Numerical simulation of the pendulum system in a buoy-pendulum wave energy converter

摘要

Sea conditions have a significant impact on the efficiency of wave energy converters (WECs). Based on the buoy-pendulum WEC presented in the paper, the energy-collection principle of the pendulum system is described, and the motion response of the pendulums under three wave conditions is simulated. It is shown that the optimal wave direction for pendulum system's operation is 45°; the pendulum is apt to reach balance when wave height is less than 0.6m. In addition, a method to estimate the average conversion efficiency of the pendulum system is proposed based on the fitting function software, and the efficiencies under five ideal wave conditions are calculated. The results show that the greater the wave period and the wave height, the lower the collection efficiency of the pendulum.