An Experimental Comparison between an Ironless and a Traditional Permanent Magnet Linear Generator for Wave Energy Conversion

Domenico Curto, Vincenzo Franzitta, Andrea Guercio, Rosario Miceli, Claudio Nevoloso, Francesco Maria Raimondi and Marco Trapanese
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Domenico Curto: Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Parco d’Orleans, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Vincenzo Franzitta: Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Parco d’Orleans, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Andrea Guercio: Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Parco d’Orleans, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Rosario Miceli: Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Parco d’Orleans, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Claudio Nevoloso: Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Parco d’Orleans, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Francesco Maria Raimondi: Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Parco d’Orleans, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Marco Trapanese: Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Parco d’Orleans, 90128 Palermo, Italy

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 7, 1-21

Abstract: Permanent Magnet Linear Generators (PMLGs) are currently being studied for sea wave energy harvesting. Typically, a PMLG consists of an iron-made armature and a moving translator. The permanent magnets adoption produces parasitic effects, such as cogging force, and the machine weight increment. A solution could be the adoption of an ironless configuration, accepting a power density reduction. This paper investigates the use of ironless PMLGs in sea wave energy conversion systems by an experimental comparative analysis between an iron PMLG prototype and an ironless PMLG prototype, which share the same geometry. The main electrical and mechanical parameters (resistance, mass, and magnetic fields) were preliminarily measured. Subsequently, open-circuit and load tests were carried out to compare the induced voltages, the energy transferred to a resistive load, efficiency and the load average power. The reported comparison shows that iron PMLG performances are significantly superior to the ironless ones during the open-circuit tests, as expected. However, the analysis carried out through the load tests shows that the cogging force significantly limits the energy production, obtaining similar values in both machines. Therefore, the experimental tests justify the use of ironless machines in sea wave energy harvesting, where the maximization of energy production is a relevant target.

Keywords: linear electrical machines; ironless electrical machines; permanent magnet generators (PMG); Permanent Magnet Linear Generators (PMLG) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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