Dominant wave frequency and amplitude estimation for adaptive control of wave energy converters

Abstract

Adaptive control is of great interest for wave energy converters (WEC) due to the inherent time-varying nature of sea conditions. Robust and accurate estimation algorithms are required to improve the knowledge of the current sea state on a wave-to-wave basis in order to ensure power harvesting as close as possible to optimal behavior. In this paper, we present a simple but innovative approach for estimating the wave force dominant frequency and wave force dominant amplitude based on the unscented Kalman filter. The main benefits of the proposed method are illustrated by a numerical example concerning a small-scale wave energy converter prototype, with data coming from experimental recordings obtained in a test basin with irregular waves.