Mechanical Engineering
NOTICE OF SEMINAR PRESENTATION
CANDIDATE: Wentai Wang
DEGREE SOUGHT: MASc
DATE: 10/30/2026
TIME: 11:30am
PLACE: Room 1101 CEI
TITLE: My present ‘s title will be Flow interactions and energy extraction in arrays of hydrokinetic energy harvesters
Abstract
This research investigates a hydrokinetic energy-harvesting system using flow-induced oscillations of a sphere supported by a flexible shim with piezoelectric elements. The objectives are to optimize an individual generator and investigate how wake interactions affect the performance of multiple generators.
Preliminary experiments examine the effects of sphere mass on oscillation frequency, displacement, and estimated kinetic energy. Results suggest that heavier spheres generally produce larger displacements, while configurations between 38 and 46 g exhibit relatively high estimated kinetic energy. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) is used to characterize the surrounding flow and identify potential locations for downstream generators.
Future work will focus on electrical power measurements, generator spacing, and array integration to develop an effective energy-harvesting system for low-power applications