Costello, Ronan and Ringwood, John and Weber, Jochem (2011) Comparison of Two Alternative Hydraulic PTO Concepts for Wave Energy Conversion. Proceedings of the 9th European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference (EWTEC).

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Abstract

Hydraulic Power Take Off (PTO) systems for wave energy usually fall into two broad categories. These are, firstly, variable pressure systems where control of the primary force/torque is achieved by pressure modulation, and secondly, constant pressure systems where control of the primary force/torque is achieved by valve transitions that select between discrete effort levels determined by the approximately constant accumulator pressure and alternative piston areas. Energy storage is integral to the constant pressure category while, in the purest form of the variable pressure category, it is not provided. Hybrid systems which combine elements of both categories are also possible. This paper reports an analysis of the most elementary of systems from each of these categories. The analysis uses a coupled hydrodynamic-hydraulic time domain model. The model is used to assess the effectiveness of the hydrodynamic power absorption and the efficiency of the hydraulic power transmission. The results show that, in each case, the hydraulic motor performance is a critical consideration and the optimal configuration of any one system is dependent on motor selection. In the best instances of both categories of PTO, the indicated performance is sufficiently high to facilitate commercial viability of such systems.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	power take off; hydraulics for wave energy; hydrostatic power transmission; variable pressure system; constant pressure system; energy storage; high efficiency; electrohydraulic control;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Science and Engineering > Electronic Engineering Faculty of Science and Engineering > Research Institutes > Centre for Ocean Energy Research
Item ID:	3550
Depositing User:	Professor John Ringwood
Date Deposited:	30 Mar 2012 09:33
Journal or Publication Title:	Proceedings of the 9th European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference (EWTEC)
Publisher:	School of Civil Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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