The aim of this study is to determine the threshold wave energy converter (WEC) type and size to charge a fleet of U.S. Navy autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) in various geographic locations of interest. The U.S. Navy deploys AUVs in locations around the world that must be charged manually, decreasing their operational endurance and creating operational limitations. Ocean waves are a potential power source that can be converted into electricity using a WEC and stored using a battery. It would be beneficial to develop a WEC that could autonomously charge AUVs offshore. Numerous locations were analyzed to determine the minimum size of a WEC capable of providing sufficient charging power and offering a strategic advantage. By predicting the WEC efficiency (based on empirical equations) and wave resource (based on available data), electrical power generation across numerous WEC types and locations was compared in MATLAB. The generalized process developed here could be used to determine the required size and type of WECs to charge a fleet of AUVs in different locations around the world.

中文翻译：

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用于确定波动力 AUV 充电的特定位置 WEC 阈值大小的范围研究

本研究的目的是确定阈值波浪能转换器 (WEC) 的类型和大小，以在不同的感兴趣的地理位置为美国海军自主水下航行器 (AUV) 充电。美国海军在世界各地必须手动充电的地点部署 AUV，这降低了它们的作战续航力并造成了作战限制。海浪是一种潜在的电源，可以使用 WEC 转换为电能并使用电池存储。开发可以在海上自动为 AUV 充电的 WEC 将是有益的。对许多位置进行了分析，以确定能够提供足够充电功率并提供战略优势的 WEC 的最小尺寸。通过预测 WEC 效率（基于经验方程）和波浪资源（基于可用数据），在 MATLAB 中比较了多种 WEC 类型和位置的发电量。此处开发的通用过程可用于确定所需的 WEC 大小和类型，以便为世界各地的 AUV 车队充电。