ASPEC is excited to see the Surf Lakes Full Scale Prototype enter final construction and commissioning phase in Yeppoon, Queensland. The Surf Lakes vision is to provide access for millions of people to the sport of surfing, via a new proprietary method for generating high quality surfable waves, in a controlled lake environment.
The Surf Lakes technology is unique, in that it creates a concentric wave radiating from a central wave generator, which results in several different surfable breaks around the perimeter of the lake. Once fully operational, this feature will enable the generation of up to 2400 surfable breaks per hour – a higher productivity rate than any other current technology. The specific contouring of the lake bottom (developed using cutting edge Computational Fluid Dynamics modelling – CFD) creates eight different surfable breaks which mimic different styles of waves encountered on some of the best beaches in the world, catering to newcomers through to professional surfers.
ASPEC, in cooperation with key engineering partners Engenuity Solutions, have provided civil, structural and mechanical engineering services for the design of the Surf Lakes full scale prototype. The prototype facility includes a huge 200m x 150m lake (over 20 Olympic swimming pools!) and fully functional wave generation equipment, capable of creating waves with a face height of up to 2.4m.
ASPEC’s experience with heavy industrial equipment and facility design has proved to be very useful when tackling the unique challenges associated with the design of the full scale prototype for this new technology. Key services provided by ASPEC to Surf Lakes have included:
- Detailed engineering design of wave generation mechanism.
- Civil engineering including development of lake bathymetry and design of major unveiling works.
- Design of supporting infrastructure
- Technical documentation and specifications.
- Fabrication QA/QC auditing
ASPEC is very proud to have been involved in this highly innovative and exciting project, which has been fully designed and constructed in Australia. We look forward to seeing the first waves break in Yeppoon in the coming weeks!
All images are courtesy of Surf Lakes. For more information, visit https://www.surf-lakes.com.au/.
Adam is a lead mechanical engineer at ASPEC, with over 15 years experience in the heavy industrial and resource sector. Adam is a Chartered Professional Engineer with a PhD in the field of mechanical engineering. In his time at ASPEC Adam has worked on a wide range of projects and gained broad experience in the field of mechanical engineering.