U.S.-Ireland R&D Partnership: Control Co-Design of Heterogeneous Arrays of Wave Energy Converters

该项目通过研究可再生海浪能量收集的新方法，促进科学进步和国家繁荣。海洋是巨大的能源库。海洋波浪能转换器捕获波浪能并将其转换为电力。尽管有潜力，但这项技术尚未成熟，与其他可再生能源相比，目前波浪能的成本很高。波浪能转换器通常以相同单元阵列的形式部署。控制这些单元以提高阵列在以较低成本收集功率方面的效率。然而，缺乏适当的科学和技术来概念化和设计阵列和海洋中的几个单元之间的深刻相互依赖关系。为了应对这些挑战，该项目建立了美国，爱尔兰共和国和北方爱尔兰的研究人员之间的合作，旨在产生创新，使波浪能转换器以较低的成本生产电力。该项目从一个新的角度研究波能转换器阵列，其中单元阵列的设计和控制以有利的方式改变波场。研究成果将对国民经济和社会发展产生积极的影响。该项目还将教育和研究联系起来，为本科生提供国际经验，并通过旨在提高高中生知识水平的外展计划对社会产生积极影响。在波浪能转换器阵列中，由于动态建模困难，自动控制一直是最迫切和研究最少的问题之一。另一个挑战是在动力输出装置中需要无功功率;也就是说，输出装置应该在某些时候将功率输入海洋，以便在其他时候可以收获更多的功率。该奖项旨在从根本上将解决这些挑战的分析，数字和实验联系起来。将研究一种新的建模方法，该方法假设表面压力作为模型的输入，而不是经典使用的波浪高程。同时优化的几何形状和控制，不同的阵列单元之间，其集体性能的影响进行了分析。非线性水动力将被利用，以提高这种异质阵列的性能。为了实现这些目标，将开发三种相互交织的方法：最佳控制分析，数控协同设计优化和实验。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

This project promotes the progress of science and advances national prosperity, by studying novel approaches to renewable ocean wave energy harvesting. Oceans are colossal reservoirs of energy. Ocean wave energy converters capture wave power and convert it to electric power. Despite its potential, this technology is not yet mature, and the current cost of wave power is high compared to other renewable energy sources. Wave energy converters are usually deployed in the form of arrays of identical units. These units are controlled to increase the efficiency of the array in harvesting power at a lower cost. However, there is a lack of appropriate science and technology to conceptualize and design for the deep interdependencies among the several units in the array and the ocean. To address these challenges, this project establishes collaboration among researchers in the United States, Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland that aims to generate innovation and enable wave energy converters to produce power at a lower cost. The project investigates the wave energy converter arrays from a new perspective in which the array of units is designed and controlled to change the wave field in a favorable way. The results from this research will benefit the national economy and society. This project also links education and research, providing international experience for undergraduate students, and positively impacts society via an outreach program that aims to raise the knowledge level among high school students. In arrays of wave energy converters, automatic control is one of the most pressing problems and least studied because of dynamic modelling difficulties. Another challenge is the need for reactive power in the power take-off units; that is, take-off units should put power into the ocean at times such that more power can be harvested at other times. This award aims to connect efforts to address these challenges analytically, numerically, and experimentally on a fundamental level. A new modeling approach will be investigated that assumes the surface pressure as input to the model, instead of the classically used wave elevation. The impact of simultaneously optimizing both geometry and control, among different array units, on its collective performance will be analyzed. Nonlinear hydrodynamic forces will be leveraged for improved performance of this heterogeneous array. To achieve these objectives, three interlaced approaches will be developed: optimal control analysis, numerical control co-design optimization, and experimentation.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.