Research on characteristics of power generation device for detection UUV by ocean kinetic energy in shallow water

To deal with energy demand of detection module of a detection unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) for long continuous operation in shallow water, a rocking energy generation device in terms of ocean kinetic energy is proposed. The coupled motion equations for the vehicle and the rocking pendulum are established according to Lagrange equation. The factors affecting rocking generation performance are analyzed by solving the simplified motion equation with Runge-Kutta method. The influence of parameters on the rocking generation is investigated over a range of sea state, such as vehicle movement amplitude, period, pendulum length, and mass and moment of inertia with different coupling motions. Under sea state 2, the optimum damping coefficient for maximum power output gets 5.4 N·m·s/rad, and the average power output under three coupling excited motions reaches 0.5 W. The proposed ocean kinetic energy generation device model is reasonable and feasible, which meets the energy demand of the detection module under the general sea state. It is found that the amplitude, period, length, mass and the coupling rolling motion exert obvious impact on the rocking generator, but the moment of inertia and coupling heaving motion affect slightly.