Abstract
The aim of this work is to show that a significant increase of the e_ciency of aWave Energy Converter (WEC) can be achieved already at an early design stage, through the choice of a turbine and control regulation, by means of an accurate Wave-to-Wire (W2W) modeling that couples the hydrodynamic response calibrated in a wave flume to a Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) test bench with sizes and rates not matching those of the system under development. Information on this procedure is relevant to save time, because the acquisition, the installation, and the setup of a test rig are not quick and easy. Moreover, power electronics and electric machines to emulate turbines and electric generators matching the real systems are not low-cost equipment. The use of HIL is important in the development of WECs also because it allows the carrying out of tests in a controlled environment, and this is again time- and money-saving if compared to tests done on a real system installed at the sea. Furthermore, W2W modeling can be applied to several Power Take-O_ (PTO) configurations to experiment di_erent control strategies. The method here proposed, concerning a specific HIL for testing power electronics and control laws for a specific WECs, may have a more general validity.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 2508 |
| Pages (from-to) | 2508 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Journal | Energies |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - May 2020 |
Keywords
- Wave energy
- Power conversion
- Control
- Wave-to-wire
- HIL testing
Project and Funding Information
- Project ID
- info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7/262552/EU/Marine Renewables Infrastructure Network for Emerging Energy Technologies/MARINET
- Funding Info
- This work was supported by MARINET, a European Community—Research Infrastructure Action_x000D_ under the FP7 “Capacities” Specific Programme, grant agreement n. 262552.
