Experimental study of wave energy extraction by a dual-buoy heaving system

The concentric dual-buoy Wave Energy Converter (WEC), which consists of external buoy (hallow-cylinder) with toroidal appendage and cylindrical internal buoy within the moon-pool is suggested in this research and its performance in various wave conditions is studied. The Linear Electric Generator (LEG), consisting of a permanent magnet and coils, is used as a direct Power Take-Off (PTO) system. To maximize the electrical energy extracted from the PTO system, the relative heave motions between the dual buoys must be highly amplified by the multiple resonance phenomena of dual-buoy and internal-fluid motions. The high-performance range can be widened by distributing those natural frequencies with respect to the peak frequency of the wave spectrum. The performance of the newly developed dual-buoy WEC was measured throughout the systematic 1:5.95-model test in regular and irregular waves conducted in a wave tank at Seoul National University. The model-test results are also validated by an independently developed numerical method.