Nortek Expands Partnership with GSE

GSE Rentals has added the Nortek Signature500 AD2CPs to their inventory. Building on GSE clientele satisfaction with the Nortek AWAC for current and wave measurements, the Signature500 will provide new measurement opportunities for engineering and scientific studies focused on tidal turbines, offshore wind towers, oil and gas operations and coastal and offshore aquaculture.

According to Nortek, the device is based on the Nortek AD2CP hardware platform, providing accurate broadband signal processing centered on 500kHz to provide a current profiling range of 50m. The Signature500 allows fast sampling rates for precise measurements of ocean turbulence, owed to four slanted and one vertical beam.

In addition, the vertical beam provides surface altimeter measurements for surface elevation data.. The sampling rates of the Signature instrumentation have the flexibility of a timing scheme, which allows the user to fit different data measurements into one second, as per their specifications.

The focus on the increased functionality of the AD2CP hardware platform means that the Signature instruments can measure for longer periods of time, using less battery power, while storing more data. The Signature500 is able to cope with high sampling rates over extended periods of time. The addition of Ethernet and RS232 communications means that the Signature instruments are truly ideal for stand‐alone and online deployments in harsh, turbid environments.

The Signature500 acquired by GSE will be sent out on an immediate job, significant to the tidal energy industry. The project measures turbulence parameters at two Scottish tidal energy sites, the Sound of Islay and the Pentland Inner Sound. The purpose of these surveys is to collect turbulence and current data in order to measure and evaluate turbulence effects in tidal arrays in Scottish waters, and address fundamental design, operation, installation, and yield issues.

The Signature500 will be used in conjunction with other instrumentation by Partrac, for a Carbon Trust funded research project for the tidal energy industry called Turbulence in Marine Environments (TiME) under the Scottish Government's Marine Renewable Commercialization Fund (MRCF).