Influence of control strategy on the global efficiency of a Direct Wave Energy Converter with electric Power Take-Off

The choice of control strategy for Direct Wave Energy Converters (DWEC) is often discussed without taking into account the limitations of electric Power Take-Off (PTO): limits of torque or force and power, as well as losses in the electric chain. These assumptions leads to large and expensive electric systems, that prevent leading to a global minimization of the per-kWh cost. We propose herein a simple loss model in order to design a better control strategy.