Wave power: a treasure of marine resources

Wave power generation is a clean and efficient power generation technology that contributes to our efforts to achieve the “dual carbon” goals.

What are ocean waves? How are they formed?

Ocean waves are the propagation of the undulating shape of the sea surface, which is a kind of fluctuation formed by water particles leaving their equilibrium position, vibrating periodically, and propagating in a certain direction. Therefore, ocean waves are actually the waveform propagation of energy.

There are three main types of ocean waves: wind waves, swell waves and nearshore waves. The wave period ranges from a few tenths of a second to tens of seconds, the wave height ranges from a few centimeters to tens of meters, and the wavelength ranges from a few centimeters to hundreds of meters.

What are the advantages of wave energy?

More than 70% of the Earth's surface is covered by oceans, so the oceans collect a large amount of solar energy incident on the Earth. Solar radiation generates wind and storms, which in turn form wind and waves on the water surface. These waves carry energy to the coast with minimal dissipation during propagation. Waves generated by storms may take days to reach the coast, so wave energy is easier to predict than wind energy. The mass density of water is almost 800 times that of air, and the energy density of waves is higher. Since most people in the world live near the coast, the ocean surface can collect solar energy, and the waves carry most of the energy to the coast, the conversion and utilization of ocean wave energy will bring great benefits to mankind.

Experts from the Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that my country's waves are relatively unstable and high-frequency. Therefore, my country's devices are first of all highly efficient and then maintainable. my country's oscillating float devices mainly include pendulum, duck and eagle devices. These existing devices have a high energy conversion rate. But in addition to energy conversion, another important indicator is energy capture before conversion. my country's oscillating float device uses a technology called self-made hydraulic control, which is properly controlled to capture energy, so that the overall conversion rate is improved.

Wave energy technology can play a very good role in offshore development, and wave energy power generation has a high use value.

China Association for Science and Technology Department of Science Popularization

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