Wave Energy Converter with wideband power absorption

Wave energy possesses a wide frequency range for many real-world ocean locations compared to the power absorption or capture range for some proposed Wave Energy Converter (WEC) systems. Many ocean sites possess waves with a rich frequency content due either to random sea or inshore effects. This paper first demonstrates the potential missed energy extraction opportunities at three different ocean sites using the buoy parameters from a previously built WEC that utilizes an optimal control scheme. It then introduces several control strategies in the literature, in addition to a proposed wide bandwidth control strategy, and compares the amount of relative power absorption of the WEC. The proposed controller does not require acceleration feedback and can be realized with only position feedback. The design of the proposed controller is discussed and then the power absorption results are compared to optimal and other wave energy capture schemes.