be induced in the stator.

 The magnetic flux ψ is induced in stator, according to faraday law,

Emf e=

Compared other PTO’s,

 Takes up a proportionately smaller area of the sea .

 Least maintenance requirement.

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 Problems Of Linear Electric Generators
Signal Processing
• The motion of WEC is sinusoidal resulting in a varying frequency of the induced voltage.

• This waveform variable in both frequency and amplitude must be rectified using power
electronics.

Material Requirement
• Materials required for creating cheap permanent magnet

Like neodymium–iron–boron (nd–fe–b) - high magneto motive force for small height

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WEC’S -MISCELLANEOUS SYSTEMS
Mooring Systems
• Free floating bodies subject to drift forces of waves, currents and wind, and are
kept on station by moorings.
• For WEC, mooring modify its energy absorption properties by interacting with
its oscillations.
• Array devices spread-moored by slack mooring lines through only some of its
elements.
• Other array elements stabilized by connections to adjacent elements.

Damping Control
• Energy capture most efficient when natural frequency of the device is close to
frequency of wave.
• High damping - motions limited and. Light damping -damper absorbs little
power.
• Correct damping for efficient system. 18
COMMERCIAL WEC’S

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LIMPET
Classification:
o Designed by Wavegen; setup at Islay ,supplies national grid.  Shore based, preferable water depth is 15m,
with OWC PTO.
o OWC principle.  Development stage:production
Environmental impact: High.
o It uses wells turbine that drives an induction generator
Occupies the beach
Maintenance: Low.
Critical components above water and easy
access
Manufacturability: Medium.
Requires a solid structure

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PELAMIS Classification
o BY Ocean power ,wave farm at Agucardo,Portugal producing 2.3MW  Above waterline WEC with hydraulic PTO. Far
off shore (5-10 km).
o Attenuator ,oscillating body device, Slack moored Development stage: working.
Environmental impact: Low.
o 4 semi-submerged tubular sections linked by 3 hinged modules
Anchor very small. Use biodegradable fluid.
housing hydraulic PTO. Maintenance: Low.
o Several units connected together by sea bed cable. Proven technology. easy access. towed to
harbour
Manufacturability: Good.
Made from steel and built on shipyard
Key Statistics:
Device capacity: 750 kW.
Cost for a single device: $2 to $3 million

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WAVE DRAGON
o First prototype in Denmark, As array -output equivalent to
traditional fuel plants Classification:
 Above waterline WEC ,overtopping PTO. Deep water,
o Slack moored , combining offshore and hydro turbine  Development stage: testing a 7MW device
technology Environmental impact: Low.
Large anchorage but small anchor
o Overtopping device
Maintenance: Medium to low.
o Uses kaplan turbines to drive generators Size makes it very stable but maintenance difficult
Manufacturability: Medium to poor.
Difficult to transport and install.Low head turbine needed
Key Statistics:
Rated power: 10 MW
Estimated cost: 13.5 mill. Euros.
Unit cost: 0.11 euros/kWh

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ARCHIMEDES WAVE SWING
Classification:
o BY AWS ENERGY Ltd
 Bottom mounted WEC with a linear-generator as PTO.
 Development stage: full scale tests.
o Work on submerged pressure differential
Environmental impact: medium.
o Magnets attached inside of float and generates electricity Use larger piece of ocean floor, doesn’t use hydraulic oil
Maintenance: medium.
System submerged, this protects it during storms.
Manufacturability: medium.
o Uses linear generator as PTO
Difficult to transport ,using steel eases construction.
Key statistics:
Generation capacity: >1.2 mw.
Cost estimate: $4-6 million

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OYSTER
o By aquamarine. An oscillating device Classification:
 Bottom mounted WEC with water-pump serving
o Flaps looking like ‘venetian blinds’ move back and forth in wave.
as PTO,
is hinged at bottom on the seabed.  Development stage: Design & testing done
o Double acting piston pump used to pump seawater. Water used Environmental impact: Medium.
Occupy ocean bed but minimum impact on beach.
to generate electricity through a hydroelectric power system ,also Maintenance: Medium to low.
desalinised for public use. The pump is totally submerged, making access
o The cost of the pipe line high, device deployed near shore. This difficult, other units onshore
Manufacturability: Good.
decrease the efficiency . Uses mostly proven technology and easily
manufacturable parts
Key Statistics:
Rated power: 300-600 kW per unit.

