Abstract: A mooring test facility (South West Mooring Test Facility – SWMTF) has been developed of the coast of Cornwall by PRIMaRE and CORES members at the University of Exeter. It has unique features so it can obtain very detailed data in actual sea conditions to show how moored structures respond to changes in wind, wave, current and tide.
Using this information, developers, or associated companies, will be able to model and test mooring designs and components for marine energy devices as they convert wave movement into energy.
The SWMTF buoy has a simple, circular design, with specialised sensors and other instruments built into its structure, enabling it to record data to a high degree of accuracy and allow real time data communication to shore. The novel sensing package allows collecting detailed load and response data in actual sea conditions.
One of the key instrument within this package are the tri-axial load cells. Within this paper the calibration of the tri-axis load cell is described and how this measurement technique can contribute to survivability of floating marine energy devices.
