Modelling and simulation of wave energy hyperbaric converter (WEHC) for applications in distributed generation

The present work deals with the wave energy hyperbaric converter (WEHC) developed by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The development of WEHC, both for drawing energy from sea waves and for converting it into electrical energy, is based on keeping constant a pressure level within the hyperbaric accumulator (HA), which implies designing a large-size hyperbaric chamber (HC). Main objectives of this research are to reduce the size of the HC, and to obtain a high-quality level of the electrical output and a high flexibility degree for the WEHC. In this respect, power electronics, energy storage with super capacitors (SC) and their associated control play an important role to integrate the WEHC system to the electrical grid. The dynamics of the power conditioning system (PCS) influences on the validity of the WEHC system which acts, in turn, upon the dynamic control of the electrical power system, since it allows controlling the adequate power exchange between both systems. The proposed systems are analyzed and tested in simulations through SimPowerSystems from MATLAB/Simulink. Copyright (C) 2012, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.