Three-Dimensional Oscillation Dynamics of the In Situ Piston Rod Transmission Between Buoy Line and the Double Hinge-Connected Translator in an Offshore Linear Wave Energy Converter

Force and displacement measurements have been performed in situ on the piston rod mechanical lead-through transmission in the direct drive of the second experimental wave energy converter (WEC) 3 km offshore at the Lysekil research site (LRS) during a 130-day continuous full-scale experiment in 2009. The direct drive consists of a buoy line and a piston rod transmission with a double-hinged link (DHL) at the lower end connecting the point absorbing surface-floating buoy to the translator of an encapsulated permanent magnet linear generator on the seabed. The buoy line is guided by a funnel in the buoy line guiding system 3.2 m above the generator capsule. The 3 m long piston rod reciprocates through a mechanical lead-through in the capsule wall, sealing off seawater from entering the generator capsule. A setup of laser triangulation sensors measures the relative lateral displacement of the piston rod. This paper introduces a method and a system of equations for calculating piston rod relative tilt angle and piston rod azimuth direction of tilting from the relative lateral displacement measurements. Correlation with piston rod axial displacement and forces enables evaluation of the three-dimensional (3D) oscillation dynamics. Results are presented from 2 weeks after launch and from 3 months after launch in altogether four cases representing two different stages of wear in two different sea states. Piston rod tilting from accumulated wear in the buoy line guiding system is separated from tilting due to elastic displacement. Structural mechanical finite element method (FEM) simulations verify the magnitude of elastic displacement and indicate negligible stress and strain at the mounting point of the laser sensor setup. The proposed theory for piston rod 3D motion is validated by the experiment. As the experiment progressed, wear in the buoy line guiding system accelerated due to splitting of the buoy line jacketing compound, thereby increasing the piston rod tilt angles. Over 94 days into the experiment, 21.8 mm of accumulated wear in the buoy line guiding system had altered the characteristics of the piston rod oscillations and increased the maximum piston rod relative tilt angle by 0.39 deg in the predominant azimuth direction of wave propagation. Further accumulated wear in the buoy line guiding system led to buoy line rupture 130 days after launch. The results presented in this paper have been used in assessments for improving the mechanical subsystems in subsequent experimental WECs based on the Uppsala concept.