under the surface: amc phd student damon howe is researching wave converter technology - energy storage devices

Water and electricity are not often together, but doctoral student Damon Howe has been looking for a way to get them to work together for the past four years.
The Australian Maritime College student hopes to make his mark on climate change by studying wave energy converters in the model test Basin.
Mr. Howe and his research colleagues, a graduate of marine engineering, designed and built a breakwater wave converter device that was able to take advantage of the power of the waves and convert them into energy.
The fluorescent yellow embankment model is impacted by the wave, which is carried out by the wave of the model test Basin.
Used to test the response of the structure to the marine environment.
Mr. Howe shared his story and research.
"We started working on wave energy converters in isolation to understand how these devices operate," he said . ".
"Then we introduced a breakwater, as you can see in Bridport or something like that, a fixed seabed, and we found that we were able to double our power production.
"It is these facilities, Mr. Howe said, and the desire to do practical work that led him to study at AMC when he grew up in the North
On the west coast of Shearwater.
"Otherwise I might be a builder," he said . ".
He said he hopes to provide alternatives to power generation and help combat climate change.
However, it will also provide more certainty for industries such as aquaculture that wish to move overseas.
"We are working to combine the two important structures to provide the potential for offshore storage and power generation," he said . ".
"We want to try to integrate wave energy devices into other marine structures such as berms and ports.
"For the past four years, Mr. Howe has been working on tidal and wave technologies and is using models to test the different wave environments on the structure of the basin.
AMC's model test basin is unique in its ability to create different wave scenarios --
It has 16 wave plates at one end of the basin and is controlled by a central computer.
Wave scenes that simulate real-world environments can be entered into a computer so that data can be recorded.
While it seems simple for some, Howe says the AMC model test pool is-of-a-kind.
"I have been helping another student with a research trip and his task is to find a similar basin elsewhere in the world," he said . ".
As part of the study, they found that the Tasmania state was the site of a model test basin capable of recording large waves scenes.
"We found a similar one in Northern Ireland, but it still can't replicate the height of the waves that we can replicate here," Mr Howe said . ".
He said that the uniqueness of the model test basin is that it is able to replicate focused waves on the model and simulate waves constructed from each other.
"So, we are looking at the viability of this model," he said . ".
Being able to test the survival of the model in the model test Basin and how it is consistent with other wave scenarios is a valuable study.
The model test Basin attracted international attention, and some researchers at the facility moved to the state of Tasmania precisely because of the facility.
It is also used for commercial purposes such as port design.
Mr. Howe said that due to the wide range of facilities provided, Tasman people should be proud of AMC's headquarters here.
"For undergraduates, I came here as an undergraduate myself and a lot of units included not only this facility but all the facilities.
We have a chance to explore it.
"All the facilities, not just the model test pool, are very close and should attract people.