Research + Development

Hales Marine Energy has the use for an extended period of workshops located on the South Coast suitable for engineering R&D.

The present business plan is to construct a special test tank to a unique design suitable for both prototype tidal turbine and wave generator primary testing, the tank will hold approx 81,500 litres of sea water, be able to test various sizes with a operating width of 2.4 metres and 1.4 metres depth. Water flow speeds up of 5 m/s are expected for the device testing.

A construction period of six months for the test tank combined with refurbishment and security upgrades to the workshops will then be followed by a further 18 months of intense prototype testing various blade profiles, sizes, flow rates and load outputs to seek the best turbine efficiency readings. With a working power blade area of fifty percent of the total turbine swept operating area and with careful streamlining of the returning blades and holding discs it is expected to achieve close to forty percent turbine efficiency on the output shaft.

The testing facility will be offered for use with staff and testing instrumentation to other tidal and wave developers who need to carry out basic proof of concept testing under confidential conditions. It is also hoped that the facility will allow the general public to see the potential of the many forms of marine renewable energy available and how it can be harvested in a safe and sustainable way.

On completion of prototype testing, the test tank with then be dismantled in sections and sold on while Hales Marine Energy then concentrate on developing the turbine design into the three areas of possible application.

a) Micro turbines modelled on the prototype test units that can be used for simple generation or water pumping or purification on a small scale, possibly for third world countries or disaster areas.

b) Standard Tidal Stream turbine applications using a special designed shaped concrete vessel that can be floated out to the operating site, flooded down to the seaboard where its weight and hydrodynamic shape will press it down as the tidal flow increases. Inside the concrete vessel as well as the air chambers will be the PM generator system and air cylinders ready to retrieve the unit on completion of work period.

c) The future will see these turbines which are designed to work effectively in the 1.5 to 2.00 m/s, ranges of water flows which then bring in the large areas of ocean currents such as the Agulhas Current off the coast of South Africa and the Kuroshio Current off Japan , produce energy harvesting systems so they then start to become a viable energy sources.

**IMPORTANT NEWS - AUTUMN 2009 **

Hales Marine Energy has linked up with the Faculty of Engineering, Kingston University, London, one of the top engineering university faculties in the UK to forward the development and testing of the Hales Tidal Turbine design. A provisional test site has been selected on the tidal section on the River Thames for the first prototype trials.