An Energy-Maximising Linear Time Invariant Controller (LiTe-Con) for Wave Energy Devices

A Linear Time Invariant (LTI) energy-maximising control strategy for Wave Energy Converters (WECs) is proposed in this paper. Using the fundamental requirement of impedance-matching, the controller is tuned to maximise the energy obtained under polychromatic wave excitation. Given the LTI nature of the proposed controller, the design and implementation procedure is significantly simpler than well-established energy-maximising controllers, including state-of-the-art numerical optimisation routines, which are predominant in this field. Additionally, a LTI constraint handling mechanism is provided. The effectiveness of both the LTI control strategy and the constraint handling mechanism are assessed using regular and irregular waves in unconstrained and constrained cases. The resulting performance is compared to those obtained using existing WEC optimal control strategies. Finally, the benefits, in terms of power production, for both the controller and the constraint handling mechanism are explicitly highlighted by means of an application case.