Application of Power Electronics Converters in Renewable Energy

Against the backdrop of global energy shortages and increasingly severe environmental pollution,renewable energy is gradually becoming a significant direction for future energy development.Power electronics converters,as the core technology for energy conversion and control,play a crucial role in enhancing the efficiency and stability of renewable energy systems.This paper explores the basic principles and functions of power electronics converters and their specific applications in photovoltaic power generation,wind power generation,and energy storage systems.Additionally,it analyzes the current innovations in high-efficiency energy conversion,multilevel conversion technology,and the application of new materials and devices.By studying these technologies,the aim is to promote the widespread application of power electronics converters in renewable energy systems and provide theoretical and technical support for achieving sustainable energy development.

Negative Stiffness Mechanism on An Asymmetric Wave Energy Converter by Using A Weakly Nonlinear Potential Model

Salter's duck,an asymmetrical wave energy converter(WEC)device,showed high efficiency in extracting energy from 2D regular waves in the past;yet,challenges remain for fluctuating wave conditions.These can potentially be addressed by adopting a negative stiffness mechanism(NSM)in WEC devices to enhance system efficiency,even in highly nonlinear and steep 3D waves.A weakly nonlinear model was developed which incorporated a nonlinear restoring moment and NSM into the linear formulations and was applied to an asymmetric WEC using a time domain potential flow model.The model was initially validated by comparing it with published experimental and numerical computational fluid dynamics results.The current results were in good agreement with the published results.It was found that the energy extraction increased in the range of 6%to 17%during the evaluation of the effectiveness of the NSM in regular waves.Under irregular wave conditions,specifically at the design wave conditions for the selected test site,the energy extraction increased by 2.4%,with annual energy production increments of approximately 0.8MWh.The findings highlight the potential of NSM in enhancing the performance of asymmetric WEC devices,indicating more efficient energy extraction under various wave conditions.

Hydrodynamic Performance of An Integrated System of Breakwater and A Multi-Chamber OWC Wave Energy Converter

A multi-chamber oscillating water column wave energy converter(OWC-WEC)integrated to a breakwater is investigated.The hydrodynamic characteristics of the device are analyzed using an analytical model based on the linear potential flow theory.A pneumatic model is employed to investigate the relationship between the air mass flux in the chamber and the turbine characteristics.The effects of chamber width,wall draft and wall thickness on the hydrodynamic performance of a dual-chamber OWC-WEC are investigated.The results demonstrate that the device,with a smaller front wall draft and a wider rear chamber exhibits a broader effective frequency bandwidth.The device with a chamber-width-ratio of 1:3 performs better in terms of power absorption.Additionally,results from the analysis of a triplechamber OWC-WEC demonstrate that reducing the front chamber width and increasing the rearward chamber width can improve the total performance of the device.Increasing the number of chambers from 1 to 2 or 3 can widen the effective frequency bandwidth.

Analysis on Output Power for Multi-direction Piezoelectric Vibration Energy Harvester

To predict the performance of multi-direction piezoelectric vibration energy harvester,an equation for calculating its output power is obtained based on elastic mechanics theory and piezoelectricity theory.Experiments are performed to verify theoretical analysis.When the excitation direction is along Y direction,a maximal output power about 0.139 mW can be harvested at a resistive load of 65kΩ and an excitation frequency of 136 Hz.Theoretical analysis agrees well with experimental results.Furthermore,the performance of multi-direction vibration energy harvester is experimentally tested.The results show that the multi-direction vibration energy harvester can harvest perfect energy as the excitation direction changes in XY plane,YZ plane,XZ plane and body diagonal plane of the harvester.

Capture Performance of A Multi-Freedom Wave Energy Converter with Different Power Take-off Systems

Among the wave energy converters (WECs), oscillating buoy is a promising type for wave energy development in offshore area. Conventional single-freedom oscillating buoy WECs with linear power take-off (PTO) system are less efficient under off-resonance conditions and have a narrow power capture bandwidth. Thus, a multi-freedom WEC with a nonlinear PTO system is proposed. This study examines a multi-freedom WEC with 3 degrees of freedom: surge, heave and pitch. Three different PTO systems (velocity-square, snap through, and constant PTO systems) and a traditional linear PTO system are applied to the WEC. A time-domain model is established using linear potential theory and Cummins equation. The kinematic equation is numerically calculated with the fourth-order Runge–Kutta method. The optimal average output power of the PTO systems in all degrees of freedom are obtained and compared. Other parameters of snap through PTO are also discussed in detail. Results show that according to the power capture performance, the order of the PTO systems from the best to worst is snap through PTO, constant PTO, linear PTO and velocity-square PTO. The resonant frequency of the WEC can be adjusted to the incident wave frequency by choosing specific parameters of the snap through PTO. Adding more DOFs can make the WEC get a better power performance in more wave frequencies. Both the above two methods can raise the WEC’s power capture performance significantly.

