A Novel Permanent Magneet Tubular Linear Generator for Ocean

n Wave Energy

Joe Prudell Martinn Stoddard Ted. K.A. Brekken Annette von

Columbia Power Oregon S
State University Member, IEEE Jouanne
Technologies Corvvallis, OR Oregon State University Fellow, IEEE
Corvallis, OR Corvallis, OR Oregon
O State University
Corvallis, OR

Abstract -- This paper presents a novel ppermanent magnet employing magnetic fields for contaact-less mechanical energy
tubular linear generator (PMTLG) buoy syystem designed to transmission, and power electroniccs for efficient electrical
convert the linear motion of the ocean wavves into electrical energy extraction. The term “dirrect drive” describes the
energy. The design incorporates no workingg seals and a salt
direct coupling of the buoy's veelocity and force to the
water airgap bearing surface integration betw een PMTLG buoy
components. The internal generator design w ill be discussed, in generator without the use of hydraullics or pneumatics.
addition to the system integration with the bu
uoy structure and
the linear test bed performance results. PMTLG ELECTRICAL AND MECHANICAL
E DESIGN
The project design criteria was to
o develop a point absorber
Index Terms—Marine technology, Energy conversion,
wave energy converter that would provide a nominal 1 kW
Permanent magnet generators, AC generattors, Ocean wave
energy, Renewable energy. output under summer ocean cond ditions off the coast of
Newport, Oregon with wave heightss of 1.0 to 1.5 meters.
NOMENCLATURE
PMTLG: permanent magnet tubular linear ggenerator
WEC: wave energy converter

INTRODUCTION
The solutions to today’s energy challennges need to be
explored through alternative, renewable aand clean energy
sources to enable a diverse national energy resource plan. An
extremely abundant and promising source of energy exists in
the oceans in the forms of wave, tidal, marine currents,
thermal (temperature gradient) and salinityy. Among these
forms, significant opportunities and bennefits have been
identified in the area of wave energy extracttion. Waves have
several advantages over other forms of reneewable energy, in
that the waves are more available and moree predictable with
better demand matching. Wave energy also offers higher
energy densities, enabling devices to extrract more power
from a smaller volume at consequent lower ccosts and reduced
visual impact.
This paper presents a novel permanentt magnet tubular
linear generator (PMTLG) buoy system dessigned to convert
the linear motion of the ocean waves into electrical energy.
The internal generator design will be discusssed, in addition to
the system integration with the buoy structurre. The buoy has
been tested in the ocean and on OSU’s wavve energy Linear
Test Bed (LTB).
Oregon State University’s direct drive wwave energy buoy Fig. 1. Cross sectional view of buoy and gen
nerator
research focuses on a simplification off processes, e.g.
A cross sectional view of the buoy
b is shown in Fig 1.
replacing systems employing intermediatte hydraulics or
There are three main components: the
t spar, the float, and the
pneumatics with direct drive approaches to allow generators
PMTLG. The spar is the cen ntral cylinder measuring
to respond directly to the movement oof the ocean by

