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This paper proposes a novel design of liquid tank with built-in buoys for wave energy harvesting, named the 'sloshing wave energy converter (S-WEC)'. When the tank is oscillated by external loads (such as ocean waves), internal liquid sloshing is activated, and the mechanical energy of sloshing waves can be absorbed by the power take-off (PTO) system attached to these buoys. A fully-nonlinear numerical model is established based on the boundary element method for a systematic investigation on dynamic properties of the proposed S-WEC. A motion decoupling algorithm based on auxiliary functions is developed to solve the nonlinear interaction of sloshing waves and floating buoys in the tank. An artificial damping model is introduced to reflect viscous effects of the sloshing liquid. Physical experiments are carried out on a scaled S-WEC model to validate the mathematical and numerical methodologies. Natural frequencies of the S-WEC system are first investigated through spectrum analyses on motion histories of the buoy and sloshing liquid. The viscous damping strength is identified through comparisons with experimental measurements. Effects of the PTO damping on power generation characteristics of S-WEC is further explored. An optimal PTO damping can be found for each excitation frequency, leading to the maximisation of both the power generation and conversion efficiency of the buoy. To determine a constant PTO damping for engineering design, a practical approach based on diagram analyses is proposed. Effects of the buoy's geometry on power generation characteristics of the S-WEC are also investigated. In engineering practice, the present design of S-WEC can be a promising technical solution of ocean wave energy harvesting, based on its comprehensive advantages on survivability enhancement, metal corrosion or fouling organism inhibition, power generation stability and efficiency, and so on., Comment: 64 pages, 32 figures

With excellent folding-induced deformability and shape reconfigurability, origami-based designs have shown great potentials in developing deployable structures. Noting that origami deployment is essentially a dynamic process, while its dynamical behaviors remain largely unexplored owing to the challenges in modeling. This research aims at advancing the state of the art of origami deployable structures by exploring the transient dynamics under free deployment, with the Miura-origami tube being selected as the object of study because it possesses relatively simple geometry, exceptional kinematic properties, and wide applications. In detail, a preliminary free deployment test is performed, which indicates that the transient oscillation in the transverse direction is nonnegligible and the tube deployment is no longer a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) mechanism. Based on experimental observations, four assumptions are made for modeling purposes, and a 2N-DOF dynamic model is established for an N-cell Miura-origami tube to predict the transient oscillations in both the deploying and the transverse directions. Employing the settling times and the overshoot values as the transient dynamic indexes, a comprehensive parameter study is then carried out. It reveals that both the physical and geometrical parameters will significantly affect the transient deploying dynamics, with some of the parameter dependence relationships being counter-intuitive. The results show that the relationships between the transient dynamic behaviors and the examined parameters are sometimes contradictory in the deploying and the transverse directions, suggesting the necessity of a compromise in design., Comment: 36 pages, 13 Figures