ECo marina – Development of Innovative Blue Technologies for Maritime Supra-structure

The project is supported by the Norwegian financial mechanism 2014-2021, within the Business Development and Innovation Croatia Program.

These are funds for the promotion of business development and innovation for Croatia by the EEA of the Croatia Fund Norway / HR innovation (HR-NORWAY 1159).

“ECo marina – Development of Innovative Blue Technologies for Maritime Supra-structure” will be co-financed in the amount of 60% of the total project value of 762,650 EUR and includes the development of new products. The project involves CAD, simulations, experimental tests and full scale prototype tests of newly developed innovative floating solutions based on detailed design for 3 models (Premier Composite Pontoon PEC series 3300, Breakwater Composite BRKC series 4300 and All concrete composite ACC series 2400).

The technological process of production, know-how and engineering will be additionally adapted to innovative materials that will be installed in new types of pontoons – composite reinforcements and expanded polystyrene cores.

Through this project, cooperation is being established with the Croatian company Marinetek Adriatic –which will build prototype pontoons.

Model testing of wave breaker pontoons

Three pontoon models have recently been made and tested at the test facilities at Stadt Towing Tank. The models are representing 20m long wave breaker pontoons in the scale 1:11. The pontoons were tested for two configurations and two different constellations (1×1 and 1×3 models connected). The two different configurations were supposed to represent an old and a new design of the pontoons. The aim of the tests have been to find the wave damping capabilities of the wave breaker, and compare the new and the old design.

The two different configurations has also been tested in two different headings as well as in different constellations (0° and 60°).

A steel frame has also been built for the mooring setup. It has been made so that it is possible to raise and lower the rotating system, making it easy to quickly change the heading of the test setup.

To determine the damping effect of the pontoon, the waves were measured behind and in front of the model. The same wave spectra were also measured at the same locations without the model in the basin, as part of the wave calibration process, and serve as the comparison to show the wave damping effects.

The results from the testing shows that the new design of the pontoons are able to dampen the waves about as well as the old ones.