Structural analysis of the primary transduction system of a floating pendulum wave energy converter

Abstract

The floating pendulum type wave energy converter device, a type of rotating body wave energy converter, directs wave energy into the water chamber of the floating body, converting the energy thereof into the alternating motion of the pendulum to generate electricity. The pendulum-type energy converter uses a pendulum plate in direct transduction, converting the potential and kinetic energy of waves into mechanical energy, with the advantage of high conversion efficiency. However, as the motion is directly exposed to wave load, there is a need to examine structural stability against various loads. In this study, structural analysis was performed on the primary transduction system under various conditions. Static/dynamic structural analysis was performed under wave load, and impact analysis was performed between the pendulum plate and water chamber. The commercial software Ansys was used for numerical analysis. Results of analysis showed the stress distribution on each part, based on which the safety of each part was evaluated. Copyright ？ 2014 by the International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers (ISOPE).