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The BASEPOINT project started from a long-term collaboration between the promoters in2sea Lda and the Dutch innovation company Teamwork Technology, and has the objective to validate a key subsystem for the wave energy technology ‘Symphony’. Lead by Teamwork, this technology is the second generation of an entirely submerged wave energy converter (WEC), whose predecessor (Archimedes Wave Swing) was tested in real scale offshore Aguçadoura, in 2004[1].
This revision was undertaken in the EC H2020 project WETFEET[2], with the result of building a prototype of a reciprocating-flow water turbine, which functions in connection with a flexible membrane connecting the moving outer to the steady inner structure. This combination of structure geometry and membrane acts as piston moving the water through the turbine, which functions in connection with a flexible membrane connecting the moving outer to the steady inner structure, this acting as piston moving the water through the turbine. This unprecedented configuration can overcome one of the principal problems of wave energy PTOs, namely the jerking movements related to linear movements in energetic sea states.
The main objective of BASEPOINT is to achieve a significant advance in the state-of-the-art of this PTO, consisting of turbine, generator and converter, by validating its performance and operational characteristics. For this purpose, the temporary test bench in Academia do Mar of Sines Tecnopolo was conceived and built, where the turbine-generator group has undergone several test stages, inclusively after minor modifications of the turbine geometry. An adequately validated turbine will not only substantially reduce the technical risks for the following development phases but also reduce future O&M efforts and increase commercial readiness.
Among the detailed objectives of BASEPOINT are the basic performance characterisation of the novel turbine, control strategies, obtain realistic performance benchmarks for real operation under external pressure and oscillating loads, as well as essential experimental values for feeding the numerical codes.
After successful conclusions of the BASEPOINT project, the turbine will be integrated into a full sub-system test rig including membrane and spring tank, in the context of the ENCORE INTERREG project.
[1] Prado, M.G.S., Neumann, F., Damen, M., Gardner, F (2005). AWS results of pilot plant testing 2004. P.401-407 of Proceedings of 6th European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference, 6th EWTEC : University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK, August 29th – September 2nd, 2005
[2] https://ec.europa.eu/inea/en/horizon-2020/projects/h2020-energy/ocean/wetfeet
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