IIT Madras & NIOT Researchers Collaborate to Convert Wave Energy to Electricity
Joint research of IIT Madras and National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) leading to the development of turbines that convert wave energy to electricity.
A joint venture ofIndian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT Maras)with the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) has enabled the researchers in developing Turbines that produce electricity from ocean waves. Their work has been recently published in a leading scientific journal - International Journal of Energy Research. Dr Abdus Samad who is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Ocean Engineering at IIT Madras headed this research.
The government and scientific institutions were trying to utilize the energy produced by ocean wave since 1983.
Also Read:IIT Madras Launches AI Platform for Promoting Indian Innovation
The Department of Ocean Engineering at IIT Madras aims to produce renewable energy for sustainable development to prevent climate change. Under the guidance of Dr Samad, this objective of the department and Government of India seems to be fulfilled. Ministry of Earth Sciences, Governments of India is funding the joint research of IIT Madras and NIOT as climate change is one of the preeminent concern of the Government.
The turbines would capture energy from the periodic motion of waves as it passes through the oscillating water column and gets transferred to the impulse turbine which further holds the conversion of mechanical energy to electricity with the help of a generator. Design of the turbine uses the high force of air created by the wave in the conversion. According to the recently published paper, the turbine is the essence of the ocean wave energy system. The success of this research was a combination of fluid dynamics, design and experimental development of systems.
Also Read:IIT Madras Introduces techMBA
Wind and solar energy have been the flagships of renewable energy resources for the longest time. After research & development by IIT Madras and NIOT, it seems like ocean waves are going to join the list of renewable recourses. Also, long coastlines of India and gulf would give innumerable opportunities to harness electricity from wave powers.