EFFECTS OF REFLECTIVE WALL WIDTH ON THE MOTION OF A PENDULUM-TYPE WAVE POWER GENERATOR: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

Abstract

 A three-dimensional experiment was conducted to examine the effective width for increasing the power generation efficiency of the pendulum-type wave power generator by the width of the reflection wall installed behind it. From the pendulum's equation of motion, the amount and efficiency of energy generated by the pendulum were calculated. As a result, it was revealed that the natural period of the pendulum in three-dimensional conditions was shorter than in two-dimensional conditions, indicating the need to calculate the natural period in three dimensions. When the reflecting wall is installed, the power generation efficiency is maximum at the position of the standing wave's node, and it is high for relatively short incident wave periods, the same as in the two-dimensional case. When the width of the reflecting wall decreased, the development of the standing wave in front of the reflecting wall weakened, and the influence at the node and antinode positions was small. If the position of the antinode of the standing wave is avoided, the power generation efficiency can be increased when the width of the reflecting wall is greater than 1.5 times the width of the pendulum.