Grants and Contributions:

Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year (2017-2018 to 2018-2019).

Voltus Industries® is developing an off-shore recreational product that mimics surfing by producing ax000D
high-speed water sheet on a contoured ramp. Voltus Industries' design is novel because it is a floating platformx000D
designed for off-shore locations in lakes. While the off-shore design provides flexibility for use in camps,x000D
beaches, and other recreational locations, it also imposes environmental and ecological constraints. An axialx000D
pump draws water through an intake plenum and passes it through a special nozzle to produce the water sheet.x000D
After flowing over the ramp, the water returns to the lake. This design requires a large uptake of lake water,x000D
which has negative ecological and environmental impacts. This research will minimize the ecological impactsx000D
of the platform and decrease the amount of water uptake from the lake by simulation-based optimization of thex000D
platform's flow configuration. Computational fluid dynamics simulations of the water flowing through thex000D
pump, nozzle, and ducting will be employed to identify the configuration that minimizes the energy losses,x000D
ensures suitable uniformity of the water sheet, and minimizes the rate of water uptake from the lake. Thex000D
production of vapor bubbles in low-pressure regions inside the pump--referred to as cavitation--must bex000D
avoided to ensure high reliability and low maintenance of the platform. Therefore, cavitation prediction modelsx000D
will be developed and implemented into the flow simulations. The research will ensure that the off-shorex000D
platform has a minimal impact on the local environment while also ensuring it is technically and economicallyx000D
competitive in Canada's $100 million+/year amusement park industry.