Grant: Engage Grants Program

Generating electricity from the tidal currents in the Bay of Fundy has the potential to make Nova Scotia a green, energy self-sufficient province. However, many challenges must be overcome before this vision can be realized. In particular, tidal turbines are necessarily placed in locations with the strongest tidal currents. These locations are generally avoided by other marine industries. As such, the equipment of marine engineering, from anchoring and cabling to remote operated vehicles (ROVs) and monitoring equipment, have not been designed to perform in such high velocities. For example, ROVs are generally designed to work in flows less than 2 knots. At tidal power sites, the flow may be less that 2 knots for only a couple of hours each day severely limiting when ROVs can be used. The purpose of this research is to assist Dynamic Systems Analysis Ltd. (DSA) in adapting their marine engineering software to work with high-velocity tidal flows. The project will adapt DSA's software to use detailed oceanographic data as input. We will use the latest observations and numerical simulations of tidal currents in passages in the Bay of Fundy to provide accurate, high resolution tidal current velocity data sets for potential tidal power development sites. Importantly, the data will include the high amplitude fluctuations in the velocity that are seen in oceanographic observations. The project will validate the flow/structure interaction in DSA's software by comparing it to a field expeiment which will measure the forces on a tethered float in a tidal race. In the end, the project will allow DSA to develop their software into a tool that can be used extensively in the development of the tidal power industry. Having DSA involved in the design and testing of structures, cables and devices needed for tidal power will help ensure that a larger portion of the economic benefits seen in exploiting our tidal resource remain in Nova Scotia.