978-1-4244-2893-9/09/$25.00 ©2009 IEEE 3641

approximately 3.3 meters in height and 0.6 m in diameter.
The spar is moored to a large reaction plate (not shown) that
hangs below the spar. The reaction plate holds the spar
relatively motionless in the waves. The float is the outer
cylinder measuring 2.3 meters in height and 1.3 meters in
width. The float moves freely in response to the
hydrodynamic force imparted by the wave. The PMTLG has
two main components: the field producing magnets, and the
armature coils. The magnets are located on the inside
diameter of the float, and the armature is located on the
outside diameter of the spar. When the float moves in
response to a wave, the magnets move past the armature
coils, and voltage is induced.
In this design, the armature (i.e., generator coils) is located
on the spar, and the magnets on the float. This configuration
was chosen as the armature coils are on the stationary part of
the system, thus avoiding mechanical stress from cyclical
movement of the power takeoff cable. Also, the armature
section was chosen to be shorter than the magnet section to Fig. 2. Cross sectional view
reduce the amount of series copper, and therefore reduce the
conduction losses. The drawbacks to using this topology The generator parameters, such as the pole pitch, magnet
include an increased cost due to the higher quantity of dimensions, stator slot and teeth dimensions were determined
permanent magnets and the end cogging effects as the iteratively considering overall generator size, efficiency,
magnets move in to and out of the armature magnetic circuit. component availability, construction feasibility, and other
The spar diameter of 0.6 m was selected to meet the 1kW parameters to arrive at an optimal system design. The
requirement and to allow access to the armature and power process started with the analysis of basic equations followed
electronic components inside the spar drywell. An ideal by finite element analysis.
tubular permanent magnet machine would experience no net 1) Slot and Tooth Design:
radial forces but eccentricities in construction and radial
The preliminary stator slot and tooth design is shown in
movement across the air gap result in unbalanced magnet
Fig. 3. The NdFeB magnets provide high flux density which
normal forces. To reduce friction and maintain alignment a
can saturate stator lamination material in the teeth and back-
stainless steel bearing sleeve on the inside diameter of the
iron. The static operating point of the NdFeB magnets is near
buoy glides across special bearing strips on the spar with sea
0.65 T but the air gap flux density is concentrated in the teeth
water acting as the lubricant. This eliminates end seals but
cross section, as shown in Fig. 2. The radial design also
mechanical constraints require a large air gap of 5 mm.
creates an additional 8% flux concentration because the
Generator Design magnets are on the relatively longer outer diameter of the
The generator stator consists of 3-phase armature windings generator. The stator laminations are made of M19 material
in four slots per phase for a total of twelve slots and thirteen with a maximum flux density of 1.6T ( Bmax ). From these
stator teeth. Each slot contains 77 winding turns counter- parameters the stator back-iron width ( ω bi ) and slot width (
wound forming a four-pole stator with a coil slot pitch ( τ s ) of ω tb ) can be calculated by
22 mm. Nine hundred and sixty (960) Neodymium Iron φg
Boron (NdFeB) rare earth magnets are surface mounted on ω bi = (1)
2Bmax kst Lr
radial laminations on the inside diameter of the translator
2ω bi
forming eight pole pairs with two pole pairs in the active ω tb = (2)
region at any given time. Each magnet is 52 mm long with N sm
20 mm aluminum retainers for a total magnetic pole pitch ( Where N sm is the number of slots per magnetic pole, kst
τ p ) of 72 mm. The smaller coil pitch results in a fractional is the lamination stacking factor, and Lr is the tubular
generator pole-to-pole pitch with a pitch ratio of 91.7%. The circumference. The air gap flux ( φ g ) is given by the product
fractional pole pitch was designed to reduce cogging forces of the per pole face air gap area ( Ag ) and the magnetic flux
as described in later sections. A cross sectional view of the density ( Bg ) each of which can be calculated by
generator components is shown in Fig. 2.

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 τ p C fi (1 + α m )
Ag = (3)
2
Cφ
Bg = (4)
μR kml k c
1+ Br
Pc
Where C fi is the inside circumference of the active spar
and α m is the magnetic fraction given by the ratio of the
magnet pole length τ m and magnetic pole pitch τ p . The
magnetic flux density includes the flux concentration factor
Cφ = Am / Ag , the magnet recoil permeability μR , and the
Fig. 4. Airgap flux density
permeance coefficient ( )
Pc = l m / l g Cφ . The magnetic
remanence Br is a property of the NdFeB-35 magnets which 2) Radial Laminations:
have a value of 12,300 Gauss. The magnetic flux leakage In a tubular machine design, there is a changing flux in
factor kml accounts for air gap leakage and is given by both the axial and radial directions. To limit eddy current
4l m lg losses, radially oriented laminations are used on both the
kml = 1 + ln 1 + π (5)
πμRα mτ p (1 − α m )τ p armature and magnet sides of the machine. Fig. 5 shows the
armature laminations during construction. The individual
The Carter coefficient kC , which corrects the air gap laminations are laying on the table in the lower left. Each
length for pole face geometries, is given by one is installed in a fan pattern around the perimeter. During

kC =
(
τ s 5l gc + ω s
(6)
) construction, two pieces of wood serve as the “bookends” to
(
τ s 5l gc + ω s − ω s2 ) the lamination stack. The top and bottom retaining rings are
fiberglass. The windings are bobbin wound, and will be laid
Where τ s is the slot pitch, ω s is the slot width, and the in the twelve slot openings visible.
effective air gap for Carter coefficient calculation
l gc = l g + l m / μR provides an additional conservative
correction factor [1], [2].

Fig. 5. Radial armature laminations

The permanent magnet (i.e., field) side of the generator

was also made up of radial laminations, as shown in Fig. 6.
Here the laminations are stacked in a fan pattern to create one
quarter of the magnet section. The magnets (not shown) are
mounted in rows within the ribbed structure shown in the
picture. There are 960 magnets. Each of the quarter sub
Fig. 3. Slot and teeth design
sections are then assembled to create the magnet section as
shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

