Capture Performance of A Multi-Freedom Wave Energy Converter with Different Power Take-off Systems

Among the wave energy converters (WECs), oscillating buoy is a promising type for wave energy development in offshore area. Conventional single-freedom oscillating buoy WECs with linear power take-off (PTO) system are less efficient under off-resonance conditions and have a narrow power capture bandwidth. Thus, a multi-freedom WEC with a nonlinear PTO system is proposed. This study examines a multi-freedom WEC with 3 degrees of freedom: surge, heave and pitch. Three different PTO systems (velocity-square, snap through, and constant PTO systems) and a traditional linear PTO system are applied to the WEC. A time-domain model is established using linear potential theory and Cummins equation. The kinematic equation is numerically calculated with the fourth-order Runge-Kutta method. The optimal average output power of the PTO systems in all degrees of freedom are obtained and compared. Other parameters of snap through PTO are also discussed in detail. Results show that according to the power capture performance, the order of the PTO systems from the best to worst is snap through PTO, constant PTO, linear PTO and velocity-square PTO. The resonant frequency of the WEC can be adjusted to the incident wave frequency by choosing specific parameters of the snap through PTO. Adding more DOFs can make the WEC get a better power performance in more wave frequencies. Both the above two methods can raise the WEC's power capture performance significantly.