Graduation Project Unit

Design of a Permanent Magnet Linear Generator Using Wave Energy

Converter
(FINAL REPORT)
Graduation Project Code: EEM1-5
Submitted for Partial Fulfillment of the
B.Sc. Degree in Electrical Engineering
By
Students:

Abdulla Hassan

(201002662)

Hamad Mohammed (201010114)

Najm Krknawi

(201050211)

Nasser Alkabi

(201006286)

Project Advisor:

ADWEA Scholarship

ADWEA Scholarship

Dr. Addy Wahyudie

Examination Committee:
1. Prof. Abdurazak Zekri

(Coll.)

2. Prof. Ahmed Gaouda

(Dept.)

3. Dr. Abbas Fardoun

(Dept.)

Spring Semester 2015

UAE University

College of Engineering
Industrial Training and Graduation Projects Unit

Contribution of Team Members*

Project Title: Permanent Magnet Linear Generator
Semester / Academic Year: Spring 2015 Date: May / 31 /2015

Tasks

Abdulla

Hamad

. Chapter 1: Introduction

15%

30%

35%

20%

. Chapter 2: Background

35%

10%

25%

30%

. Chapter3: Conceptual Design

20%

40%

20%

20%

. Chapter 4: Preliminary Design

25%

25%

25%

25%

. Chapter 5: Economical & Ethics Issues

20%

30%

30%

20%

. Chapter 6: Project Management

35%

15%

15%

35%

. Chapter 7: Conclusion & Plan for GP2

25%

25%

25%

25%

* The total percentage for each task should be 100.

Project Advisor Name and Signature: Dr. Addys signature:

Najm

Nasser

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
In the beginning of our graduation project report, we would like to thank everyone who helped
us reach this level of our graduation project. And all the people who contributed and were
there for us, starting by our project advisor Dr. Addy Wahyudie who was leading us throughout
16 weeks with his remarkable guidance, continuous encouragement and comprehensive
support to complete this work. Also, we would like to express our deepest gratitude and
appreciation to all staff members in Electrical Engineering Department starting by Dr. Abbas
Fardoun for his effort being our coordinator for 16 weeks, his guidance and suggestions. We
would like to sincerely thank Prof. Ahmad Gaouda, Dr. Abbas Fardoun and Prof. Abdurazak
Zekri for their time to be in our Committee in the final examination. Special thanks goes to the
graduation projects team at UAE University head by Dr. Nabil. And thanks so much to Eng.
Hanan Alharmoudi, we highly appreciate all the efforts and work done by her during 4 months.
Shes been following up with us from the starting point to the submission of the last drafts.
Finally, we would like to thank deeply and wish to express our hearty appreciation to our family
members for their unlimited help and support during our study.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Harvesting oceanic renewable energy is a feasible idea since ocean power technology currently
exists. However, these sustainable practices and tools are not generally known. Accordingly,
one of the key objectives of our project is the promotion of the advancement of ocean energy
harnessing as a feasible type of renewable energy.
Basically, the main aim of our project is to design and construct a small scale PMLG (permanent
magnet linear generator), which will be used as an application of wave energy converter. The
PMLG consists of two separate columns of magnets neodymium and each column consists of
a certain number of magnets that are arranged above each other (fixed on the base) in a certain
way considering their polarities. There will be a winding between the two columns, moving
linearly (vertically) due to the motion of the oceanic waves. Consequently, there will be friction

Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................................................1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................2
LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................................5
LIST OF FIGURES.................................................................................................................................6
Chapter I (Introduction) .....................................................................................................................7
1.1 Problem statement and purpose ........................................................................................................ 7
1.2 Project and Design Objectives ............................................................................................................ 7
1.3 Intended Outcomes and Deliverables................................................................................................. 8
1.4 Summary of Design Process used ....................................................................................................... 8
1.5 Summary of the report structure........................................................................................................ 9
Chapter (BACKGROUND LITERATURE AND MARKET SURVEY) ............................................................ 10
2.1 Background about linear generators and wave energy converters.................................................. 10
2.2 Target Market and their needs ......................................................................................................... 11
2.3 Different types of magnets ............................................................................................................... 12
2.4 Different Types of Installations in the Ocean ................................................................................... 14
2.4.1 Floating Point Absorber ............................................................................................................. 15
2.4.2 Archimedes Wave Swing ............................................................................................................ 16
2.5 Potential Ethical and Environmental Issues ...................................................................................... 17
2.6 Prioritized Needs/Requirements ...................................................................................................... 18
Chapter III (CONCEPTUAL DESIGN) .................................................................................................... 19
3.1 Problem Review ................................................................................................................................ 19
3.2.1 Customer Needs and Specifications .......................................................................................... 20
3.2.2 Function Tree ............................................................................................................................. 22
3.3 Generation of Conceptual Alternatives ............................................................................................ 23
3.3.1 Advantages of Each Type of Installation .................................................................................... 23
3.3.2 Disadvantages of Each Type of Installation ............................................................................... 24
3.3.3 Magnets Pros and Cons.............................................................................................................. 25
3.3.4 Decision Matrix of the magnets ................................................................................................. 27
3.3.5 Quality Function deployment (QFD) .......................................................................................... 28
3.4 Selected Alternative and reasoning .................................................................................................. 29
3.4.1 Two Sided ................................................................................................................................... 29
3.4.2 Tubular ....................................................................................................................................... 31
3

3.4.3 One Sided ................................................................................................................................... 32

3.4.4 Four sided................................................................................................................................... 32
3.5 Formal Decision Making process and Final Concept Selection ......................................................... 34
3.5.1 Decision Matrix .......................................................................................................................... 34
3.5.2 Final concept solution ................................................................................................................ 35
3.6 Discussion and perceived problems ................................................................................................. 36
Chapter IV (PRELIMINARY DESIGN) ................................................................................................... 37
4.1 Schematic of the overall system ....................................................................................................... 37
4.2 Analysis of each Major Component .................................................................................................. 38
4.2.1 Generator ................................................................................................................................... 38
4.2.2 Buoy and Linear Actuator .......................................................................................................... 40
4.2.3 Equivalent Linear Actuator ........................................................................................................ 43
4.3 Safety Considerations ....................................................................................................................... 46
Chapter V (ECONOMICAL, ETHICAL, AND CONTEMPORARY ISSUES) ................................................... 47
5.1 Preliminary Cost Estimation and Justification .................................................................................. 47
5.2 Relevant codes of Ethics and Moral Frame works ............................................................................ 48
5.3 Ethical Dilemmas and Justification of Proposed Solution ................................................................. 49
5.4 Relevant Environmental Considerations........................................................................................... 50
5.5 Relevance to UAE and Region (Social, Cultural, and Political) .......................................................... 51
Chapter VI (PROJECT MANAGEMENT) ............................................................................................... 53
6.1 Tasks and Schedule ........................................................................................................................... 53
6.2 Problems Faced and Solutions .......................................................................................................... 54
6.3 Resources .......................................................................................................................................... 54
6.4 Each Students Responsibilities......................................................................................................... 55
Chapter VII (CONCLUSION AND PLAN FOR GP2) ................................................................................ 56
7.1 Restatement of Purpose of Report and Objectives .......................................................................... 56
7.2 Restatement of Proposed Deliverables ............................................................................................ 56
7.3 Summary of How Each Objective and Deliverable has been met..................................................... 56
7.4 Summary of Final Design................................................................................................................... 57
7.5 Feedback from Target Market .......................................................................................................... 58
7.6 New skills learned in GP I .................................................................................................................. 59
7.7 Plan for GP II...................................................................................................................................... 60
References....................................................................................................................................... 61
4

