Wave energy extraction systems and methods including floating wave energy converters
AssigneeUniversity of Houston System
InventorsDimitrios Kalliontzis, Stergios Liapis
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A floating wave energy converter (WEC) includes a floating housing defined by an interior, a fluid channel positioned in the interior and configured to hold a working fluid, and a turbine positioned along the fluid channel to contact the working fluid when the working fluid is held in the fluid channel, and wherein in response to a movement in a water column external the WEC, motion is induced in the working fluid to operate the turbine and generate electrical energy.
Claims22
A floating wave energy converter (WEC) comprising:
- a floating housing defined by an interior;
- a fluid channel positioned in the interior and configured to hold a working fluid;
- and
- a turbine positioned along the fluid channel to contact the working fluid when the working fluid is held in the fluid channel, and wherein in response to a movement in a water column external the WEC, motion is induced in the working fluid to operate the turbine and generate electrical energy.
A system for wave energy extraction, the system comprising:
- a floating wave energy converter (WEC) comprising:
- a floating housing defined by an interior;
- a fluid channel positioned in the interior and configured to hold a working fluid;
- a turbine positioned along the fluid channel and in contact with the working fluid when the working fluid is held by the fluid channel, wherein the turbine is configured to generate electrical energy in response to flow of the working fluid through the fluid channel driven by pivoting of the WEC about a pivot axis;
- and
- a mounting assembly configured to couple the WEC to a marine structure.
A method for wave energy extraction, the method comprising:
- (a) coupling a mounting assembly to a wave energy converter (WEC), the WEC comprising a floating housing defined by an interior, wherein a fluid channel having a working fluid is positioned in the interior;
- (b) coupling the mounting assembly to a marine structure whereby the WEC is coupled to the marine structure by the mounting assembly;
- and
- (c) deploying the WEC to a waterline of a water column whereby the WEC converts kinetic energy of moving water in the water column to electrical energy based on flow of the working fluid in the fluid channel in response to pivoting of the WEC induced by motion of the water column.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.