Conceptual Design and Dynamic Modeling of a Novel Wave Energy Conversion System

Autonomous underwater vehicles are widely used in ocean exploration both for scientific research and oil-gas industry. Limited energy on board is the main bottleneck for the development of these movable instruments. In this paper, a new concept of wave energy conversion system is proposed, key feature of the system is that it is movable and can change its geometrical shape for integration with underwater vehicles. During the generating state on sea surface, the novel wave energy conversion system unfolds its umbrella like hydrofoil for damping the moving of the main hull, and inflates the air-bag like floater for absorbing waver energy. After finishing charging, the hydrofoil and floater can be folded for reducing drag during the cruising of underwater vehicles. A general dynamic model for the two-body system are presented base on Newton-Euler method. A new form of inner force with the threshold characteristic is proposed, which is included in the model explicitly. In order to verify the proposed models, simulation is conducted, the effect of design parameters to relative displacement are analyzed. The generalized dynamic model can be applied to these wave energy conversion systems.