Using Flexible Blades to Improve the Performance of Novel Small-Scale Counter-Rotating Self-Adaptable Wave Energy Converter for Unmanned Marine Equipment
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Conceptual Design and Implementation of Flexible Blade WEC
2.1. Initial Design of Rigid Blade WEC and Expected Application
2.2. Using Flexible Blades to Replace Rigid Ones
2.3. Structural Implement and Working Principle of Flexible Blade WEC
3. Theoretical and Numerical Analyses of Performance Characteristics
3.1. Analysis of Output Power and Efficiency Characteristics of the Absorber
3.2. Preliminary Analysis of Factors Affecting the Performance of WEC
3.3. Theoretical Analysis of Kinematic Characteristics
3.4. Theoretical Analysis of Dynamic Characteristic
3.5. Configuration of Numerical Simulations
3.6. Analysis Results and Discussions
4. Experimental Results and Discussions
4.1. Experiments in Wave Tank
4.2. Experiments in Test Pool
5. Conclusions
- (1)
- The working principle of the small flexible blade WEC is feasible. The change in the deflection direction of the absorber blade is achieved by self-adaptable bending deformation of the flexible blade itself, which provides the required persistent torque for the unidirectional rotating motion of the single-layer absorber. The design of double-layer absorber balances the overall torque of underwater PTO well and provides the counter-rotating motion required for power generation.
- (2)
- The theoretical analysis results of the dynamic characteristics of the absorber and its flexible blades clarifies the influence of the structural parameters, operating parameters and the force acting on the blade surface on the performance characteristics of the WEC. This also provides a calculation basis for the data processing in the subsequent numerical simulations and verification experiments.
- (3)
- The simulation and experiment results under laboratory conditions show that the mechanical power of the small WEC can reach 12.8 W and the hydraulic efficiency is 36.3%; the peak power of electricity generation is 5.8 W, and the average power is 3.2 W. In most heaving motion periods, the WEC with 65Mn flexible blades achieves the best performance characteristics when the blade thickness is 0.10 mm.
- (4)
- The study results in this paper show that the new generation of flexible blade WEC effectively overcomes the performance disadvantage of the excessive fluctuation of the previous generation of rigid blade WEC. The smooth power output curve facilitates the high-efficient utilization and storage of electric energy, and also makes the load torque fluctuation of the WEC smaller. This is conducive to smooth the operation of WEC and improve the self-adaptable power generation capability of the WEC under low sea states.
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Sun, C.; Shang, J.; Luo, Z.; Lu, Z.; Wu, G.; Zhu, Y. Using Flexible Blades to Improve the Performance of Novel Small-Scale Counter-Rotating Self-Adaptable Wave Energy Converter for Unmanned Marine Equipment. J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2019, 7, 223. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse7070223
Sun C, Shang J, Luo Z, Lu Z, Wu G, Zhu Y. Using Flexible Blades to Improve the Performance of Novel Small-Scale Counter-Rotating Self-Adaptable Wave Energy Converter for Unmanned Marine Equipment. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering. 2019; 7(7):223. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse7070223
Chicago/Turabian StyleSun, Chongfei, Jianzhong Shang, Zirong Luo, Zhongyue Lu, Guoheng Wu, and Yiming Zhu. 2019. "Using Flexible Blades to Improve the Performance of Novel Small-Scale Counter-Rotating Self-Adaptable Wave Energy Converter for Unmanned Marine Equipment" Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 7, no. 7: 223. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse7070223