Comparison of the performance of two direct wave energy conversion systems: Archimedes wave swing and power buoy

Abstract

Many wave energy conversion devices have not been well received. The main reasons are that they are too complicated and not economical. However, in the last two decades direct conversion systems have drawn the attention of researchers to their widely distributed energy source due to their simple structure and low cost. The most well-known direct conversion systems presently in use include the Archimedes Wave Swing (AWS) and Power Buoy (PB). In this paper, these two systems were simulated in the same conditions and their behaviors were studied in different wave conditions. In order to verify the simulations, results of the generator of the finite element computations were followed. An attempt was made to determine the merits and drawbacks of each method under different wave conditions by comparing the performance of the two systems. The wave conditions suitable for each system were specified.