Design and Analysis of a Wave Energy Converter Using the Plastic Drum Buoys

Nowadays, as fossil resources are being depleted, the use of clean energy sources such as solar, wind, and wave energy is becoming increasingly important. Wave energy, in particular, shows great potential. To protect the environment, plastic drums are being repurposed as floating buoys. This paper focuses on the design and analysis of a wave energy converter (WEC) that utilizes these plastic drum buoys. The buoy's oscillating motion is harnessed to generate one-way rotary motion in a generator through a modified gearbox. The conceptual design explains how the WEC works. The hydrodynamic characteristics of the plastic floating buoy are determined using ANSYS AQWA software, and an analytical model is developed using wave linear theory. A simulation program is created in MATLAB/Simulink software, and the results are used to assess the performance of the proposed WEC