Enhancement of the wave energy conversion characteristics of a hinge-barge using pseudospectral control

This paper shows the benefits of using pseudo-spectral (PS) methods for the optimal control of a three-body hinge-barge device. Two different control formulations are derived based on different representations of the dynamic model of the device: the differential and algebraic equations (DAE) formulation, and the ordinary differential equations (ODE) formulation. Wave-tank tests are carried out in order to validate the DAE and ODE models against experimental data. For control design, PS methods show significant improvements in terms of absorbed power with respect to an optimal damping strategy.