Megna Srikanth
Research Mentor: Matthew Ding
Mentor Department: Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, Engineering
Author(s): Matthew Ding, Megna Srikanth, Nitya Sankar
Session: Session 3 (11:00 AM – 11:50 AM)
Presentation Type: Poster 54
Abstract
The demand for clean, renewable energy in remote, hard-to-access areas continues to grow. The ocean serves as an untapped source of energy that can be harvested through waves. Current large-scale power-take-off (PTO) systems that aim to do so are inefficient and expensive, and existing ocean buoys deployed for energy harvesting that don’t run autonomously and rely on batteries or solar panels are limited in their effectiveness and lifespan, especially in harsh marine environments. This is why we recommend implementing an offshore sensing system. We propose the use of an autonomous Wave Energy Converter (WEC) PTO system to deploy in off-shore communities, specifically fish farm communities, in the form of a Wave-Energy-Harvesting buoy. This will assist remote areas, stabilize aquaculture infrastructure, and support sustainable fishing. In order to properly maintain the autonomous nature of the buoy, understand navigation, and provide essential environmental and meteorological data to off-shore communities, we suggest the installation of a combination of environmental sensors onto the buoy. These sensors will be powered by the wave energy that has been harvested via the power-take-off system, ensuring that they need no external power source and are autonomous. Also, they will provide essential data such as temperature, conductivity, depth, motion, and wind. We have modeled each sensor as a resistor in our electrical system, and have calculated and simulated voltage requirements, current draw, daily power consumption, and duty cycles to reflect realistic operating conditions. We have proposed a group of sensors through vigorous market research, which each require minimal power draw, are light and compact to minimize buoy weight, support autonomy and minimal intervention, and are cost-effective.