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Basic prerequisites for linear generators in Uppsala University project and Archimedes .......... 16
Table 2: List of Customer Needs ................................................................................................................. 20
Table 3: list of specification ........................................................................................................................ 21
Table 4: Comparison between Point Absorber and AWS ........................................................................... 24
Table 5: Quality Function Deployment (QFD) ............................................................................................. 28
Table 6: Decision Matrix of the Design Alternatives ................................................................................... 34
Table 7: Materials of the buoy & Properties for each one ......................................................................... 40
Table 8: Cost estimation table .................................................................................................................... 47
Table 9: Tasks divisions among the group .................................................................................................. 55

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Generic Direct drive WEC............................................................................................................. 11
Figure 2: Floating point absorber on sea floor

Figure 3: floating point absorber submerged ............ 15

Figure 4: floating point absorber floating structure ................................................................................... 15

Figure 5: Archimedes Wave Swing

Figure 6: AWS operation principle ............................... 16

Figure 7: function tree ................................................................................................................................ 22

Figure 8: Decision Matrix Chart of the types of the magnets ..................................................................... 27
Figure 9: Two Sided PMLG .......................................................................................................................... 30
Figure 10: Whole system of two sided including buoy ............................................................................... 30
Figure 11: Explanation of a Tubular ............................................................................................................ 30
Figure 12: Tubular Part ............................................................................................................................... 30
Figure 13: Four sided .................................................................................................................................. 33
Figure 14: Schematic of the Overall System ............................................................................................... 37
Figure 15: Geometry of buoy ...................................................................................................................... 40
Figure 16: Mechanical Linear Actuator ....................................................................................................... 44
Figure 17: Hydraulic Linear Actuator .......................................................................................................... 44
Figure 18: Pneumatic Linear Actuator ........................................................................................................ 45
Figure 19: Electro-Mechanical Linear Actuator .......................................................................................... 45
Figure 20: UAE Map on the Arabian Gulf .................................................................................................... 52
Figure 21: Gantt chart of our project tasks ................................................................................................. 53

Chapter I
Introduction
1.1 Problem statement and purpose
The purpose of this project is to provide an alternative energy source since the consumption
rate has risen strongly in past several years due to over-population. In addition to the depletion
of main natural resources such as crude oil which is considered to be the most valuable source
in electricity generation .UAE is one of the green energy pioneers in this field, due to its
implementation and recent widely usage of solar energy as an alternative energy source, mainly
in Masdar city in Abu Dhabi. The UAE is located on a large area of the Arabian Gulf, therefore
harvesting wave energy will be marvelous to employ.

1.2 Project and Design Objectives

The main objective of this project is to design and construct a small permanent magnet wave
energy converter that is capable of generating an electric power of 100-200 watt. In the first
stage, the testing of this prototype will be a dry test not in the ocean, because the ocean will
include risks and complexities. After building and testing the prototype, we will consider
implementing it in the ocean, which will be the real challenge because many factors should be
taken into account such as; designing of the container, sealing and the material to use.
7

1.3 Intended Outcomes and Deliverables

By using the systematic engineering design process, the outcome from GP2 will be a prototype
of a linear generator implemented as an application of a Wave Energy Converter (WEC). To
build a prototype, we need to make a systematic engineering design process where we should
consider all the factors the will facilitate in designing and building the prototype flawlessly. In
GP2, the prototype will be built and tested.

1.4 Summary of Design Process used

The Permanent Magnet Linear Generator (PMLG) consist of a permanent magnet and a field
winding. In order to meet the designed power rating, a systematic procedure will be applied to
select the suitable speed on the input and the dimensions of the magnet and the field winding.
During the design other constraint such as; size, safety and the production cost will be
considered. Also a simple power electronic circuit for smoothing the power output will be
added. After driving the mathematical model of the PMLG, a software model of the PMLG will
be done. Then a prototype will be built and tested in the final stage as well as recording the
acquired results.

1.5 Summary of the report structure

This project report consists of 7 chapters (including the first introductory chapter) . The
following chapter will be a background literature review about linear electric generators and
wave energy converters (WECs). Next, conceptual design will be discussed in details. After that,
preliminary design chapter which includes schematics of the overall system and an analysis of
each major component and finally safety considerations. The chapter after will be considering
the economical, ethical and contemporary issues. Next, project management is discussed (tasks
and schedule, problems faced and resources). And the last chapter is a conclusion and a plan
for GP2.

Chapter II
BACKGROUND LITERATURE AND MARKET SURVEY
2.1 Background about linear generators and wave energy converters
Recently, direct drive linear generators became the most popular type of generator
investigated by researches for the wave energy conversion (WEC). Linear electric generators
convert mechanical energy into electrical energy. And it is useful for the applications when the
motion is linear.
The generation of electricity by harnessing the sea waves energy power has been at the
forefront of research into renewable energy for more than 25 years. Although harvesting
waves energy has been investigated for decades, it was the 1973 oil crisis that resulted in a
sudden growth in research into wave energy in several countries. [1]
Many prototypes have been developed since 1970s to extract energy from sea waves, and
convert it into electricity. In comparison with wind energy, extracting power from sea waves is
very much in its infancy. While there is a general consensus of the optimal design parameters
for a wind turbine three blades mounted on a horizontal axis; there is as yet no widely
accepted design approach for wave energy converters (WECs).
Presently, the vast majority of WECs at a prototype or later stage use either pneumatic or
hydraulic power take-off systems. Another form of power take-off system, which has often
been overlooked, is the direct electrical power take-off system. It has been shown through a

10

comparative study that a direct electrical power take-off system has potential and justifies
further research and development [2]. In particular the area of research that has attracted
interest is the use of a linear electrical generator directly coupled to the wave energy device, as
implemented in WECs such as the Archimedes Wave Swing [3], [4]. This eliminates the need for
an interface between the wave energy device and an electrical generator, thereby reducing
complexity and increasing the overall reliability. Figure 1 shows a diagram of a generic direct
drive WEC.

Figure 1: Generic Direct drive WEC

2.2 Target Market and their needs

The cost of harvesting wave energy has decreased over the past 10 to 15 years and ongoing
technological developments mean the predicted costs of wave energy are continually being
reduced.

11

An independent market assessment estimated the world-wide potential of wave energy

economic contribution in the electricity market to be in the order of 2,000 TWh/year, which is
about 12% of world electricity consumption (based on 2009 data) and is comparable to the
amount of electricity currently produced world-wide by large scale hydroelectric projects. In
terms of market value, the potential market for harvesting energy from ocean waves is worth
about $1 trillion worldwide, according to the World Energy Council. [1]
The ultimate goal of WEC is a vast network of inefficient power lines, coupled to an electrical
infrastructure which has not been able to adapt to meet the demands of our modern society.
Ocean power could provide a renewable power generation infrastructure that would be close
to the consumer and easily scalable to meet the demands of various populations.
The customers for this project are any organizations, institutes, corporations or even individual
investors who will benefit from the power provided from the PMLG project. Some of them
include:
Power distribution companies [e.g. ADWEA, DEWA etc.]
Government supported projects that support renewable energy sector [e.g. MASDAR]
Marine Armed forces, who will need to power up low power level critical devices.

