Experimental tests of an air-cored PM tubular generator for direct drive wave energy converters.

Direct drive power take off eliminates the need for a mechanical interface to match the low speed reciprocating motion of a wave device to high speed rotational motion of conventional electrical generators. However, direct drive generators are physically large and heavy due to the low velocities encountered. Iron cored PM machines suffer from magnetic attraction forces which is challenging for the structural and bearing design. An air-cored machine solves the issue of magnetic attraction forces, which will benefit the mechanical design. The performance of an air-cored PM tubular machine is investigated in this paper under displacements typical of a wave energy device.