Unseasonably calm water in the Shannon Estuary on the west coast of
Ireland made for a relatively easy launch of the 40 metre long prototype
McCabe Wave Pump earlier this summer.
Engineers are making the most of
the summer preparing the device for full...
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Unseasonably calm water in the Shannon Estuary on the west coast of
Ireland made for a relatively easy launch of the 40 metre long prototype
McCabe Wave Pump earlier this summer.
Engineers are making the most of
the summer preparing the device for full commissioning in more typical
Irish conditions, expected for early September, and a 6 month long series of
testing and measurement.
The McCabe Wave Pump is a slack-moored floating system that extracts
energy from ocean swells and is specifically designed for the conversion
of seawater to drinking water.
The device consists of three steel pontoons hinged together, with a hydraulic power take-off between the centre
pontoon and the two outside pontoons.
The centre pontoon is stabilised,
while the outside pontoons move with the ocean swell.
The motion of
the outside pontoons forces the centre barge’s high-pressure hydraulic
pumps which will eventually drive salt water through an on-board pre-filtering and desalination system.
Dr.
Pete
Less
