Abstract
Nowadays, drifters are used for a wide range of applications for researching and exploring the sea. However, the power constraint makes it difficult for their sampling intervals to be smaller, meaning that drifters cannot transmit more accurate measurement data to satellites. Furthermore, due to the power constraint, a modern Surface Velocity Program (SVP) drifter lives an average of 400 days before ceasing transmission. To overcome the power constraint of SVP drifters, this article proposes an adaptively counter-rotating wave energy converter (ACWEC) to supply power for drifters. The ACWEC has the advantages of convenient modular integration, simple conversion process, and minimal affection by the crucial sea environment. This article details the design concept and working principle, and the interaction between the wave energy converter (WEC) and wave is presented based on plane wave theory. To verify the feasibility of the WEC, the research team carried out a series of experiments in a wave tank with regular and irregular waves. Through experiments, it was found that the power and efficiency of the ACWEC are greatly influenced by parameters such as wave height and wave frequency. The maximum output power of the small scale WEC in a wave tank is 6.36 W, which allows drifters to detect ocean data more frequently and continuously.
Highlights
The sea is the general term for the continuous saltwater body that covers the Earth’s surface
The energy requirement of the drifter device only needs to meet the demand of its detection functions, so there is no need to install a large energy conversion device; (2) The point absorber is better suited for power supplying to the drifter, since the size of drifters is relatively small compared to the wavelength of random waves in the sea, and the size of the point absorber is relatively the smallest in terms of the wavelength of the incident wave [41,42]; (3) The wave energy converter (WEC) does not affect the function of Surface Velocity Program (SVP) drifters
The double-layered blade groups can automatically balance the overall torque of the underwater power take-off (PTO). This WEC had three main steps to absorb wave energy: (1) the buoy absorbed the kinetic energy of the waves and transformed it into the kinetic energy of the PTO’s heaving motion; (2) the kinetic energy of the PTO transformed into the rotating mechanical energy of the upper blade group (UBG) and lower blade group (LBG); and (3) the UBG and LBG drove the generator to generate electricity
Summary
The sea is the general term for the continuous saltwater body that covers the Earth’s surface. The primary lithium batteries are hazardous to the ocean’s environment, the temperature difference between cooler deep and warmer shallow or surface seawaters in many waters is not big enough to generate electricity, and floating buoys on drifters are too small and spherical, so it is difficult to use solar energy for power generation. Energy requirement of the drifter device only needs to meet the demand of its detection functions, so there is no need to install a large energy conversion device; (2) The point absorber is better suited for power supplying to the drifter, since the size of drifters is relatively small compared to the wavelength of random waves in the sea, and the size of the point absorber is relatively the smallest in terms of the wavelength of the incident wave [41,42]; (3) The WEC does not affect the function of SVP drifters. Water shields (1, 9) were installed on the PTO for water proofing
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