Shape Effect of Piezoelectric Energy Harvester on Vibration Power Generation

Vibration energy harvesting is widely recognized as the useful technology for saving energy. The piezoelectric energy harvesting device is one of energy harvester and is used to operate certain types of MEMS devices. Various factors influence the energy regeneration efficiency of the lead zirconate titanate piezoelectric (PZT) devices in converting the mechanical vibration energy to the electrical energy. This paper presents the analytical and experimental evaluation of energy regeneration efficiency of PZT devices through impedance matching method and drop-weight experiments to different shape of PZT devices. The results show that the impedance matching method has increased the energy regeneration efficiency while triangular shape of PZT device produce a stable efficiency in the energy regeneration. Besides that, it becomes clear that the power, energy and subsequently efficiency of the triangular plate are higher than those of the rectangular plate under the condition of the matching impedance and the same PZT area.

A second order random wave model for predicting the power performances of a wave energy converter

The power performances of a point absorber wave energy converter(WEC)operating in a nonlinear multidirectional random sea are rigorously investigated.The absorbed power of the WEC Power-Take-Off system has been predicted by incorporating a second order random wave model into a nonlinear dynamic filter.This is a new approach,and,as the second order random wave model can be utilized to accurately simulate the nonlinear waves in an irregular sea,avoids the inaccuracies resulting from using a first order linear wave model in the simulation process.The predicted results have been systematically analyzed and compared,and the advantages of using this new approach have been convincingly substantiated.

Research of Power Take-off System for “Sharp Eagle Ⅱ” Wave Energy Converter

The " Sharp Eagle” device is a wave energy converter of a hinged double floating body. The wave-absorbing floating body hinges on the semi-submerged floating body structure. Under the action of wave, the wave-absorbing floating body rotates around the hinge point, and the wave energy can be converted into kinetic energy. In this paper, the power take-off system of " Sharp Eagle Ⅱ” wave energy converter (the second generation of " Sharp Eagle”) was studied, which adopts the hydraulic type power take-off system. The 0-1 power generation mode was applied in this system to make the " Sharp Eagle Ⅱ” operate under various wave conditions. The principle of power generation was introduced in detail, and the power take-off system was simulated. Three groups of different movement period inputs were used to simulate three kinds of wave conditions, and the simulation results were obtained under three different working conditions. In addition, the prototype of " Sharp Eagle Ⅱ” wave energy converter was tested on land and in real sea conditions. The experimental data have been collected, and the experimental data and simulation results were compared and validated. This work has laid a foundation for the design and application of the following " Sharp Eagle” series of devices.

Power Absorption of A Two-Body Heaving Wave Energy Converter Considering Different Control and Power Take-off Systems

This study proposed a wave power system with two coaxial floating cylinders of different diameters and drafts.Wavebob’s conceptual design has been adopted in the wave power system.In this study,a basic analysis of the wave energy extraction by the relative motion between two floats is presented.The maximum power absorption was studied theoretically under regular wave conditions,and the effects of both linear and constant damping forces on the power take-off(PTO)were investigated.A set of dynamic equations describing the floats’displacement under regular waves and different PTOs are established.A time-domain numerical model is developed,considering the PTO parameter and viscous damping,and the optimal PTO damping and output power are obtained.With the analysis of estimating the maximum power absorption,a new estimation method called Power Capture Function(PCF)is proposed and constructed,which can be used to predict the power capture under both linear and constant PTO forces.Based on this,energy extraction is analyzed and optimized.Finally,the performance characteristics of the two-body power system are concluded.

Application of the Latching Control System on the Power Performance of a Wave Energy Converter Characterized by Gearbox,Flywheel,and Electrical GeneratorGustavor

The latching control represents an attractive alternative to increase the power absorption of wave energy converters(WECs)by tuning the phase of oscillator velocity to the wave excitation phase.However,increasing the amplitude of motion of the floating body is not the only challenge to obtain a good performance of the WEC.It also depends on the efficiency of the power take-off system(PTO).This study aims to address the actual power performance and operation of a heaving point absorber with a direct mechanical drive PTO system controlled by latching.The PTO characteristics,such as the gear ratio,the flywheel inertia,and the electric generator,are analyzed in the WEC performance.Three cylindrical point absorbers are also considered in the present study.A wave-to-wire model is developed to simulate the coupled hydro-electro-mechanical system in regular waves.The wave energy converter(WEC)performance is analyzed using the potential linear theory but considering the viscous damping effect according to the Morison equation to avoid the overestimated responses of the linear theory near resonance when the latching control system is applied.The latching control system increases the mean power.However,the increase is not significant if the parameters that characterize the WEC provide a considerable mean power.The performance of the proposed mechanical power take-off depends on the gear ratio and flywheel.However,the gear ratio shows a more significant influence than the flywheel inertia.The operating range of the generator and the diameter/draft ratio of the buoy also influence the PTO performance.

