The Blue Power PTO is centred on the use of ballscrews to convert linear motion to rotational motion. The basic configuration of the device uses two ballscrews and associated clutches, each operating in one input direction, to give unidirectional rotation at the output to the generator.
Blue Power Energy’s design intent was that any variation in rotational speed would be damped by a flywheel. However test work identified that the flywheel does not offer significant benefits to system operation.
By utilising a range of existing hardware components and subsystems in this novel application, the Blue Power PTO has the opportunity of achieving early and reliable deployment in conjunction with a range of WEC designs. A key outcome of the project is a detailed performance characterisation of the PTO and the development of control strategies to ensure that the versatility of the PTO can be fully exploited for different WEC designs.