2.3 Different types of magnets

In this section we are going to focus on Permanent magnets which are a magnet that
retains its magnetic properties in the absence of an inducing field or current.
12

There are typically four categories of permanent magnets: neodymium iron boron
(NdFeB), samarium cobalt (SmCo), alnico, and ceramic or ferrite magnets.
Neodymium iron boron (NdFeB)

One of the rare earth magnetic material composition with a high coercive force and
extremely high energy product range, up to 50 MGOe. They can usually be
manufactured to be small and compact in size due its high product energy level. But
there are several disadvantages for NdFeB which are low mechanical strength, tend to
be brittle, and low corrosion-resistance if left uncoated. However it can be used in many
application if it treated with gold, iron, or nickel plating. Overall NdFeB is a very strong
magnets and are difficult to demagnetize.

Samarium Cobalt (SmCo)

There are two groups of SmCo magnets, the different between them is their product
energy range. The first series (Sm1Co5) has an energy product range of 15-22 MGOe.
The second series (Sm2Co17) has a range that falls between 22 and 30 MGOe. Both
series are very strong and difficult to demagnetize also both of series are highly
oxidation-resistant and temperature resistant, withstanding temperatures up to 300
degrees Celsius. However, they can be expensive and have low-mechanical strength.

13

 Alnico

Alnico is a composition of aluminum, nickel, and cobalt. They can be produced by either
sintering or casting, with each process yielding different magnet characteristics.
Sintering produces enhanced mechanical traits. Casting results in higher energy
products and enables the magnets to achieve more complicated design features.
Although they feature good temperature resistance, they can easily be demagnetized
and are sometimes replaced by ceramic and rare earth magnets in certain applications.

Ceramic or Ferrite

One of the most commonly used magnet, and its a composition of iron oxide and
barium or strontium carbonate. Its strong and is not easy to demagnetize also its
inexpensive and easily produced, either through sintering or pressing. However ceramic
(or ferrite) tend to be brittle and they require grinding using a diamond wheel. [1]
Table 2.3 demonstrate the different categories of permanent magnets and some of its
properties. [2]

2.4 Different Types of Installations in the Ocean

Any WEC (Wave Energy Convertor) can be installed in the ocean using different concepts. In this
section we are going to explain different concepts of installing Permanent Magnet Linear
Generator. We will focus on two concepts which are floating point absorber and AWS
(Archimedes Wave Swing).
14

2.4.1 Floating Point Absorber

The main part of the floating point absorbers is a floating buoy of a cylindrical or spherical
shape. The buoy is connected to a capsule containing a direct drive linear generator. The
capsule can be deployed either on sea floor (Figure 2), submerged (Figure 3), or fixed over a
floating structure (Figure 4). The floating point absorbers are deployed near-shore or deep
water [Ref. 2.4.1].

Figure 2: Floating point absorber on sea floor

Figure 3: floating point absorber submerged

Figure 4: floating point absorber floating structure

15

2.4.2 Archimedes Wave Swing

The AWS is a capsule deployed on the sea floor or submerged, which is consists of
expandable chamber filled with air and direct drive linear generator (Figure 5). The AWS
is typically deployed around 5 to 10 kilo-meters away from the shore and up to 50
meters water depth. The basic operation principle is based on the difference in the
water pressure over the wave length of every wave (Figure 6)[Ref. 2.4.2].

Figure 5: Archimedes Wave Swing

Figure 6: AWS operation principle

Table 1: Basic prerequisites for linear generators in Uppsala University project and Archimedes [Ref. 2.4.2]
Parameter

Uppsala University project,

3 m point absorber

Archimedes Wave Swing

Nominal speed

0.7 m/s

2.2 m/s

Nominal power

10 kW

1 MW

Nominal reaction force

14.3kN

454kN

Long term overload

2 to 5 time nominal load

2 time nominal load

Short term overload

10 time nominal load

2 time nominal load

Stroke length

1.5 m

7m

Air gap area

2.1 m2

20 m2

Passive rectifier

Current source inverter (passive)

Load

16

2.5 Potential Ethical and Environmental Issues

We should keep in our consideration how we can minimize the effect of our project on the
environment as much as we can, from an ethical perspective. And following what is mentioned
in the code of ethics Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the
public & environment. [1]
Firstly, we have to choose a suitable safe location in the ocean that will not jeopardize peoples
properties and interests. In addition, the color of the floating buoy on the surface should be
clearly visible even in the dark. One of the most important aspects that we should follow the
rules & regulations of the Estedama (Sustainability). Furthermore, we ensure that our project
has no negative impacts on the marine biology, by contacting the animal rights association. [2]
The material used and the design process was taken into consideration while designing the
WEC system, in such a way that the manufacturing of the WEC can be optimized and it is
environmentally friendly as much as possible. These issues will be discussed in details and some
points related to the aspects locally in the UAE later. (In chapter 5)

17

2.6 Prioritized Needs/Requirements

In our project, the main requirement is to generate a renewable electrical energy by a WEC,
which is a permanent magnet linear generator. The power generated can be supplied directly
to the main power grid or to be stored in battery banks. Also, our generator should be efficient,
which means it has to convert as much as possible of wave energy to electrical energy. The
design should be as small as possible so it can at least generate 100 to 200 watts of power. So,
we have to come up with an efficient design that can generate that amount of power by
converting wave energy, and it should be as small as possible. Also, it should consist of green
materials that are environmentally harmless.

18

Chapter III
CONCEPTUAL DESIGN
3.1 Problem Review
The main sources for running generator to produce electricity in UAE is the natural gas with 98
% [1]. And based on analysis for the current situation expected that the future supply of natural
gas will not meet the demand of electricity consumption. And on top of that Energy produced
by crude oil or diesel have high cost of the material and on the environmental, and power
generation by coal burning may be less expensive, but was having difficulty in terms of logistics
as well as environmental damage.[2]
There are many alternative for natural gas such as solar, wind, wave and nuclear power. The
main advantage for those alternative is the renewability and its consider as clean energy. And
based on the geographical location of UAE both solar and wave consider permanent resources.
If we consider the wave energy, UAE has Coastline of 644 km with Arabian Gulf and 90 km with
gulf of Oman. [3]
Our project target is to design a permeant magnet liner generator, which will use the wave
energy to produce electricity, in other word its wave energy convertor. The goal of our project
to generate 100 to 200 W. but the ultimate goal of WEC is a vast network of inefficient power
lines, coupled to an electrical infrastructure which has not been able to adapt to meet the
demands of our modern society.

