Experimental Study of Power Generation Performance for Pulley-Buoy-Accelerated Linear Wave Power Generation Systems

This study presents a pulley-buoy-accelerated linear wave power generation system and verifies its feasibility and effectiveness through experimental research. Compared with traditional wave power generation systems that rely on three-stage energy conversion, the proposed system eliminates intermediate energy transfer and conversion links, enabling direct extraction of electrical energy from wave-induced motion. Additionally, by incorporating a pulley assembly, the system amplifies the buoy’s motion speed. This enhancement boosts the power output of the linear generator and improves the system’s overall wave energy conversion efficiency. Under laboratory conditions, a small-scale prototype of the system and a swing-type wave generator were constructed. Experimental tests were conducted to examine how three key factors influence the system’s power generation performance: the number of stator coils, wave conditions (wave height and wavelength), and buoy size. The results indicate that three measures can effectively improve both the wave energy conversion efficiency and power generation performance of the pulley-buoy-accelerated system: increasing the number of stator coils, increasing wave height and wavelength, and moderately enlarging the buoy size. These findings offer valuable insights for the practical application and efficient operation of wave power generation systems.