Energy band adjustment of 808 nm GaAs laser power converters via gradient doping

The gradient doping regions were employed in the emitter layer and the base layer of GaAs based laser power converters(LPCs).Silvaco TCAD was used to numerically simulate the linear gradient doping and exponential gradient doping structure,and analyze the transport process of photogenerated carriers.Energy band adjustment via gradient doping improved the separation and transport efficiency of photogenerated carriers and reduced the total recombination rate of GaAs LPCs.Compared with traditional structure of LPCs,the photoelectric conversion efficiency of LPCs with linear and exponential gradient doping structure were improved from 52.7%to 57.2%and 57.7%,respectively,under 808 nm laser light at the power density of 1 W/cm^(2).

Hydraulic Power Take-off and Buoy Geometries Charac-terisation for a Wave Energy Converter

In the past few decades, world energy consumption grew considerably. Regarding this fact, wave energy should not be discarded as a valid alternative for the production of electricity. Devices suitable to harness this kind of renewable energy source and turn it into electricity are not yet commercially competitive. The work described in this paper aims to contribute to this field of research. It is focused on the design and construction of robust, simple and affordable hydraulic Power Take-Off using hydraulic commercial components.

Energy Factor and Mathematical Modeling for Power DC/DC Converters

Mathematical modelling for power DC/DC converters is a historical problem accompanying DC/DC conversion technology since 1940’s. The traditional mathematical modelling is not available for complex structure converters since the differential equation order increases very high. We have to search other way to establish mathematical modelling for power DC/DC converters.We have theoretically defined a new concept-Energy Factor （EF） in this paper and researched the relations between EF and the mathematical modelling for power DC/DC converters. EF is a new concept in power DC/DC conversion technology, which thoroughly differs from the traditional concepts such as power factor （PF）, power transfer efficiency （η）, total harmonic distortion （THD） and ripple factor （RF）. EF and the subsequential EFV (and EFVD) can illustrate the system stability, reference response and interference recovery. This investigation is very helpful for system design and DC/DC converters characteristics foreseeing. Two DC/DC converters: Buck converter and Super-Lift Luo-Converter as the samples are analysed in this paper to demonstrate the applications of EF, EFV (and EFVD), PE, SE, VE （and VED）, time constant τ and damping time constant τd.

Dynamic Properties and Energy Conversion Efficiency of A Floating Multi-Body Wave Energy Converter

The present study proposed a floating multi-body wave energy converter composed of a floating central platform,multiple oscillating bodies and multiple actuating arms. The relative motions between the oscillating bodies and the floating central platform capture multi-point wave energy simultaneously. The converter was simplified as a forced vibration system with three degrees of freedom, namely two heave motions and one rotational motion. The expressions of the amplitude-frequency response and the wave energy capture width were deduced from the motion equations of the converter. Based on the built mathematical model, the effects of the PTO damping coefficient, the PTO elastic coefficient, the connection length between the oscillating body and central platform, and the total number of oscillating bodies on the performance of the wave energy converter were investigated. Numerical results indicate that the dynamical properties and the energy conversion efficiency are related not only to the incident wave circle frequency but also to the converter’s physical parameters and interior PTO coefficients. By adjusting the connection length, higher wave energy absorption efficiencies can be obtained. More oscillating bodies installed result in more stable floating central platform and higher wave energy conversion efficiency.

Optimization of Bottom-hinged Flap-type Wave Energy Converter for a Specific Wave Rose

In this paper, we conducted a numerical analysis on the bottom-hinged flap-type Wave Energy Convertor (WEC). The basic model, implemented through the study using ANSYS-AQWA, has been validated by a three-dimensional physical model of a pitching vertical cylinder. Then, a systematic parametric assessment has been performed on stiffness, damping, and WEC direction against an incoming wave rose, resulting in an optimized flap-type WEC for a specific spot in the Persian Gulf. Here, stiffness is tuned to have a near-resonance condition considering the wave rose, while damping is modified to capture the highest energy for each device direction. Moreover, such sets of specifications have been checked at different directions to present the best combination of stiffness, damping, and device heading. It has been shown that for a real condition, including different wave heights, periods, and directions, it is very important to implement the methodology introduced here to guarantee device performance.