19

3.2.1 Customer Needs and Specifications

A list of customer needs and design specifications was created as shown in table 2 and 3
respectively. Because there is a specific scope and limited time for this project which assists the
team to focus on the project goal. Table 1 and table 2 show our customer needs and their
related specifications. Each specification represents the needs quantifiably. Both customer
needs and specification importance is measured in a scale from 1 to 5, where one is considered
as the most important.
Table 2: List of Customer Needs

Customer Needs
No.
1
WEC
2

WEC

WEC

WEC

WEC

WEC

7
8

WEC
WEC

9
10

WEC
WEC

11

WEC

12

WEC

Need
Build using standard
hardware
Constructed with
basic tools
Requires minimal
fabrication
Minimal intermittent
maintenance
Transportable by
passenger vehicle
Type of wave energy
convertor design
(point source)
Generate electricity
Withstand marine
environment
Environmentally safe
Encourage use of
WECs
Accessible to
academics and do-ityourself online
community
How-to manual for
fabrication

20

Importance
1
2
3
2
1
3

1
2
1
2
4

Table 3: list of specification

Specification
Spec. No. Need No.
1
1
2
2
3
4

3
4 &9

6
7
8
9

6
7
8
9

10

11

11

12

Specification
Built using standard hardware
Construct with basic power
tools
Minimal fabrication
Interval between
maintenance
Component max length,
width, height and weight
Point source
Support electric load
Water depth
Environmental hazard of
materials
Encourage public and private
use of WEC
Instruction manual

Importance
1
2

Units
List
List

3
2

Subj.
Time

1
3
2
2
2

Meter and
Kilogram
Binary
Watts
Meter
List

Subj.

Time

We had a better understanding about which needs should be given a higher priority during the
design stage of the project after classifying the needs of the customer, and using ways to
measure and quantify those needs. Higher priority was given to: the development of WEC
system to generate electricity, and ensuring the WEC could operate in shallow water depths
and thereby be installed in a various range of locations, and the ability to transfer it by a
passenger seat.

21

3.2.2 Function Tree

Using the needs and requirements, a function tree was created as shown below:

Figure 7: function tree

22

3.3 Generation of Conceptual Alternatives

3.3.1 Advantages of Each Type of Installation
Point Absorber Advantages
1. It has simpler installation type compared to the other one.
2. More flexible type because the floating buoy is connected to the generator by a rope.
Also, any maintenance needed for the buoy it is very easy to be done since it is a
floating part.
3. Its flexibility is also considered in the place that it can be installed, which is either near
shore or deep water.
4. It can be overloaded either up to five times of the nominal load for long term
overloading, or up to ten times of the nominal load for short term overloading.

AWS Advantages
1. Simple operation principle, because it depends on the difference in the water pressure.
2. It has faster nominal speed than the Point Absorber.
3. It can produce around 1 MW of power

23

3.3.2 Disadvantages of Each Type of Installation

Point Absorber Disadvantages
1. It produces less power than AWS because of:
a. It moves slower than the AWS.
b. Its stroke is shorter than the stroke in the AWS.
2. Since the buoy is a floating part, so it is hard to maintain the efficiency because:
a. Anything can hit it such as ships
b. Also, birds can sit one it which will affect the efficiency.
AWS Disadvantages
3. It cannot handle high overloading, which it can handle in max just two times the
nominal load.
4. It has to be checked up and go under maintenance more often because if there is any
crack on the air chamber will dramatically affect its efficiency.
5. In stormy weather, AWS efficiency will be affected very highly because its operation
principle depends on the difference in the water pressure.
Table 4: Comparison between Point Absorber and AWS

Parameter
Nominal speed
Nominal power
Nominal reaction force
Long term overload
Short term overload
Stroke length
Air gap area
Design

Point Absorber
Slower
Smaller
Smaller
Up to 5 times nominal load
10 times nominal load
Shorter
Smaller
Simple and Flexible
24

Archimedes Wave Swing

Faster
Larger
Larger
2 times nominal load
2 times nominal load
Longer
Larger
Complicated

3.3.3 Magnets Pros and Cons

In this part we are going to compare the four types of permanent magnets; Neodymium iron
boron (NdFeB), Samarium Cobalt (SmCo), Alnico and Ceramic or Ferrite. (See ref. [1], [2])

Neodymium iron boron (NdFeB)

Pros
Highest product energy up to 50 MGO.
High coercive force 800 to 950 KA/m
Cons
Low mechanical strength
Low corrosion-resistance (uncoated)
Max operating temperature 200o C (lowest of the four)

Samarium Cobalt (SmCo)

Pros
High energy product up to 30 MGO
Highest coercive force 3,200 KA/m
Max operating temperature 349o C
Cons
Low mechanical strength
Expensive

25

Alnico
Pros
Highest operating temperature with 538o C
Cons
Low coercive force 51 to 159 KA/m
Low energy product 1.4 to 7.5 MGOe

Ceramic or Ferrite
Pros
Inexpensive
Max operating temperature 399o C
Cons
Brittle
Low coercive force 30 to 160 KA/m
Lowest energy product 1.1 to 4.5 MGO

26

3.3.4 Decision Matrix of the magnets

0.4

0.20

SUM

cost

Corrosion

CRITERIA

Energy
product

DESIGN

Temperatur
e

Decision Matrix Chart

0.10

0.3

1.0

ALTERNATIVES
a) Samarium Cobalt (SmCo)
b)

6
3.6

Neodymium Iron Boron 9

(NdFeB)

1.2
6

0.9
7

7.2
1.5

7.6
2.1

3.6

1.2

0.7

a)
Alnico

9
0.8

1.8

0.6

5.9
2.7

a)
Ceramic or Ferrite

7
0.4

1.4

0.6

5.1
2.7

a)
Figure 8: Decision Matrix Chart of the types of the magnets

From the Decision Matrix chart, we notice that Neodymium iron Boron has a higher rating
according to the temperature, Energy product, corrosion and the cost.

27

3.3.5 Quality Function deployment (QFD)

Using QFD is essential in order to help us choosing the right type of WEC, considering the
analysis between the design specifications and customer requirements. As a result, the QFD will
show what specifications are radically important for our design and which type of WEC that can
best provide it.
Table 5: Quality Function Deployment (QFD)

Water Depth

Instruction manual

Support Electric load

Environmental hazard of
materials
Encourage public and private
use of WEC

Point source

Component max length, width,

height and weight

Interval between maintenance

Minimal Fabrication

Construct with basic power

tools

Built using standard hardware

Importance Rating

Design Specifications

ncy

Deliverable output power

of 100 200 Watt
Withstand marine
Environment

User Friendly
Cost Efficient
Maintenance Cost
Environmental Friendly

7
7
8
7

1
9
9

3
3
9

Works in Shallow offshore

conditions

Maintenance ease

191
8

156
6

221
9

165
6

189
8

9
9
3

al

mic

no

ity

1
9
9

3
9

3
9
1
9

3
3

ty

Maintainabili

Safety

Eco

Reliabil

Efficie

Customer Requirements

Target Information
Absolute Importance
Relative Importance

28

107
4

88
3

181
7

79
3

216
9

63
3

3.4 Selected Alternative and reasoning

Designing a single-phase small linear generator for the application of a Wave Energy Converter
(WEC) with the rating power of 100-200 watt. The Power Linear Magnet Generator basically
consists of a permanent magnet and a field winding. A systematic procedure is applied to
design the PLMG Permanent Linear Magnet Generator that meet its designed power rating
using a rated speed on the input with the constraint of size, safety, and the production cost.
The addition such as the manual actuation system (for example: using a rack and pinion, etc.),
simple power electronic circuit for smoothing the power output can be added upon the
completion of the PLMG.
To reach to this stage we have different type of linear generators and we will focus on three of
them to choose best one that meet our criteria and conditions:

3.4.1 Two Sided

Two sided consists of two separate columns of magnets and each column consists of certain
number of the magnets that are arranged above each other in a certain way with consideration
of their polarities and that will be fixed on the base. There will be a winding between the two
columns, moving in linear way vertically due to the motion of the oceanic waves that will hit
the floating buoy as shown in the figure below. Because of the very small air gap between
winding and the magnets as a result, power will be generated. There are other details such as
distance air gap between fixed magnets and winding. In addition to that, the effect of the

29

power losses on the output result. One of the advantages of two sided is reasonable price and
gives output power that not too high and not to small from 200 watt to 600 watt. [1]

Figure 9: Two Sided PMLG

Figure 10: Whole system of two
sided including buoy

Figure 11: Explanation of a Tubular

Figure 12: Tubular Part

30

3.4.2 Tubular
It consists of primary part and secondary part. The primary part is made up of primary iron
core, armature windings, and central axis. The armature windings which are fixed with epoxy
resin or slot wedge are embedded in the primary iron core slot in a certain way, and the
primary iron core is located in the middle of the central axis which is divided into two parts. The
secondary part, which consists of permanent magnet, secondary iron core, and buoy, does
relative movement as waves, generates magnetic field lines, and induces electromotive force in
the armature windings. The basic structure is shown in Figure 12. It designed with long
secondary and short primary part to reduce the amount of copper in the armature windings, so
as to decrease the copper loss and improve the efficiency of the generator. The primary part is
placed in the center, and the rabbets face the secondary part in order to embed armature
windings conveniently and simplify the manufacture technology of the primary part effectively.
The main flux direction in the mover is determined by the magnetization of permanent
magnets and the generated voltage level is dominated by the interactions between stator and
mover. For the tubular structure the magnetic Flux density remains constant though the entire
air gap at around 0.83T. [1] & [2]

31

3.4.3 One Sided

In this design, a buoy that moves freely up and down as waves pass by it. The buoy is connected
to winding by a handle. Magnets are arranged above each other as a column with consideration
of their polarities to let the magnetic field direction in the side of the winding. Also, there will
be a spring that fix on the surface beside the column of the magnets to protect the winding that
moves up and down due to the movement of the buoy from hitting the base. There will be air
gap between the winding that move vertically beside the fixed column of the magnets. This gap
should be too small to have acceptable output power. The advantages of one sided is cheap
and very easy while the negative points of this design is limited output , that s mean even if
number of the magnets increase it will not give much more output power. It will reach to point
that the output power will be stable

3.4.4 Four sided

It has similar construction of two sided and one sided. Simply it consists of permanent
magnets that arranged in the column above each other. There are four column of the magnets
stick together with each other surrounding the shaft which will be in the middle. The PMs are
axially magnetized and are mounted so that adjacent magnet faces have opposite magnetic
poles. The iron pole pieces that are mounted between the magnets have a double role: they
allow opposing magnet faces to be mounted next to each other and they guide the magnetic
flux line through the air gap. Because the magnetic flux density variation in the translator is
small these poles are constructed from massive iron steel material [1]. The coil winding will
be surrounding the magnets in the square shape with small air gap between the magnets and
32

the coil. The air gap in the four sided structure it varies from 0.68 T to 0.39T but even if the
length of the air gap is greater than other structure still the magnetic flux will approximately the
same. As we expect and from the figure the coil of the four sided is longer than other structure
as a result will have higher losses. [2]

Figure 13: Four sided

33

3.5 Formal Decision Making process and Final Concept Selection

3.5.1 Decision Matrix

After we explained each one of the alternatives, Decision matrix has been made as show in the
following table:

Table 6: Decision Matrix of the Design Alternatives

Alternatives

Design Criteria
Saf
ety

Simplicity
and
Maintenan
ce

Durabilit
y

Public
Acceptanc
e

Relia
bility

Use of
standard
parts

Cost to
develop

Cost
to
buy

Perfor
mance

Environment
Friendly

Sum

Weighting
factor

0.15

0.10

0.10

0.10

0.15

0.05

0.05

0.05

0.08

0.17

1.00

Two sided

8
[1.2]

8 [0.8]

7 [0.7]

9 [0.9]

9
[1.35]

8 [0.4]

6 [0.3]

9 [0.45]

7 [0.56]

9 [1.53]

7.39

Flat

9
[1.3
5]

9 [0.9]

6 [0.6]

9 [0.9]

7
[1.05]

8 [0.4]

5 [0.3]

9 [0.45]

5 [0.4]

9 [1.53]

7.28

Tubular

7
[1.0
5]

6 [0.6]

8 [0.8]

7 [0.7]

8 [1.2]

8 [0.4]

7 [0.35]

5 [0.25]

8 [0.64]

7 [1.19]

7.18

Four sided

6
[0.9]

7 [0.7]

8 [0.8]

7 [0.7]

8
[1.2]

8 [0.4]

7 [0.35]

6 [0.30]

9 [0.72]

7 [1.19]

7.26

34

3.5.2 Final concept solution

As a result we found that most suitable Alternative design is two sided. Our choice based on the
Decision Matrix. We put some criterias like safety, performance and many others
considerations and we found that in most of them was two sided get higher value and rating
except the performance because we focus only to get 100 to 200 watt. So the total design is
consist of a buoy, magnets, winding with Epoxy, steel frame to fix the magnets, manual
actuator system and the motor as a load.

35

3.6 Discussion and perceived problems

Although the selection of the alternatives were done, however there are some perceived
problems due to many issues.
Firstly, unavailability of the components in the UAE which required to look for it over different
stores on the web for different manufactures, but finding the customized parts will be difficult
and ordering them will be quite expensive. Also, we expect that it will take a lot of time to
manufacture and to ship the components to the UAE. In addition to the price of the customized
parts, the shipping also will be expensive due to the high weight and short period of ordering
since we have limited time.
Also another issue is finding the correct relationship between the components and the effect of
changing one on the other since we have a variable input and we need to deal with it and find a
way to make the output stable.
Another issues will arise during the assembly of the prototype. Finding a suitable place to build
the prototype which require some specific tools is one of the issues that need to be consider
during this stage. Another problem during this stage, Assembly of the prototype need an
experience in dealing with the equipment in the different steps of building the prototype.
Last but not least, testing the prototype and acquire the data from the real model and compare
them with the theoretical values where its possible to fail or not met the requirement, so a
detailed study will be needed to find the errors and minimize them.

36

Chapter IV
PRELIMINARY DESIGN
4.1 Schematic of the overall system

Figure 14: Schematic of the Overall System

Note: When the force direction changes the current direction changes too.

