Design and Construction of a Wave Power Plant Using a Recoil Starter on a Prototype Ship

Abstract

This research aims to design and develop a prototype wave power plant that utilizes the vertical motion of a buoy as a source of mechanical energy, which is then converted into electrical energy using a recoil starter mechanism. The system is designed to be installed at the stern of a prototype ship. The vertical movement of the buoy caused by ocean waves is transmitted to the recoil starter through a drive rope, producing a stable one-way rotational motion. This rotation is further transmitted to a gearbox to increase rotational speed before driving a DC generator. The electrical energy generated is stored in a 12 VDC battery, supported by a buck–booster converter to stabilize the output voltage. This study employs an experimental engineering approach to evaluate system performance based on empirical test data. The main components of the system include a buoy as a wave energy collector, a recoil starter as the initial rotating mechanism, a DC generator as the electrical energy producer, a buck–booster converter as a voltage regulator, a 12 VDC battery as an energy storage unit, and a monitoring system based on an ESP32 microcontroller integrated with a PZEM-017 sensor. Experimental results show that the recoil starter operates effectively in driving the generator under both no- load and buoy-loaded conditions. Increases in generator rotational speed are directly proportional to increases in output voltage and current. The PZEM-017 sensor demonstrates a high level of measurement accuracy, approaching 100% when compared with a multimeter. Overall, the proposed wave power generation system functions reliably and shows potential for further development as a small-scale alternative renewable energy source.