Canada, UK to tackle turbulence impact on tidal and wave

FloWave Ocean Energy Research Facility at Edinburgh University and Canadian marine turbulence specialists Rockland Scientific will join forces to measure impact of turbulence on wave and tidal energy devices.

The organizations will work together to develop tank-scale turbulence measurement technology, which can also be deployed at sea, on both sides of the Atlantic.

The new agreement builds on the previos work the organizations conducted jointly in 2014 concerning turbulence characterization.

Stuart Brown, FloWave Chief Executive Officer, said: “The accurate measurement and understanding turbulence, and particularly its impact on structures and performance, is a vital part of designing and deploying any wave or tidal technology.”

Jeremy Hancyk, Rockland Scientific Business Development Director, said: “This formal collaboration agreement with FloWave, supported by Innovate UK and Canadian funding agencies, leverages our complementary expertise to accelerate the further development of Rockland Scientific’s turbulence measurement technology to smaller footprint, higher spatial resolution laboratory installations.”

The collaboration announcement was made during an ocean energy trade mission from Nova Scotia organised by Scottish Development International, the international arm of Scottish Enterprise and the Nova Scotia Department of Energy.

The mission brings together developers, supply chain companies and R&D organisations from Scotland and Canada, with the aim of encouraging and supporting closer trans-Atlantic collaboration on marine renewable energy technologies and projects.

The FloWave Ocean Energy Research Facility, located at Edinburgh University’s King’s Buildings campus, is a 25 metre circular pool that can recreate complex waves and fast currents for project sites worldwide.

Rockland Scientific is a Canadian instrumentation manufacturer specializing in the design and development of turbulence measurement systems for marine environments.

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