37

4.2 Analysis of each Major Component

4.2.1 Generator
Our design is mainly consisted of permanent magnets and windings.
First of all from basic information, we will start to by the following equation:

= . . . sin

(4.2.1)

Where:
= Force

= Current =
N = Number of Turns
= Winding Length
= Flux Density
= Angle between and which in this case is 90 o
Using another equation to calculate the force as shown below:

(4.2.2)

= Mass of the Winding

= Acceleration
From our information, we know that the force that used in the equation 4.2.1 should be equal
to the force that we will calculate it in section 4.2.2.

38

Our design requires 100 to 200 Watts. So, in this stage let us take the power equal to 200
Watts. Then, we have the power we can assume the voltage. After that, we can calculate the
current which will help us to calculate the B in equation 4.2.1 after calculating the force.
From the equations 4.2.1 and 4.2.2:

. . . sin

Then we can calculate the Bm by the below equations after calculating B in equation 4.2.1 and
knowing the Pole Pitch and the air gap.

= . cos( )

( 4.2.3)

= Magnet Flux Density

= Pole Pitch
= Air Gap

39

4.2.2 Buoy and Linear Actuator

4.2.2.1 Buoy Geometries
Regarding the buoy calculations, first of all we should determine the geometry of the buoy that
we will work with. There are three common buoy geometries; the first type is purely spherical.
The second type is cylindrical and the third type is called tulip which is a combination of two
shapes; cylindrical and a coins shape (as shown in figure 15). We should choose which one of
these geometries is suitable for our design with respect to all agents and the existing force in
our design.

Figure 15: Geometry of buoy

One of the most important factors in selecting the appropriate geometry is volume, because it
is related directly to the buoyancy force. There are two common materials that the buoy made
from it: a polyethylene shell and a polyurethane core. Based on this, buoys to be studied and
analyzed are assumed to be made of these two materials which their relevant properties are
shown in table 7.
Table 7: Materials of the buoy & Properties for each one
Polyethylene

Polyurethane

Youngs modulus

1860106 N/m2

2410106 N/m2

Poisson coefficient

0.39

0.39

Yield Stress

30106 N/m2

40106 N/m2

Density

940kg/m^3

45 kg/m3

40

4.2.2.2 Buoy Calculations

There are two types of installations that we explained earlier in chapter II; floating point
absorber and AWS (Archimedes Wave Swing). Buoys calculation based on Archimedes principle
where if a buoy is immersed in water, it is submitted to an upward buoyancy force F b that
should be greater or equal to the gravity force Fg. The sum weights of subsystem is to be
considered when calculating Fg. Taking the spherical buoy as an example, the volume of the
displaced water can be calculated from the buoy volume since they are equal as shown below:

Buoy radius is known as rb in the above equation. The buoyancy force Fb can be calculated by
the following equation:

Where Pb is the polyethylene density and g is the acceleration due to gravity. Drag force is
calculated by this equation:

Where C is the drag coefficient & V is the velocity

Velocity can be calculated by the following equation:

Where the h is the maximum height which is described in our system as the height of the
column of the magnet.

41

Buoys are subjected to forces coming from waves such as slamming force which is calculated
from the following equation:

Where Cslam is the slamming pressure coefficient where it must be greater than 2 for flat
surfaces, but for wedged surfaces it is computed to be:

Buoys calculations in steps:

1- Talking the cylindrical types, first of all we should know the material density which in
(Polyethylene) = 940 kg/m^3. From basic information we know that g = 9.8 m/s^2.
2- The needed force was calculated approximately to be 2 N referring to the pervious
calculation in the section 4.2.1. This force is considered as buoyancy force. This value
will be used to decide the size of the buoy.
3- The volume of the buoy can be found from the Buoyancy force :
So we have three parameters except the volume
Which implies that Volume = (Force / (density * gravity))
Vb = (2 N/ (940*9.8)) = 2.17108X10-4 m3
4- After calculating the volume , we can approximately determine the height which about
30 cm and from these two parameters we can calculate the area by the following
equation:

A = (Volume b/ height ) = 7.236933 X10-4 m2

42

5- From the area of the buoy that we calculated in the previous step , Diameter and the
radius can be calculated using the following equation : = 2
From the above equation we calculate the radius which is equal to 0.01517m.
Diameter = r*2 = 0.015 X 2 = 0.0303 m
Which is suitable for our design and it can handle it. [1, 2, &3]

4.2.3 Equivalent Linear Actuator

Our target in this project is constructing a PMLG prototype in the lab, and we arent planning to
test it in the sea otherwise we will need to consider the sealing in addition to that there is no
sea in Alain and it is required to go outside which will be hard for us to go every day for testing.
So for testing purpose the buoy will be replaced with linear actuator. The linear actuator can
provide a similar motion that the waves cause.

43

Mechanical Linear Actuators

Mechanical linear actuators typically operate by the conversion of rotary
motion into linear motion (motion in a straight line). Mechanical linear
actuators convert rotary motion of a control knob or handle into linear
displacement using screws and/or gears to which the knob or handle is
attached.
Figure 16:
Mechanical Linear
Actuator

Hydraulic Linear Actuators

Hydraulic linear actuators, sometimes referred to as or hydraulic cylinders, typically involve a
hollow cylinder with a piston inserted into it. An unbalanced pressure applied to the piston
provides the necessary force that moves an external object. Since liquids are nearly
incompressible, a hydraulic cylinder can provide controlled precise linear displacement of the
piston. The displacement is only along the axis of the piston.

Figure 17: Hydraulic Linear Actuator

44

Pneumatic Linear Actuators

Pneumatic linear actuators, sometimes referred to as pneumatic cylinders, are similar to
hydraulic linear actuators except they use compressed gas to provide pressure, rather than of a
liquid force.

Figure 18: Pneumatic Linear Actuator

Electro-Mechanical Linear Actuators

Electro-mechanical linear actuators are similar to mechanical
actuators except that the control knob or handle is replaced
with an electric motor. Rotary motion of the motor is
converted to linear displacement.

Figure 19: Electro-Mechanical Linear

Actuator

45

Each type of the linear actuators has its own advantage and disadvantages. For example, both
hydraulic linear and pneumatic actuators can produce a large amount of pressure. Therefore,
they can be used for heavy duty applications. However, our prototype will not need powerful
actuator. And the mechanical linear actuators are relatively inexpensive, but they are strictly
manual and cannot be automated. Accordingly, we decided to choose electro-mechanical linear
Actuator, since it automated and fulfils our needs in terms of its power and reasonable cost. [1]

4.3 Safety Considerations

It is crucially essential to take the necessary precautions to insure a proper insulation for
electrical equipment and cables from water. Because the system is designed to generate
electricity from sea waves.
The maximum pressure that the system can handle should be taken into consideration
when designing the system, because it is very important not to exceed the pressure
limit. Otherwise, the system will breakdown.
It is very important to estimate any risk from any interaction with public such as passing
ships or fishermen. Because our system will be implemented in public.
Hydrodynamic forces such as drag and slam forces should be considered when designing
the system so it can handle extreme weather conditions.

