Tidal turbulence to get a fresh look at Oi 2018

Technical Director of the marine data acquisition company Partrac, Kevin Black, will be revisiting the chief findings of TiME project at this year’s Oceanology International Exhibition and Conference (Oi 2018).

Touching on areas that include yield modelling, data collection methods and classification of turbulence for engineering design, Black will be presenting on the third day of Oi 2018 during the ‘Feasibility Studies, Data Resources & Research’ session.

The TiME project, short for Turbulence in Marine Environments, was completed in 2015 with its main outcome being the development of new methods to measure and characterize turbulence.

Part-funded by the Scottish government through MRCF Array Technology Innovation Programme, and administered by the Carbon Trust, the project was established in response to the uncertainties regarding the highly turbulent tidal currents the developers of tidal energy projects often encounter.

“Turbulence – the unsteady component of flow – has significant consequences for structural loading and component fatigue, energy yield, wake development and hence array planning. Improving the understanding of turbulence in places of interest therefore has its benefits especially in terms of lowering costs,“ Black said in 2016 during the launch of turbulence measurement and assessment service for tidal energy sector which stems from the TiME project.

Oceanology International is an event that provides a forum where industry, academia and government share knowledge and connect with the ocean technology and marine science communities. Oi 2018 will be held in London on March 13-15, 2018.