Description
1.
Two cells with different buoyancy
Intended to be located off the breakwaters, the system consists of two floating cells:
- A high buoyancy cell floating on the surface
- A semi-submerged cell with neutral buoyancy
The floating cell moves vertically by the action of the swell, independently of the semi-submerged cell which remains around the same vertical position and resists movement with inertia.
The system captures the energy produced by the movement of the two cells.
2.
Transferring maximum energy without breaking
Energy is captured through a torque converter.
The torque converter is based on two cable reels, one with variable radius and the second with fixed radius…
… in a closed-circuit clutch around a free pulley…
… coupled with a reduction gear…
… attached by a flexible shaft to a flywheel.
3.
Stabilizing the flywheel and conserving energy
The flywheel is housed inside the semi-submerged cell and coupled to two generators.
It constitutes the main buoyancy reducing weight.
It is stabilized by a gyroscopic gimbal in order to isolate the wheel from the oscillatory movement of the cell.
It also helps to smoothen energy production and reduce intermittency in addition to a very high discharge power potential.
4.
Taking advantage of ground anchoring to produce more
The combined system is anchored to the seabed and connected by a cable to a ground station.
In case of numerous floating systems, the ground station concentrates the cables connecting them in a collector.
The collector is coupled to a (larger) inertial flywheel itself coupled to a generator.