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CHALLENGES
Environmental Impacts
 Underwater noise from construction and operation
 Electromagnetic fields produced may have impact on migratory fish and other marine organisms
The Need For Investments
 Market dominated by startups and university groups.
 Investments,government grants,r&d support required for scaled up projects.
Insufficient Infrastructure
 Grid infrastructure and port facilities required.
 Need specialised substation designs
 Planning And Licensing Procedures
 Zones in ocean must be predefined.
 Planning and licensing processes needs to be open and comprehensive
High Building And Maintenance Cost
 Parts and technologies used are very expensive and difficult to maintain.
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NEXT GENERATION

New materials to reduce the device’s weight and biofouling effects.

Specific PTO systems.

New mooring systems for floating devices

Underwater power connectors

Optimisation, operation, and control systems of arrays,assessments of hydrodynamic interaction, and

electrical connection issues

Collaboration and synergetic research with the offshore wind industry

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CONCLUSION

As we are moving away from conventional resources of energy, we need to find alternatives
The potential for generating electricity from wave energy is considerable. The ocean is a huge
resource and harnessing the energy from ocean makes us closer to achieving our dream.
But for that we need new technologies which make the conversion process cheaper.
Also presently most of these projects are concentrated in Europe ,Other countries should also
come forward and provide necessary support for developing such projects,
Afterall
THIS PLANET IS ALL WE HAVE,ITS EVERYONE’S DUTY TO SAVE IT

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There is no doubt that the present way of energy ultilisation will not last long and it will end up
in the destruction of earth and its way of life as we know it.the usage of conventional source of
energy of energy has affected our environment adversaly. So we are surely in need of finding an
alternative sorce of energy ,oceans which covers almost 70% of our planet has an enormous
potential of energy resource and harnessing the energy from ocean makes us closer to
achieving our dream of becoming a greener society. the process of extracting energy from
ocean is still in its adolescence,at present there are lack of infrastructure, efficient power take
off mechanisms ,expensive parts,lack of government support all hinders the development of
WEC’s,so it must be treated as a future source of renewable energy,new materials which
reduces the weight and biofouling effect along with new PTO’s and willingness of many
countires to invest in this technology

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REFERENCES
 A review of wave energy converter technology BDrew ∗, A R Plummer, andMN Sahinkaya ,Department of Mechanical Engineering, University
of Bath, Bath, UK
 IRENA Ocean Energy Technology Brief 4 June 2014 www.irena.org.

 Wave energy utilization: A review of the technologies-Anto´ nio F. de O. Falca˜oIDMEC, Instituto Superior Te´cnico, Technical University of
Lisbon, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
 Wave Energy Converters (WECs)-James R Joubert,Johannes L van Niekerk,Josh Reinecke,Imke Meyer October 2013,Centre for Renewable and
Sustainable Energy Studies
 EMEC: European Maring Energy Centre Ltd – Wave Energy Developers. Available from
http://www.emec.org.uk/wave_energy_developers.asp
 PelamisWave. Available from http://www.pelamiswave.com

 Polinder, H.,Damen,M. E. C.,and Gardner,F. LinearPMgenerator system for wave energy conversion in the AWS.IEEE Trans. Energy Convers.

 Thorpe TW. A brief review of wave energy. A report produced for the

 Bahaj, A.S. (2011), “Generating Electricity from the Oceans”, Renewable andSustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 15, pp. 3399-3416

 EMEC (The European Marine Energy Centre Ltd.) (2014), “Wave Devices”,www.emec.org.uk/marine-energy/wave-devices.

 SI Ocean (Strategic Initiative for Ocean Energy) (2012), “Ocean Energy: State ofthe Art”, December, http://si-
ocean.eu/en/upload/docs/WP3/Technology%20 Status%20Report_FV.pdf.
 Tzimas, E. (2014), “Ocean Energy: State of Play & Key Technological Challenges”,Ocean Energy Forum, Brussels, 4 April,
http://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/policy/ocean_energy/forum/workshop-brussels/doc/presentation-tzimas_en.pdf . 29
Thank you . . .

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