Modeling and Emulation of a Rotating Paddle Type Wave Energy Converter

Torque-speed characteristics of an oscillating wave energy converter (WEC) is necessary to determine its optimal power point and to extract the corresponding design parameters for the generator and power converters used to generate power from the WEC. In this paper, analytical expressions for the mechanical torque on the WEC due to the oscillating surge of seawater are derived, and the dynamic model of the WEC is developed. A method for hardware emulation of the WEC is proposed by controlling the torque of an electric motor. The reference torque of the motor is derived by solving the mechanical dynamics of the WEC system in a real-time computing device considering a typical sea wave input. The emulated WEC dynamics is validated through variable loading on a generator coupled with the emulator. Experimental results support the existence of an optimal power point of the derived WEC model.