STTR Phase I: Performance Optimization Toolbox for Wave Energy Conversion Devices

这个小企业技术转让第一阶段项目的标题是什么？波浪能转换装置的性能优化设计。先进的波浪预测和现有波浪能转换（WEC）装置的操作参数（诸如液压系统压力和发电机负载）的同时在线调整具有将其功率提取效率比目前使用的方法提高至少200%的潜力。然而，迄今为止，这些先进的控制理论的应用还没有被工业界实施。这在很大程度上是由于两个主要问题：（1）提前20-40秒预测WEC系统遇到的波浪的困难，这是有效地实施在线调整策略所需的，以及（2）给定各种非线性系统行为和约束，与优化控制系统相关联的挑战。该项目的研究目标是解决这个多学科问题中的关键问题，并开发一个工具箱，使WEC设备开发人员能够优化其设备性能，从而实现WEC设备性能及其经济可行性的变革性改进。在第一阶段，将开发和测试一套软件，利用先进的模拟，估计和控制工具，这将使现有的WEC设备的性能显着改善。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力将是为波浪能提供有效的成本降低途径。根据美国能源部最近发布的一项研究，仅在美国，波浪能就可提供高达630 TWh/年的电力，相当于2011年美国电力需求的15%。以目前8美分/千瓦时的市场价格计算，这意味着每年500亿美元的市场机会，并将为美国经济增加15万多个就业岗位。不幸的是，当前的WEC方法需要达到显著水平的成本降低和/或性能改善以与其他发电方法竞争。先进的控制和快速调整将使成本降低的途径，将使波浪能成为与其他发电方法的竞争力。准确预测波场的能力（以及在某些情况下，使用先进的控制理论采取纠正措施以最大限度地减少负载并提高性能和/或操作安全性）在其他领域有许多应用，包括海啸预测，海上作业和海上油气。虽然这些应用将不会在目前的努力探索，目前的研究奠定的基础可以很容易地扩展到这些相关领域。

This Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I project is titled ?Performance Optimization Toolbox for Wave Energy Conversion Devices?. Advanced wave prediction and concurrent online adjustment of the operating parameters (such as hydraulic system pressure and generator load) of existing wave energy conversion (WEC) devices have the potential to increase their power extraction efficiency by at least 200% over presently used approaches. However, application of such advanced control-theories have not been implemented by industry Todate. This is largely due to two major issues: (1) the difficulty of predicting the waves encountered by a WEC system 20-40 seconds in advance, which is required to effectively implement online tuning strategies, and (2) the challenges associated with optimizing the control system, given various nonlinear system behaviors and constraints. The research objectives of this project are to resolve the key issues in this multi-disciplinary problem and develop a toolbox that allows WEC device developers to optimize their device performance and therefore enable transformative improvements in WEC device performance and their economic viability. During phase I, a software suite will be developed and tested, leveraging advanced simulation, estimation, and control tools, which will enable remarkable performance improvements for existing WEC devices. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be to enable an effective cost-reduction pathway for wave energy. According to a recent study released by the US Department of Energy, wave power could provide up to 630TWh/year in the US alone, which corresponds to 15% of the US electrical demand in 2011. At the current market rate of 8 cents/kWh, this represents a market opportunity of $50 billion per year and would add more than 150,000 jobs to the US economy. Unfortunately, current WEC methods need to attain a significant level of cost reduction and/or performance improvement to compete with other power generation methods. Advanced controls and rapid tuning will enable a cost-reduction pathway that will allow wave energy to become competitive with other power generation methods. The ability to accurately predict wave fields (and, in certain cases, to use advanced control theory to take corrective actions to minimize loads and improve performance and/or operational safety) has numerous applications in other areas, including tsunami prediction, maritime operations, and offshore oil & gas. Though these applications will not be explored in the present effort, the foundation laid with the present research could easily be extended to these related fields.