Cross border laboratory and field test procedures: best practice report

Abstract

This report is a deliverable of MERiFIC Work Package 3.4: ‘Test Facilities’ and has been produced by the University of Exeter. In contrast to the early days of the Marine Renewable Energy (MRE) industry a larger range of resources are available to device developers, comprising scientific knowledge, test facilities and a handful of offshore deployment examples. Whilst not all of the knowledge gained is in the public domain due to the confidential nature of commercial designs, EU funded projects have actively disseminated guidelines for the design and testing of devices (i.e. EquiMar protocols and CORES: Components for Ocean Renewable Energy Systems, report as well as the forthcoming IEC TC114 guidelines). It is the purpose of this document to provide state-of-the-art guidance of cross border laboratory and field test procedures, starting with a list of guidelines and standards relevant to MRE devices. The dual-purpose of physical testing to validate numerical design tools and to incrementally achieve proof of concept is then summarised. This section is not intended as a guide to physical modelling per se, because there are several well-established references. A list of current funding schemes which have been set up to enable facilities and equipment access is provided as well as insight into country-specific funding schemes in France and the UK. MERiFIC work package 3.5 is then presented as an example of transnational collaboration between MERiFIC partners, IFREMER (L'Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer) and the University of Exeter. To facilitate the planning process of physical testing a generic procedure is then proposed.