Axial-Flux PM Disk Generator with Magnetic Gear for Oceanic Wave Energy Harvesting

Magnetic gears (MGs) offer many advantages over mechanical ones due to their contactless mechanism of torque transfer. With the flourish of this new avenue of research, a new breed of MGs has been designed that are well suited to execute high-torque direct-drive operations. This paper investigates the performance characteristic of a disk generator located on the same shaft with an MG for oceanic wave energy harvesting application. The permanent magnets (PMs) of both the generator and the MG are arranged in a special manner to boost the overall performance of the system. To verify the validity of the proposed model, simulations of the magnetic disk gears are performed using Maxwell version 16. The calculation of the magnetic field, and the characteristics of the generator is made using Infolytica Magnet software package. Furthermore, the prototype sample of the generator with the magnetic gear is fabricated and tested in the laboratory, which further substantiates our claim.