APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR OPTIMIZING THE POWER TRANSFER PRODUCED BY A WAVE ENERGY CONVERTER (WEC)

摘要

A wave energy converter (WEC) including an electric generator (42) for capturing energy contained in ocean waves and converting it to electrical energy at the output of the electric generator (42) may be characterized as an effective capacitive or inductive element; systems embodying the invention include an inductive or capacitive element inserted in the circuit between t he output of the electric generator (42) and a load (60) in order to achieve resonance with the effective capacitance "inductance" of the WEC and so as t o increase the efficiency of the power transfer to the load (60); in certain embodiments the load (60) coupled to the system has a optimum value which is made a function of the frequency of the ocean waves and the effective capacitance or inductance; the effective capacitance "inductance" of the converter (40a) varies as a function of the frequency of the ocean waves; accordingly, systems embodying the invention may include a controller (54) f or varying the load (60) and/or the inductive "capacitive" element coupled in t he system resonate with the converter (54) for increasing the efficiency of the system.