46

Chapter V
ECONOMICAL, ETHICAL, AND CONTEMPORARY ISSUES
5.1 Preliminary Cost Estimation and Justification
The main target of this section is to estimate the cost of our projects final design. The
preliminary cost estimation is important to give our sponsor (ADWEA) an idea of the projects
estimated cost, which will have accuracy 5% to 20%. Weve estimated the cost of each
component of our project by searching the prices on the internet and companies web sites. The
following table shows the preliminary cost estimation of our projects components.
Table 8: Cost estimation table

Items

Price (AED)

Shipping Cost (AED)

Total Cost (AED)*

Magnets

8000

1000

9000

Winding with Epoxy

1000

200

1200

Steel Frame

1000

1000

Manual Actuation System

1000

1000

Motor

2500

2500

Battery

2500

2500

Construction

5000

5000

Additional Cost

2800

Total Cost

25000

47

5.2 Relevant codes of Ethics and Moral Frame works

Since this is an electrical engineering project, we have to put into consideration the IEEE codes
of ethics because it is more related to our project and accepting the personal obligation set by
the IEEE.
There are two key codes of ethics related to our project. The first code is; to accept
responsibility in making decisions consistent with the safety, health, and welfare of the public,
and to disclose promptly factors that might endanger the public or the environment. Since our
project will be in the sea, so it will be far from people who live near the shore. And it will
decrease the consumption of fossil fuel energy which negatively affects environment and
people. Because our project is considered to a clear source of energy which have no
greenhouse gases emissions that are the reason behind the global warming.
The second code of ethics is; to be honest and truthful in stating estimates based on the data
we have. Since we have a sponsor, we have to be frank and provide them a decent estimation
of the budget. And the accurate final cost of the project will be given to them at the beginning
of GP II.

48

5.3 Ethical Dilemmas and Justification of Proposed Solution

We as engineers, we faced some ethical dilemmas in our project. The project is environment
friendly; it used wave energy which is natural resources 100 %. But at the same time, it affects
the marine life. We will build a small prototype but what if one of the companies implements
the project that will produce an electric energy of Megawatts? It needs an enormous area and
that will affect marine life. This is a first problem for us, but we will build a small device which
will not have as much effect on the marine life. Secondly, as we mentioned in chapter two, we
have two ways to implement this project; Floating Point Absorber and Archimedes Wave Swing.
One of them is near the off shore while the other one is too far. So the second dilemma is the
device can be implemented near the off shore but as mentioned before it may bother the
public. Also it cannot exceed the territorial water because it is against the international law. It is
internationally unacceptable for any purpose so it must be a study to find an appropriate site
for the device. This site should not be selected randomly. It has to be away from the crowded
areas and also it should not be in a habitat or fisherman aquarium sites.

49

5.4 Relevant Environmental Considerations

In this section we will consider a complete design for wave energy converter plant, not just the
permanent linear generator. Although wave energy harvesting consider as clean sources of
energy but there some environmental considerations. The first consideration is the location of
the wave energy converters; since it must not be in shipping lanes or in fishermen spots
because accidents could occurs which will result damaging peoples authorities and WEC which
could result on oil leakage or other toxic material that will harm the marine life. As well as the
noise and vibration emissions from the device that could disturb the marine life and force it to
leave its habitat or spot. Also the heat that results from the generator which could affect the
marine life, and the buoy will block the sun light from reaching the marine plants. And the last
major consideration is the magnetic and electric field which may affect the sea creatures.

50

5.5 Relevance to UAE and Region (Social, Cultural, and Political)

The device PMLG using Wave Energy Converter may cause some social issues. Firstly, if the
device near the off it may bother the public because the device needs an empty area.
Otherwise, people will not be able to swim or practice other sea social activities, especially if
the project outputs a high value of electric power. Which means increasing the size of the
device and that will take large geographical area. Secondly, there are already vast area reserved
for yacht and ships and the owners of them will not accept any jeopardizing to their properties.
In addition to that, it may take a spot of a fisherman aquarium, which will result in causing him
losses.
Most of hotels are facing the beach so if the device was placed near the shore, it will negatively
affect the view and the hotel. Also, our project have an effect on the culture of the UAE
because fishing is one of the most preserved and essential custom and tradition of UAE, since
the device will be in the sea, it will cause some reduction in fish market because fishermen
cannot fish easily. And as mentioned, fish might leave their habitat; especially if the project
succeeded and companies adopted the idea of the project, they will reserve large area in the
sea not like out small device which will have strongly and direct effect on the fish market.
In the political point of view, there is an international law called territorial water which says;
the area of the sea immediately adjacent to the shores of a state and subject to the territorial
jurisdiction of that state. The territorial limit of 12 nautical mile (22 km) from shore for specific
things like fishing, navigation and shipping only up to 22 km but the oil extraction have a

51

different limit so the we cannot implement the device beyond the limit of territorial waters
which is 22 km, because any other state can take serious actions against us.
In that case, we should place it far from the shore, but within 22 kilometers. And in an area that
doesnt have any oil extraction or fishing activities.

Figure 20: UAE Map on the Arabian Gulf

52

Chapter VI
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
6.1 Tasks and Schedule
The Gantt chart was the key for managing our project. In which all the tasks were assigned to
manage and distribute the load among the group members to finish on time. In addition to the
Gantt chart, our advisor Dr. Addy Wahyuide guided us throughout the project. Also the
meetings that the graduation project unit offered helped us to understand the procedure of the
GP1. The coordination of Dr. Abbas Fardoun and his comments helped us to modify our work
and end up with better result.

Figure 21: Gantt chart of our project tasks

53

6.2 Problems Faced and Solutions

There were many problems that we have faced in this project related to time and budget. Even
though we had plenty of time to work on it. However, each of the group members had huge
load in this semester due to courses, labs, exams and projects, which was made the group
meetings hard to be organized. But we have managed to solve this problem by dividing the
work among ourselves and work finish tasks in parallel and meet at the university in the
evenings. The second problem was related to the budget because the fund given by university
was not enough so we had to look up for sponsor. ADWEA agreed to fundraise and sponsor us.

6.3 Resources
There were limited resources on the internet related to our project and the design we have
chosen. So, we have asked our professors to instruct us with the equations and the design, and
they were very helpful.

54

6.4 Each Students Responsibilities

Most of the tasks were done by contribution of all the group members by working in parallel
and sharing and discussing the information on weekly bases. Also different sections were
revised by each student. Table 9 shows the parts of each students and his contributions.

Table 9: Tasks divisions among the group

Names

Tasks

Abdulla Hasan Al Bariki

1.3, 2.4, 2.6, 3.3, 5.7, 6.2, 6.3,6.4,7.1,7.2,7.3 and revision of chapter
3 and 6

Hamad Mohammad Al Saadi

1.1, 1.2, 2.5, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 5.3, 5.5, 7.4 and revision of chapter 1 & 5

Najm Ahmed Krknawi

1.5, 2.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.3, 5.2 , 7.5, 7.6, 7.7 and revision of all chapters

Nasser Abdulla Al Kaabi

1.4, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.3, 3.6, 5.4,6.1,7.1,7.2,7.3 and revision of chapter
1 and 6

55

Chapter VII
CONCLUSION AND PLAN FOR GP2
7.1 Restatement of Purpose of Report and Objectives
The target of this PMLG project is to design a wave energy converter to harvest the wave
energy and convert it to electricity, where we had taken in our consideration the environment
by limiting the leakage of magnetic field, we also considered the budget by limiting our
objective. Our main objective is to design and build a prototype that produces 100 to 200 Watts
of electric power.

