Equipment

The controller suggested here will be set up in a waterproof box and mounted on the models. It will be driven by a remote software application through a wifi link, reducing the number of cables between the model and the bridge and therefore their influence on the model’s motions.

Services

The hydrodynamic facilities of Centrale Nantes can generate controlled conditions of wind, waves and current. It enables researchers and engineers to carry out tests on model scaled MRE systems. Power Take Off simulation and control at model scale is one of the main issues for experimental modelling of MRE systems. With this project, the Experimental Hydrodynamic Team of Centrale Nantes can provide the MRE developers with an innovative tool to validate servo control strategies during reduced scale tests. This new system completes the set of diagnostic tools associated to Centrale Nantes Hydrodynamic Facilities and opens new possibilities of services.

Example of MRE applications

Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) systems include advanced control functions to optimize their power take off efficiency. On floating wind turbine, the hub orientation, the torque on the rotor shaft, and the pitch of the blades are continuously updated. The target values are calculated with control laws which take into account wind direction and speed and the floater motions. For wave energy converters, power take off efficiency can be improved by adjusting dynamically, in real time, the resistive torque on the generator shaft according to the incident waves and the system motions.