The design of transmission scheme of the pendulum wave energy converter

Pendulum wave energy converter is one of the important forms of wave power generation. Energy extracting device is the core of converter. Resonance effect can be used to realize efficient energy extracting. To achieve resonance, a transmission scheme is needed to change the stiffness which would influence the natural frequency directly of the energy extracting device. The special working environment and regular patterns in the ocean raise a high demand for the comprehensive performance of the transmission. In this paper, the principles of the energy extracting device to achieve resonance with the wave were first introduced, then the mechanical driving mode and hydraulic driving mode which satisfying the working requirements were formulated. A comprehensive, accurate and integrated quantitative evaluation was made by using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Finally, the hydraulic driving mode was adopted due to its better comprehensive performance.