Wave tank and bench-top control testing of a wave energy converter

• Published in: Applied ocean research Vol. 86; no. C; pp. 351 - 366
• Main Authors: Bacelli, Giorgio, Spencer, Steven J., Patterson, David C., Coe, Ryan G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Barking Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2019; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Absorption; Algorithms; Control; Control algorithms; Controllers; Experimental design; Model-scale testing; Testing; TIDAL AND WAVE POWER; Wave energy; Wave energy converter (WEC); Wave power; Wave power devices; Wave tank; Wave tanks; Control; Wave energy converter (WEC); Wave tank; Model-scale testing
• ISSN: 0141-1187; 1879-1549
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apor.2018.09.009

•Detailed design of model scale WEC, with focus on actuator (power take-off; PTO), sensors, data acquisition, and real time control.•System identification (SID) of actuator system confirming desired performance.•Dynamics matching to perform dry bench test experiments on actuator system.•Wave tank testing and dry bench tests show proportional and proportional-integral controllers capable of greatly increasing WEC energy absorption. An increasing number of experiments are being conducted to study the design and performance of wave energy converters. Often in these tests, a real-time realization of prospective control algorithms is applied in order to assess and optimize energy absorption as well as other factors. This paper details the design and execution of an experiment for evaluating the capability of a model-scale WEC to execute basic control algorithms. Model-scale hardware, system, and experimental design are considered, with a focus on providing an experimental setup capable of meeting the dynamic requirements of a control system. To more efficiently execute such tests, a dry bench testing method is proposed and utilized to allow for controller tuning and to give an initial assessment of controller performance; this is followed by wave tank testing. The trends from the dry bench test and wave tank test results show good agreement with theory and confirm the ability of a relatively simple feedback controller to substantially improve energy absorption. Additionally, the dry bench testing approach is shown to be an effective and efficient means of designing and testing both controllers and actuator systems for wave energy converters.