The potential benefit of a tidal compensator for the wave energy converter (WEC) studied at Uppsala University is significant since the changing sea level will otherwise reduce the efficiency of power production. A tidal compensation system prototype that adjusts the length of the buoy line according to the change in the water level relative to the seafloor is being developed. The DC motor of the compensation system is powered by a hybrid power system composed of a small wave energy converter and a PV solar cell system. The control system is designed to keep the average power consumption reasonably low while adjusting the position of the roughly 10 ton translator inside the generator. An experimental setup in a lab environment has been completed: a control strategy now has been developed and power consumption measurements has been carried out. The results show that the compensation system is able to operate with an estimated load of 10 tons, the combined load of the WEC translator and the buoy line.
Funding(s)
Carl Tryggers Stiftelse för Vetenskaplig Forskning
