A Laboratory and UW Department of Mechanical Engineering team is working on Lake Washington to continue testing the full-scale prototype marine hydrokinetic energy device. The turbine is mounted on the R/V Russell Davis Light gantry and then lowered between the catamaran hulls so that researchers can simulate flows past the turbine without disruptions from the vessel or other structures.

A suite of sensors, including load and torque cells and an acoustic Doppler velocimeter, monitor the turbine. Data acquired are used to characterize turbine performance under various simulated flow conditions in real time and in post-processing analysis.