NUMERICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF WAVE ENERGY HARVESTING THROUGH BUOY EFFECT

Abstract

Wave energy is a reliable source for power production from the perspective of certainty. The study focuses on determining an appropriate buoy structure of specific material to develop a mechanism to harvest wave energy from a catchment area cost-effectively. In addition, it includes designing different shaped buoys structures as well as simulating these individually using SolidWorks and ANSYS software and comparing these structures to determine the most efficient one. Afterward, the buoy structure or float is used to design an entire mechanism to harvest wave energy. The simulation analysis shows that the tulip-shaped buoy is the most efficient structure from the perspective of strength and durability as it can withstand maximum stress compared to spherical and cylindrical buoys. Moreover, this study represents the significant effects of wave heights on the power production of this wave energy harvesting mechanism. The experimental study demonstrated that it generated a minimum of 5 mV and a maximum of 95 mV from the lowest and highest wave heights respectively. This mechanism can be used in remote places with the availability of different catchment areas.