Ocean Wave Energy Conversion

The annual wave energy along North American coastlines is roughly 80% of the continent’s electricity consumption. However, wave energy converters (WECs) remain less competitive than solar and wind. Integrating WECs into mature offshore platforms can reduce installation, mooring, operation, and maintenance costs, which account for 40–50% of lifecycle expenses. Conventional oscillating-body WECs rely on linear resonance and linear power take-off (PTO) systems, but when integrated into floating platforms, they induce large hydrodynamic motions that compromise stability. We develop a PTO, inerter-pendulum-vibration-absorber (IPVA), which uses internal resonances to simultaneously achieve high-efficiency energy conversion and reduced platform response (dual functionalities). These capabilities are validated through simulations and scaled laboratory experiments, with wave tank testing currently underway in collaboration with the Aaron Friedman Marine Hydrodynamics Laboratory at the University of Michigan. 

Select publications

1. Li, G., & Tai, W. C. (2024). Random Wave Energy Conversion of a Spar–Floater System via the Inerter Pendulum Vibration Absorber Integration. Journal of Vibration and Acoustics, 146(6), 061105. 

2. Gupta, A., & Tai, W. C. (2024). Nonlinear dynamics of a heaving spar-floater system integrated with inerter pendulum vibration absorber power take-off for wave energy conversion. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing, 209, 111088. 

3. Gupta, A., Kiet Duong, V. T., & Tai, W. C. (2023). Nonlinear energy transfer of a spar-floater system using the inerter pendulum vibration absorber. Journal of Vibration and Acoustics, 145(5), 051005. 

4. Gupta, A., & Tai, W. C. (2022). The response of an inerter-based dynamic vibration absorber with a parametrically excited centrifugal pendulum. Journal of Vibration and Acoustics, 144(4), 041011.