Non-Linear Model Predictive Control Applied to a Generic Ocean-Wave Energy Extractor

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 set up as a non-linear optimization problem utilizing 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 power-take-off 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 lead to greater quantities of 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.