Experimental Study on the Effect of Arm Design on the Performance of a Flap-Float Horizontal Ocean Wave Energy Converter

Abstract

Assessments on the configuration design of the ocean wave energy converter are fundamental to obtaining optimum performance under different environmental scenarios. In this study, the physical experimental test was conducted to investigate the suitable configuration of the proposed design of the Flap-Float Horizontal (FFH) energy converter device. A 1:20 scaled model was investigated in the laboratory tank subjected to normal wave conditions. Several parameters, including the arm length and angle of the buoy, were analyzed in different wave steepness to obtain the optimum arm design configuration. A total of 72 model tests were addressed to obtain a proposed maximum torque and voltage output. The result indicated that the best configuration design could be obtained by increasing the angle between the arm and the rope below the water level. In addition, it was discovered that the optimal configuration design with an angle of 880 and an arm length of 0.6 m yield the best results. The influence of the arm design sensitivity to various wave heights tended to be directly linear to the torque and voltage output. Finally, it was found that the greater the wave steepness, the bigger the output results.