Sea Wave Environmental Lab (SWEL) at National Laboratory of the Rockies
Support Types:
Non-Open Water, Tunnel, Flume, Tank & Basin, Laboratory & Bench
Application Areas:
Cables, Mooring, Foundation, and Anchoring, Full System, Hydrodynamics, Power Take-Off
Technology Relevance:
Current, OTEC, Tidal, Wave
Location:
Facility Overview
National Laboratory of the Rockies‘ (NLR’s) wave tank, located in the Sea Wave Environmental Lab (SWEL) at the Flatirons Campus, can be used for hydrodynamic testing of small-scale marine energy prototypes or other offshore systems where wave interactions are of interest, such as floating platforms.
Wave tank features
- Flap-type, 2D wave generator
- 14 meters long, 1.3 meters deep, and 2.5 meters wide
- Capacity of 13,000 gallons of fresh water
- Generates linear waves with amplitudes up to 0.2 meters at a variety of frequencies (0.5–5 seconds), which is representative of North Atlantic seas at scales of 1:50 to 1:100
- Glass flume wall for external underwater observation and imaging
- Robust mooring system capable of withstanding 500 pounds of hold force
- Wave absorber to minimize wave reflections
- Controllable winch system for simulating loads from ocean currents or mooring line loads.
The wave tank also has the following support instrumentation for more robust device validation:
- Motion tracking cameras to monitor device dynamics
- Wireless ocean sensors
- Resistive wave sensors
- Flow meters
- Accelerometers
- Pressure sensors
- Load cells.
