Ocean Energy Extraction for Sensor Applications

We propose to generate electricity for data buoys in a whole new way, leveraging SARA’s laboratory-demonstrated and patented liquid-metal magnetohydrodynamic (LMMHD) technology. Phase I will prove feasibility via experiments, analyses, and system-level design of a practical and compact MHD-based wave energy conversion system (MWEC) capable of providing continuously 200 W to buoy onboard sensor and telemetry systems. In previous SBIR work supported by the US Navy (ONR, NSWCCD), we designed and demonstrated both low power (200W) and much higher-power (~100kW) LMMHD generators in the lab. We propose now to develop a small-scale, efficient, economical, and reliable unit for use in sensor buoy applications. In contrast to problematic alternatives employing conventional generators, LMMHD allows us to shift the ocean-wave impedance-matching burden from the mechanical domain, where it is difficult to manage, to the electrical domain, where efficient switching-type upconversion can be applied to great advantage. Our STTR partner, the Center for Electromechanics (CEM) at the University of Texas, Austin, will provide key support in this area. The proposed R&D will lead to a hermetically-sealed and nearly maintenance-free LMMHD generator and upconversion unit, to be placed between the buoy and its underwater mooring cable, thus making retrofitting an existing buoy straightforward.