Review of Theoretical Terminator Device (Salter’s Duck)

Tidal wave energy is based on the power of the ocean. The duck ‘bobs’ up and down on waves and a special turbine inside converts this movement into electricity. The Salter Duck is as large as a Double Decker bus. The Salter s duck was invented by Stephen Salter in response to the oil shortage in the 1970s and was one of the earliest generator designs proposed to the wave energy program in the United Kingdom. The original prototype of Salter s duck was made of a string of floating vanes of rudimentary duck cross-sections linked through a central spine . The string itself had 12 ducks attached to it that were 50 cm wide mounted on a spine 27 cm in diameter and 6 m long. It was made at Coventry University, with materials from Ready Made Concrete and in situ form. The final design worked by having 20 to 30 ducks connected together with the jointed spine, with each duck moving with the waves that hit it and transferring the energy of the impact to six to ten pumps for each duck. The pear shapes of the ducks have them facing the waves due to the decided orientation of their spine so that they rock and turn over when a wave hits them. This causes four gyroscopes inside to move back and forth, creating hydraulic energy that is transferred to a turbine or generator. In order to determine the efficiency of energy output from Salter s Duck, scientist Swift-Hook and others ran a series of tests. In varying types of realistic conditions, the efficiency of the duck varies wildly and often drops to around 50%, as ducks are more often used in rough weather in order to convert enough wave power. Conversely, ducks are not useful in calm weather, as the waves would not have enough energy for there to be any efficiency in converting it.

Keywords:

Energy , Sea , Wave and Salter’s duck