Optimizing efficiency of a ship’s two-magnet energy harvesting device using the Cuckoo search algorithm

Abstract

Establishing an energy harvesting device to supply sustainable energy to deep sea sensors is a challenging task due to the complex subsea marine phenomenon. To overcome this, we propose a two-magnet KMC energy harvester hanging on the cabin of the ship with a spherical bearing. The magnets connected with springs move vertically up and down when the ship is periodically actuated by surface waves, generating electricity to power the deep sea sensors through a cable. We present a case study using wave speed (Uow = 2.0 m/s), wave amplitude (Ho = 0.4 m), and wave length (λ = 4.0 m) to demonstrate the efficacy of the two-magnet energy harvester. Before optimizing the energy harvester, a sensitivity analysis is conducted on the electrical power with respect to marine parameters and the energy harvester’s geometric parameters. To maximize the electrical power, we adopt a Cuckoo Search Algorithm as an optimizer. By using the objective function of root-mean-square electrical power in conjunction with the Cuckoo Search, we obtain optimal electrical power. Simulations reveal that the energy harvester produces 0.1497 Watts of power.