Study on Key Design Technologies of a Wave Energy Converter With an HTS Linear Generator

Abstract

Ocean waves have the potential to provide a completely sustainable source of energy, which can be captured and converted into electric power by wave energy converters (WECs). We propose a conceptual structure of a large-scale WEC, which features a tubular high-temperature superconducting linear generator (HTS-LG) directly driven by a cylindrical heaving buoy. We describe the key electrical design technologies of the HTS-LG, and present the design results. Moreover, we analyze the movement of the heaving buoy to clarify the operation state of the WEC device. Then, we calculate the induced voltages and plot the waveforms, which demonstrate the feasibility of using this device to obtain desirable output power. This study gives an insight of implementing the large-scale tubular HTS-LGs in WECs. Besides, the electrical design technologies of HTS-LGs illustrated in this paper provide a good reference to design HTS electric machines.