Abstract
Wave energy holds great potential as a renewable energy source. To make use of this potential, wave energy converters (WECs) are utilized to capture the perpetual motion of the ocean as an energy source. However, WECs have not reached commercial maturity, marked by significant variability and a lack of standards. Furthermore, improving the efficiency of the wave energy converters is still a key challenge. In order to make it applicable against operational costs, which is a crucial factor for the economical viability of the device, control technology has an major role to play and needs to be further explored and improved. However, the control of WECs differs from the standard control problem, which generally focuses on setpoint/reference tracking, and insteads aims for energy maximization. In this thesis, a generalized framework has been developed for the identification and optimization of WEC systems. The framework integrates various tools for the simulation of the underlying system dynamics using so-called hydrodynamic coefficients and for the optimization of power take-off (PTO) trajectories. From system identification to optimization, each stage is included and tailored for compatibility with the pseudospectral method, which is used for the discretization of the optimization problem. A set of simulations is carried out to validate the results of the framework in numerous sea states to maximize energy extraction while constraining the PTO motion and force. Two different WEC models were tested, allowing for a comparative analysis of parameter impacts within the framework. The results validate the framework’s effectiveness and lay the groundwork for further studies toward developing more practical and cost-effective WEC devices.