A Frequency Domain-Based Control Methodology for Performance Assessment and Optimisation of Heterogeneous Arrays of Wave Energy Converters

The development of wave energy absorption technology has progressed to a stage where researchers and industry companies are assessing the potential performance of wave energy converter (WEC) farms. Besides the evident financial benefits of deploying WECs in farms, numerous analytical and experimental studies have shown that the average power production of WEC arrays can surpass that of isolated devices when an appropriate layout and control strategy are implemented. However, optimising the layout, shapes of devices, and control strategy for WEC arrays requires extensive investigation, with computational costs being a major challenge.This paper introduces an innovative approach for the rapid assessment of heterogeneous WEC array performance in the frequency domain, operating under a new optimal centralized constrained control strategy. This frequency-domain method holds promise for faster simulation/optimisation compared to traditional time-domain approaches. The framework integrates hydrodynamic modeling with optimal constrained control, addressing optimisation problems for both array layout and individual WEC design, in order to maximise wave power absorption. The proposed performance function combines time-averaged power production with wave frequency distribution functions and wave propagation direction roses, providing a comprehensive representation of sea states. The paper includes examples illustrating the approach and validates it against previous time-domain simulations for homogeneous and heterogeneous arrays.