Design and optimization of a field-modulating permanent magnet tubular linear generator for direct-drive wave energy conversion

A double buoy power generation system using the field-modulating tubular linear permanent magnet generator (FMTLPMG) is proposed for wave energy conversion in this paper. Ocean wave theory is adopted to analyze the double buoys hydrodynamic problems and calculate the relative velocity. The traditional linear generator has disadvantages of big weight and low power density caused by the slow ocean wave speed. The FMTLPMG proposed in this paper can overcome these disadvantages in some extent by accelerating the speed of the traveling magnetic field. The key characteristics of the FMTLPMG are analyzed with a finite element analysis. Finally, the comparative experiments verify the simulation results.