This paper evaluates the theoretical application of nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) to a model-scale point absorber for wave energy conversion. The NMPC strategy will be evaluated against a passive system, which utilizes no controller, using a performance metric based on the absorbed energy. The NMPC strategy was setup as a nonlinear optimization problem utilizing the interior point optimizer (IPOPT) package to obtain a time-varying optimal generator damping from the power-take-off (PTO) unit. This formulation is different from previous investigations in model predictive control, as the current methodology only allows the PTO unit to behave as a generator, thereby unable to return energy to the waves. Each strategy was simulated in the time domain for regular and irregular waves, the latter taken from a modified Pierson–Moskowitz spectrum. In regular waves, the performance advantages over a passive system appear at frequencies near resonance while at the lower and higher frequencies they become nearly equivalent. For irregular waves, the NMPC strategy leads to greater energy absorption than the passive system, though strongly dependent on the prediction horizon. It was found that the ideal NMPC strategy required a generator that could be turned on and off instantaneously, leading to sequences where the generator can be inactive for up to 50% of the wave period.
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November 2014
Research-Article
Nonlinear Model Predictive Control Applied to a Generic Ocean-Wave Energy Extractor1
Nathan Tom,
Nathan Tom
2
Ocean Engineering Major Field Group
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
e-mail: nathan.m.tom@gmail.com
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of California at Berkeley
,Berkeley, CA 94720
e-mail: nathan.m.tom@gmail.com
2Present address: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 15103 Denver W Pkwy, Golden, CO 84101.
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Ronald W. Yeung
Ronald W. Yeung
3
American Bureau of Shipping
Inaugural Chair in Ocean Engineering,
Director of Computational Marine Mechanics
Laboratory (CMML),
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
e-mail: rwyeung@berkeley.edu
Inaugural Chair in Ocean Engineering,
Director of Computational Marine Mechanics
Laboratory (CMML),
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of California at Berkeley
,Berkeley, CA 94720
e-mail: rwyeung@berkeley.edu
3Corresponding author.
Search for other works by this author on:
Nathan Tom
Ocean Engineering Major Field Group
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
e-mail: nathan.m.tom@gmail.com
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of California at Berkeley
,Berkeley, CA 94720
e-mail: nathan.m.tom@gmail.com
Ronald W. Yeung
American Bureau of Shipping
Inaugural Chair in Ocean Engineering,
Director of Computational Marine Mechanics
Laboratory (CMML),
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
e-mail: rwyeung@berkeley.edu
Inaugural Chair in Ocean Engineering,
Director of Computational Marine Mechanics
Laboratory (CMML),
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of California at Berkeley
,Berkeley, CA 94720
e-mail: rwyeung@berkeley.edu
2Present address: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 15103 Denver W Pkwy, Golden, CO 84101.
3Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Ocean, Offshore, and Arctic Engineering Division of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF OFFSHORE MECHANICS AND ARCTIC ENGINEERING. Manuscript received March 27, 2013; final manuscript received May 4, 2014; published online July 31, 2014. Assoc. Editor: Longbin Tao.
J. Offshore Mech. Arct. Eng. Nov 2014, 136(4): 041901 (12 pages)
Published Online: July 31, 2014
Article history
Received:
March 27, 2013
Revision Received:
May 4, 2014
Citation
Tom, N., and Yeung, R. W. (July 31, 2014). "Nonlinear Model Predictive Control Applied to a Generic Ocean-Wave Energy Extractor." ASME. J. Offshore Mech. Arct. Eng. November 2014; 136(4): 041901. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4027651
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