# Wave Power Formula

Wave power is the energy carried by the wind waves and consumption of that energy to do useful work, for example, electricity generation, pumping of water into the reservoirs or water desalination. A machine capable of exploiting wave power is known as wave energy converter. Wave power is different from diurnal flux of tidal power and steady gyre of ocean currents. On a whole, the wave power is the energy transport by the wave surface of the ocean.

The Wave power formula is given by,

$P=\frac{\rho&space;g^{2}Th^{2}l}{32\pi&space;}$

Where,

P = power of water wave present in depth (Watts),

ρ = water density (1.025 kg/m3),

g = acceleration due to gravity (9.81 m/s2),

T = wave period,

h = wave height,

l = length of wave front.

Example 1

The tides move with a power of 30 Watts crossing the great height of 20 m in 1 s. Determine the length of the wave.

Solution:

Given:

Power p = 30 Watts,

Height h = 20 m,

Wave period T = 1s.

The Wave power formula is expressed by,

P = ρg2Th2l / 32π

l = 32π x p / ρg2Th2

= 32π × 30 / 1.025× 1× (9.8)2 × (20)2

Length l = 0.076 m = 7.6 cm.

The length of the wave is 7.6 cm.

Example 2

A rock falls on water and the waves come out making the height of 5m and a length of 0.6 m in 20 ms. Determine its wave power.

Solution:

Given:

Height h = 5m,

Length l = 0.6m,

Wave period T = 20 ms.

The wave power formula is given by,

P = ρg2Th2l / 32π

= 1.025 x (9.81)2 × 20×10−3 ×25 x 0.6 / 32π

= 29.592 / 100.48

P = 0.2945 W.

The wave power is 0.294 W