Design and fabrication of wave generator using an oscillating wedge

Abstract

In this paper describes the design and fabrication of a wave flume and associated equipment. The water wave generation by a triangle wedge is examined in this paper. Wave flume is fabricated by a concrete flume which is 0.75-meter-wide, 1.3-meter-tall and 11 meters long. One side of the flume is made of concrete and the other side is made of clear mica sheets for observe the water wave profile. Wave flume is equipped with a triangle wedge which located at one end of the wave flume, and this triangle wedge can be move along the rail of the wave flume. The passive wave absorber which is made of honey comb which is located at the other end of the wave flume for absorbing energy waves generated from the wave maker. The wedge is controlled by a desktop computer through mathlab sofware. The wedge can be controlled move up and down at a prescribed speed and oscillation amplitude corresponding to the desired wave height and wave frequency. At the middle flume is equipped micro laser distance sensor which provides data-logging capability. Micro laser distance sensor can collect wave height and wave period through a small ball which is motioned in the tube which is assembled on the water surface and the small ball is very slight to avoid kinetic inertia energy. At the wave maker is equipped an Eccentricity Sensor which is used to measure the wedge position to feed back for desktop computer. Wave flume can generate the largest waves are about 0.2 meter high, a period about 1 second, and a wavelength about 1.5 meters. The waves generated by a oscillating wedge have been measured, analyzed to consider the generated wave energy.

Wave energy converter with mechanical motion rectifier, motion regulator, and energy storage element.

“…10 and 11 that increase in operating frequency of the wave generating mechanism results in higher wave height and reduction in the wave time period. Observations for variation in the wave height and time period are in consonance with the findings reported in the literature [65][66]. During the energy storage mode, wave vertical force is utilized and the wave energy is converted to strain energy of the spiral spring in the ESE.…”