Energy efficiency of pneumatic power take-off for wave energy converter

Experimental results are presented from laboratory tests with the power take-off system. Measurements are conducted at steady state, transient, as well as simulated wave conditions using a hydraulic wave simulator. The measurements validate the predicted losses of the numerical models. The losses in each part of the power transmission are graphically illustrated with a Sankey diagram. We conclude that even though the overall efficiency is low, the setup serves well as a low cost instructional tool to teach principles of wave energy harvesting and to demonstrate typical challenges faced in the design of wave energy converters and pneumatic power transmission.