Design of vibro-impact electromagnetic ocean-wave energy harvesting system; an experimental study

Ocean wave energy is a stable renewable energy source, which has realistic application prospects. Based on the intermittent and irregular nature of ocean-wave, researchers have designed many ocean-wave energy harvesters, with several advantages and disadvantages. The main goal of this study is to present a new ocean wave energy harvester, which works based on the small pitch motion of moving floaters. Unlike almost all the previously presented systems, the presented ocean wave energy harvester can work in moving forward ships and boats like emergency boats. To do so, a ibro-impact system is designed to gather the kinetic energy of small pitch motions and transmit it to the vibratory part of the system via impulsive load. A mechanical rectifier that gets its input energy from the oscillations of the vibratory part, provides continuous rotations needed by the electromagnetic transducer. The governing electromechanical equation of motion for the discussed system is derived to study the effects of changing the ocean-wave properties on the application of the energy harvester. It is shown the gap size of the impact part of the system and the ocean-wave period have important effects on the output electrical energy.