Theoretical and Experimental Study of A Coaxial Double-Buoy Wave Energy Converter

The double-body heave wave energy converter(WEC)is one of the most conducive devices to absorb the wave energy from relative motion while the law of which is not well understood.This paper makes an in-depth study on this wave energy converter,by means of the combination of theoretical analysis and physical model experiment.The hydrodynamic characteristics and energy capture of the double-buoy under constant and linear Power Take-Off(PTO)damping are investigated.Influences of absolute mass and mass ratio are discussed in the theoretical model.Relative displacement amplitude and average power output are tested in the experiment to analyze the effect of the wave period and outer buoy’s mass,while the capture width ratio(CWR)is also calculated.Results show that the wave period and mass of the buoys have a significant effect on the converter.Different forms of PTO damping have no influence on the optimal wave period and mass ratio of this device.It is recommended to select the double-buoy converter with a mass ratio of 0.80 and to place it in an area with the frequent wave period close to the natural period of the outer buoy to achieve the optimal energy capture.

Array Characteristics of Oscillating-Buoy Two-Floating-Body Wave-Energy Converter

As the energy supply problem worsens, the development and utilization of marine renewable energy have become a research hotspot. The development of wave energy is moving from the near shore to the distant sea. The power-generation efficiency of a single two-floating-body wave-energy converter is relatively low. To fully utilize wave energy and improve the wave-energy capture rate of a fixed sea area, arranging a two-floating-body wave-energy converter array is necessary. This paper first introduces the basic theory of multi-floating flow field, time-domain calculation method, and influence factor of the waveenergy converter array. Then, the development of AQWA software in Fortran language considers the effect of power takeoff. A calculation method based on ANSYS–AQWA is proposed to simulate the motion of the oscillating-buoy two-floating-body wave-energy converter. The results are compared with the experimental results from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Finally, the ANSYS–AQWA method is used to study the power characteristics of simple and complex arrays of wave-energy converters. The average power generation of simple arrays is largest at 0°, and the average power generation of complex arrays does not change with the wave direction. Optimal layout spacing exists for the simple and complex arrays. These findings can serve as a valuable reference for the large-scale array layout of wave-energy converters in the future.

Study on Bifurcation and Chaos in Boost Converter Based on Energy Balance Model

Based on boost converter operating in discontinuous mode, this paper proposes an energy balance model (EBM) for analyzing bifurcation and chaos phenomena of capacitor energy and output voltage when the converter parameter is varying. It is found that the capacitor energy and output voltage dynamic behaviors exhibit the typical period-doubling route to chaos by increasing the feedback gain constant K of proportional controller. The accurate position of the first bifurcation point and the iterative diagram of the capacitor energy with every K can be derived from EBM. Finally, the underlying causes for bifurcations and chaos of a general class of nonlinear systems such as power converters are analyzed from the energy balance viewpoint. Com-paring with the discrete iterative model, EBM is simple and high accuracy. This model can be easily devel-oped on the nonlinear study of the other converters.

Effect of Different Raft Shapes on Hydrodynamic Characteristics of the Attenuator-Type Wave Energy Converter

A numerical simulation method based on CFD has been established to simulate the fully coupled motion for an atten-uator-type wave energy converter(WEC).Based on this method,a detailed parametric analysis has been conducted to investigate the design of the rafts.The effects of different parameters(wave parameters,structural parameters and PTO parameters)on the hydrodynamic characteristics of the attenuator-type WEC were studied in detail.The results show that in terms of wave parameters,there is an optimal wave period,which makes the relative pitching angle amplitude of the WEC reach the maximum,and the increase of wave height is conducive to the relative pitching angle amplitude of wave energy.Under different wave conditions,the relative pitch angle of the parallelogram raft device is the maximum.In terms of structural parameters,the parallelogram attenuator-type device has the optimal values in different relative directions,different distances and different apex angle,which makes the relative motion amplitude of the device reach the maximum,and the spacing and the apex angle have influence on the motion frequency of the device,while the relative direction has almost no influence on it.In terms of PTO parameters,there is an optimal damping coefficient,which makes the power generation efficiency of the WEC reach the maximum.The research results provide a valuable reference for future research and design of the attenuator-type WEC.

Self-Powered Active Vibration Control:Concept,Modeling,and Testing

Despite their superior control performance,active vibration control techniques cannot be widely used in some engineering fields because of their substantial power demand in controlling large-scale structures.As an innovative solution to this problem,an unprecedented self-powered active vibration control system was developped in this study.The topological design,working mechanism,and power flow of the proposed system are presented herein.The self-powering ability of the system was confirmed based on a detailed power flow analysis of vibration control processes.A self-powered actively controlled actuator was designed and applied to a scaled active vibration isolation table.The feasibility and effectiveness of the innovative system were successfully validated through a series of analytical,numerical,and experimental investigations.The setup and control strategy of the proposed system can be readily extended to diversified active vibration control applications in various engineering fields.