Control force limitation in wave energy converter using neuro-adaptive hierarchical control scheme

In this paper, a simple hierarchical control strategy is presented for heaving wave energy converters. The low level control is implemented with a Lyapunov function neuro-adaptive controller, whereas for the high level control a fast iterative algorithm is utilized to generate the velocity reference for the low level controller. Simulation studies conducted for moderate sea-state exhibit an efficient velocity tracking and power capture. In comparison to the resistive loading technique, the achieved results indeed confirm an overall superior performance of the presented scheme.