InSTREAM turbulance characterisation and modelling
Project overview
The project aimed to improve the industry’s understanding of turbulence, enabling developers to optimise design, and deploy technology that can withstand the effects of strong tides and currents.
The project was carried out in both UK and Canadian waters – at EMEC, and at FORCE in Nova Scotia, Canada. The University of Edinburgh’s FloWave Ocean Energy Research Facility – which can replicate tidal characteristics found at EMEC’s tidal test site at the Fall of Warness, in Orkney – was also used.
Rockland Scientific’s MicroRider and MicroPod devices were incorporated into EMEC’s Integrated Monitoring Pod.
The InSTREAM (In Situ Turbulence Replication Evaluation And Measurement) project was funded through a transatlantic partnership between the Offshore Energy Research Association (OERA), a Nova Scotian not-for-profit research group, and Innovate UK, the UK Government’s business and innovation organisation.
Project partners
Led by Rockland Scientific, a Canadian company specialising in marine turbulence, the InSTREAM project involves UK-based FloWave TT, Ocean Array Systems and EMEC, and Canadian companies Dalhousie University and Black Rock Tidal Power.
EMEC role
EMEC redeployed its bespoke Integrated Monitoring Pod, fitted with innovative turbulence instruments to help measure the impact of turbulence on tidal energy devices. Prior to deployment, the pod was fitted with a MicroRider turbulence system designed by Rockland Scientific, a Canadian company specialising in marine turbulence.
News
- May 2017: InSTREAM turbulence kit deployed on EMEC monitoring pod
- October 2016: EMEC Integrated Monitoring Pod fitted with InSTREAM turbulence monitoring devices
- July 2015: Trans-Atlantic team to tackle tidal turbulence
