A Control Strategy for PTO Systems in a U-OWC Device

This paper deals with the implementation of a control algorithm for a turbine equipped into a U-Oscillating water column (U-OWC) plant. The open literature has largely ignored the problem of coupling the U-OWC behaviour to the turbine behaviour with the objective of maximizing the energy harvesting. Therefore, this paper has the objective of assessing the reliability of a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithm. The paper uses a numerical algorithm for estimating the energy produced by a U-OWC in real seas. In this regard, the computations rely on long time domain analyses that allow testing a variety of environmental conditions. The MPPT is proved adequate for controlling the turbine behavior in conjunction with U-OWCs. In this context, it is shown that a reference parameter, used for determining the reference rotational speed, can be the significant wave height.