January 2021
Another major milestone was reached this week in the construction of AWS Ocean’s partial scale Waveswing prototype with the completion of the large rubber membrane which forms a critical seal between the Waveswing floater and silo. The seal, measuring 3.8m in diameter was manufactured by Trelleborg at their Ridderkerk factory in the Netherlands. AWS have been researching seal technology since 2008 and selected Trelleborg as manufacturing partner in recognition of their world-class expertise in this field. The seal is mad of natural rubber and reinforced with Aramid fibres. The special shape allows the floater and silo to move relative to one another – a key requirement for wave energy absorption. The biggest challenge now is clearing the new customs paperwork to allow the seal to be transported to Glasgow for installation.
