Experimental study on the performance enhancement of a marine current energy converter using flow induced motion

초록

This paper experimentally investigates a sub-100 W class Flow-Induced Motion (FIM) energy converter prototype for low-velocity marine currents using towing-tank tests. Two drivetrain configurations (Inner and Outer) and two cylinder aspect ratios were evaluated under identical conditions by measuring cross-flow vibration response, mechanical power, and conversion efficiency. In the Vortex-Induced Vibration (VIV) regime within the target operating range, the larger aspect-ratio cylinder generally produced higher mean power and efficiency, suggesting that an increased effective span enhances hydrodynamic performance. The two configurations showed different efficiency trends in VIV, while a clear difference in absolute power output was observed in the galloping regime. Overall, drivetrain-related response stability and dynamic characteristics directly influenced power generation and efficiency. These results provide practical guidelines for configuration selection and design of Flow-Induced Motion (FIM) based energy converters in low-speed tidal-current environments.

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