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 Fig. 8. Cogging force

There are several sources of cogging forces in the

PMTLG, as shown in Fig. 7. For the internal cogging force,
an axial force is created between the stator and translator as
the magnetic circuit attempts to align such that minimum
energy is stored in the air gap [3]. Shaped permanent
magnets have been shown to reduce this cogging force but
Fig. 6. Radial field laminations the NdFeB magnets are brittle and could not be readily
shaped given the mounting techniques employed [4]. A
Cogging Force Reduction similar reduction effect is provided by rounding the stator
One of the major concerns with permanent magnet teeth shoe tips. This provides a more gradual transition
machines is the cogging forces that result from the attraction reducing the severity of the cogging force. Fractional pitch
of the permanent magnets with the armature back-iron and windings are another technique for reducing net cogging
teeth. Cogging forces can result in excess noise and vibration force by aligning the poles such that the cogging forces are in
and may cause unintended latching. counter directions resulting in a reduction in the net force.
However, fractional pole pitch causes a geometric
misalignment of coils resulting in a reduction in flux linkage
between the primary and secondary and a reduction in phase
voltage.
For the external cogging force, the finite length stator
creates an additional cogging component because the
translator magnetic circuit extends beyond the stator
windings. This was reduced by beveling the end shoe tips at
a 45 degree angle. The final stator tooth shape, fractional
pole alignment, and 2D magnetic modeling are shown in
Figs. 2 and 7. The final cogging force, and the difference
between design and as built, is shown in Fig. 8 for both the
design calculated and the experimentally measured system.

MACHINE PARAMETERS
Each phase has four bobbin coils. These coils are
connected in series to make one phase winding. The three
phases are Y connected. The machine parameters are given
in Table 1. Resistances and inductances were measured with
an LCR meter.

Fig. 7. Sources of cogging

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 TABLE I
PMTLG PARAMETERS
Parameter Value Units
Power 1 kW
Linear rated velocity 0.76 m/s
Rated thrust 1315 N
Pk. line-neutral voltage at rated velocity (open circuit) 346 V
Rated current 2.95 A rms
Airgap length 5 mm
Number of phases 3
Bobbins per phase 4
Number of slots 12
Number of bobbins 12
Turns per bobbin 77
Coil slot pitch 68 mm
Per-phase resistance 4.58 Ohms
Per-phase inductance 190 mH
Airgap flux density 0.76 T
Yoke flux density 1.6 T
Number of magnets 960
Magnet pole pitch 72 mm
Magnet type NdFeB
Magnet max energy product 35 MGOe
Conductor current density 2.25 A/mm2
Conductor gauge 14 AWG

TESTING
Primary generator testing was done on the Linear Test Bed
in the Wallace Energy Systems and Renewables Facility
(WESRF). The WESRF is located at Oregon State
University, and is the highest-power university-based energy
systems lab in the U.S. Fig. 9 shows the system mounted in
the Linear Test Bed (LTB). The spar, containing the Fig. 9. Magnet assembly and spar mounted on the Linear Test Bed
armature, is bolted to the pallet at the bottom of the LTB.
The LTB carriage is bolted to the magnet assembly. The
LTB then moves the carriage and magnet assembly up and
down to emulate the action of ocean waves.
Generator output voltage (line-neutral) is shown in Fig.
10. The generator was connected to a resistive load bank and
actuated at a speed of approximately 0.15 m/s. Fig. 11
shows the same voltages zoomed on the time axis. The three-
phase power output is shown in Fig. 12.
Results for a repeating sinusoidal excitation at a peak
speed of 0.7 m/s are shown in Fig. 13. The top set of
waveforms are the three phase voltages from the armature A,
B, and C windings. This shows voltage amplitudes of
approximately 200 V peak, line-neutral (200 V per division).
The middle waveform is A-phase current, and is
approximately 1.7 Amps peak (2 A per division). The bottom Fig. 10. PMTLG line-neutral voltage output
waveform is power and is approximately 800 W peak (400 W
per division).

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Fig. 11. PMTLG line-neutral voltage output

Fig. 13. Sinusoidal excitation at a peak speed

d of 0.7 m/s

ACKNOWLEDGM
MENT
The authors would like to thank Columbia Power
Technologies, Naval Facilities Engineering Command
(NAVFAC), and the Department of Energy.

REFERENCE
ES
[1] D.C. Hanselman, Brushless Permanent Magnet
M Motor Design, McGraw-
Hill, New York, 1994.
[2] S.A. Nasar, I. Boldea, Linear Motion Electromagnetic
E Devices, Taylor
and Francis, New York, 2001
Fig. 12. PMTLG three-phase power output [3] J.L.G. Janssen, J.J.H. Palides, E.A. Lomonva, A.J.A Vandenput,
“Cogging Force Reduction in Tubular Permanent Magnet Actuators,”
CONCLUSION Proc. IEEE International Electric Macchines and Drives Conference,
2007, Volume: 1, Pages: 266-271.
A novel Permanent Magnet Tubular Lineear Generator for [4] H. Arof, A.M. Eid, K.M. Nor, “Coggingg Force Reduction Using Special
ocean wave energy conversion is presentedd. The generator Magnet Design for Tubular Permanent Magnet
M Linear Generators,” 39th
International Universities Power En ngineering Conference, 2004,
combines several novel aspects, including a two-part design Volume: 2, Pages: 523-527.
with a sea-water airgap, cogging force reduuction, and radial
laminations. The design specifications aree confirmed with
hardware testing.

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