DESIGN AND STRUCTURE ANALYSIS OF OSCILLATING FLOAT WAVE ENERGY POWER GENERATION DEVICE

With the excessive consumption of energy such as oil and natural gas by countries around the world, humans must develop a renewable and clean energy source to meet energy needs. With the advantages of ocean wave energy (high energy flow density, pollution-free, etc),it has become the focus of scientific researchers. However, for wave energy power generation devices(WEPGD), the technologies have not yet formed a theoretical system, meanwhile there also lack relevant structural analysis. Thus based on the understanding of ocean wave motion and energy generation devices, this paper firstly determines the scheme design of oscillating float Wave energy generation. Then, the structural design of the WEPGD is carried out with the motion characteristics of the oscillating float. Finally, the fluent module and workbench module in the ANSYS finite element software were used for flow field simulation and structural analysis, respectively. Analysis shows that the outer part of the float bears the maximum stress in the upper and lower parts when the device rises and descends. With the impact of horizontal waves, the stress outside the device float is distributed in a sloping stepped pattern, decreasing from top to bottom. Most of all, the maximum stress does not exceed the limiting value of material, so this design device can withstand simulated working conditions and achieve the expected function. © 2024, Politechnica University of Bucharest. All rights reserved.