7.2 Restatement of Proposed Deliverables

The following bullets below are our deliverables that expected to be provided at the end of the
project:
A systematic engineering design of a Permanent Magnet Linear Generator
A prototype of the generator the produces 100 to 200 Watts(GP2)

7.3 Summary of How Each Objective and Deliverable has been met
For the systematic engineering design of a Permanent Magnet Linear Generator, the objective
has been met through studying the different parts of the design, from different sources and in
the end we gathered the related information into our project.

56

7.4 Summary of Final Design

As a summary, the final sketch of this project will be as in Fig. 4.1.1. This is the simplest form of
this projects preliminary design. It consists of two columns of magnets that are arranged in
certain way as shown in the figure according to their polarities. These two columns fixed on the
base and surrounded by steel frame. Also, it consists of a winding that is fixed by epoxy and a
small spring fixed between two columns of magnets to protect the winding from hitting the
base. To make that work, we need to have a floating buoy and moving due to the movement of
the oceans waves. Next, the buoy will move the handle and that will move the winding
between two the column of magnets. Consequently, power will be generated.
One of the most important things is that we will not try our project in the sea, so we will use
linear actuator system that moves the handle instead of the buoy. Secondly, simple power
electronic circuit for smoothing the power output can be added upon the completion of the
PLMG. Finally, a systematic procedure is applied to design the PMLG Permanent Magnet
Linear Generator that meets its designed power rating which is about 100 to 200 watt, using a
rated speed on the input with the constraint of size, safety, and the production cost.

57

7.5 Feedback from Target Market

After setting and defining the final design solution of this project, the target market feedback
was considered and its 2 main parts are: user conditions and design performance.

User conditions:
Most of the customers feedback that the average wind wave height in the UAE can get up to 1
meter with period of 7.5 and that corresponds to approximately an average power intensity per
unit wave crest of 2 kW/m. While a minimum of an average power intensity of 0.4 kW/m can be
obtained. According to European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), an annual average power per
unit length of 17 kW/m can be exploited from waves at the eastern offshore sites of UAE
territorial waters.

Design performance:
By getting the feedback on the final solution design of the project, most of the care &
rehabilitation for the following:
1- Reliability
The design should be reliable to use for the customers for a long period.
2- Safety
One of the important feedbacks of designing the prototype was to meet all of the safety
considerations for the users.

58

7.6 New skills learned in GP I

Many new skills have been obtained and learned throughout designing and fulfilling the report
objectives. These new skills are as follows:
1- Efficient time management
2- Tasks organization and multitasking.
3- Productive team work
4- Technical and scientific research competence
5- Using the knowledge acquired from previous courses (Energy Conversion and
Electromagnetics)
6- Effective presentation skills
7- Report writing proficiency

59

7.7 Plan for GP II

For the next stage of this project, GP II; in which the last design objectives will be met by
building the prototype of the PMLG that will produce the output power needed (100 to 200
Watt). This will be done by first implementing the different components together. Next, the
system will be run for multiple test sessions in the university laboratory and we will simulate
the linear motion. As well as studying the electric output power generated and how to get the
best of it to satisfy our requirement. And then we will be able to approach conclusions that will
better tell us how to achieve the most of our system in terms of efficiency, reliability, durability
and maintainability.

60

References
2.1 Background about linear generators and wave energy converters
[1] "New & Renewable Energy - Prospects for the 21st Century," Department of Trade and
Industry March 1999.
[2] E. Spooner and M. A. Mueller, "Comparative study of linear generators and hydraulic systems
for wave energy conversion," ETSU V/06/00189/REP , 2001.
[3] N. J. Baker, M. A. Mueller, and P. R. M. Brooking, "Electrical power conversion in direct drive
wave energy converters," presented at 5th European Wave Energy Conference, Cork, Ireland,
2003.
[4] H. Polinder, B. C. Mecrow, A. G. Jack, P. Dickinson, and M. A. Mueller, "Linear generators for
direct-drive wave energy conversion," presented at Electric Machines and Drives Conference,
2003. IEMDC'03.IEEE International, Madison, Wisconsin USA, 2003.

2.2 Target Market and their needs

1. http://www.ecowavepower.com/wave-energy-catching-harvesting-energy-from-sea-waves/

2.3 Different types of magnets

1. http://www.thomasnet.com/articles/electrical-power-generation/magnet-types
2. http://www.adamsmagnetic.com/pdf/Material_%20Properties_Chart-ADAMS_2006.pdf

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2.4 Different Types of Installations in the Ocean

[2.4.1] Ocean Wave Energy Book.
[2.4.2] Permanent Magnet Linear Generators for Marine Wave Energy Converters, University of
Exeter.

2.5 Potential Ethical and Environmental Issues

[1] Ethics & design course, code of ethics
[2] http://estidama.upc.gov.ae/media-center/estidama

2.6 Different Types of Installations in the Ocean

1. Ocean Wave Energy Book.
2. Permanent Magnet Linear Generators for Marine Wave Energy Converters, University of Exeter.

Problem Review
1. http://www.emaratalyoum.com/business/local/2012-08-29-1.507680
2. http://www.uaepedia.ae

3.3 Magnets Pros and Cons

1. http://www.thomasnet.com/articles/electrical-power-generation/magnet-types
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2. http://www.adamsmagnetic.com/pdf/Material_%20Properties_Chart-ADAMS_2006.pdf

3.4 Selected Alternative and reasoning

3.4.1 Two sided
[1] Li, Q.-f., J. Xiao, and Z. Huang, Flat -type permanent magnet linear alternator: A suitable
device for a free piston linear alternator. Journalof Zhejiang University - Science

3.4.2 Tubular
[1] http://iopscience.iop.org/1742-6596/266/1/012075/pdf/1742-6596_266_1_012075.pdf
[2] L. Szabo, C. Oprea, I.-A. Viorel, K.A. Biro: Novel Permanent Magnet Tubular Linear Generator
for WaveEnergy Converters, IEEE International Conference onElectric Machines & Drives, 2007,
page 983,.

3.4.4 Four sided

[1] N. J. Baker, and M. A. Mueller: Design and Integration of Linear Generators into Direct Drive
Wave Energy Converters, Proceedings of Marine Renewable EnergyConference, Newcastle,
March 2001 ISBN 1-902536-43-6.
[2] http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xp

4.2.2 Buoy and Linear Actuator

[1] http://www.angelfire.com/ultra/carolemarcio
[2] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/

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[3] Li, Q.-f., J. Xiao, and Z. Huang, Flat -type permanent magnet linear alternator: A suitable
device for a free piston linear alte rnator. Journal of Zhejiang University - Science

4.2.3 Equivalent Linear Actuator

[1] http://www.anaheimautomation.com/manuals/forms/linear-actuatorguide.php#sthash.DD0BNy4F.dpbs

5.5 Relevance to UAE and Region (Social, Cultural, and Political)

[1] http://www.lebarmy.gov.lb
[2] http://www.bany-yas.com/vb

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