Comparative assessment of control strategies for the biradial turbine in the Mutriku OWC plant. (February 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Faÿ, François-Xavier; Henriques, João C.; Kelly, James; Mueller, Markus; Abusara, Moahammad; Sheng, Wanan; Marcos, Marga
• Is Part Of: Renewable energy. Volume 146(2020)
• Page Start: 2766
• Page End: 2784
• Publication Date: 2020-02
• Subjects: Wave energy -- Mutriku OWC plant -- Numerical simulations -- Test rig experiments -- Control strategies -- OPERA H2020; Renewable energy sources -- Periodicals; Power resources -- Periodicals; Énergies renouvelables -- Périodiques; Ressources énergétiques -- Périodiques; 333.794
• DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2019.08.074
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0960-1481

Abstract

Abstract: To be competitive against other renewable energy sources, energy converted from the ocean waves needs to reduce its associated levelised cost of energy. It has been proven that advanced control algorithms can increase power production and device reliability. They act throughout the power conversion chain, from the hydrodynamics of wave absorption to the power take-off to improve the energy yield. The present work highlights the development and test of several algorithms to control the biradial turbine which is to be installed in the Mutriku oscillating water column plant. A collection of adaptive and predictive controllers is explored and both turbine speed controllers and latching strategies are examined. A Wave-to-Wire model of one chamber of the plant is detailed and simulation results of six control laws are obtained. The controllers are then validated using an electrical test infrastructure to prepare the future deployment in the plant. Finally, the control strategies are assessed against criteria like energy production, power quality or reliability. Highlights: Comparative study and assessment of six control strategies developed for the biradial turbine in the Mutriku OWC plant. Two are adaptive controllers, other two are latching controllers, one uses a RL scheme and one is a non-linear MPC. Numerical simulations are done on a variety of sea states to support a performance and reliability analysis. Significant performance improvement is brought by the RL model-free controller. The MPC proved to bring the highest overall production. Implementation and validation tests of the algorithms are performed via Hardware-In-the-Loop experimentations.