We are pleased to share a new SHY Project–related publication that investigates how two key Wavepiston design features influence performance:
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Absence of restoring force (no inherent resonance in the baseline configuration)
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Passive, unidirectional Power Take-Off (PTO) (able to absorb power, but not return power to the device)
The study evaluates the impact of these features on power absorption and on the operational envelope (e.g., stroke and PTO force demands), comparing the baseline design with alternative configurations that introduce restoring capability and/or reactive (bidirectional) PTO behaviour.
What was analysed?
The authors compare four configurations combining:
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With/without an external spring (restoring capability)
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Passive (unidirectional) vs reactive (bidirectional) PTO behaviour
Key findings
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Restoring capability provides moderate gains: adding an external spring increases average normalized absorbed power compared with the baseline passive/no-spring case.
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Reactive PTO enables larger improvements: allowing bidirectional power flow substantially increases absorbed power versus the passive baseline, showing how unidirectional PTO constraints can limit the achievable performance envelope.
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Performance must be balanced with operability: improvements in energy capture are discussed alongside stroke and PTO-force operational spaces to highlight design and sizing trade-offs.
📌 Access the document on Zenodo (DOI):
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18631583