The Mad Max wave pool is back in action after snapping its shaft in the first round of testing back at the start of the year. Shots below, more as we get it…

PRESS RELEASE
We are pleased to announce that our full-scale R&D facility in Yeppoon is back in operation. Repairs, upgrades and improvements were completed in late June and since then our engineering team has been undertaking further testing. They are working through a detailed process to refine the machine, systems and software in order to maximise efficiency, which will continue for several months.

Eighteen months ago, we commenced construction of this full-scale prototype in order to test all aspects of our “5 Waves” technology – from construction methods, commissioning process, drive system, CWD (wave machine), through to reef design and wave surf-ability. Using concentric waves for surfing is a totally new technology, therefore our engineering team are following a rigorous testing process.

Although full scale, the Yeppoon R&D facility is a prototype only and is not open to the public. It is being used to work through the design changes and improvements that need to be made, in order to deliver a commercial product to clients. We are also reviewing the wave shape results at different sizes in relation to the current reef bathymetry. This information is being fed back into our Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling program in order to make further improvements.

To date, the five-wave types are breaking with great promise, (whilst not yet perfect). The wave types include Level 1 and 2 fun beach breaks for those starting out, through to Level 4 and 5 waves, which are more challenging for experienced surfers. We have successfully run sets of 4 consecutive waves and achieved wave face heights of 1.8m (6ft). Adjustments to reach 2.4m (8ft) are being made in the coming months.

We anticipate all testing to be completed in late 2019, with the commercial design ready for licensees in early 2020. We are also in negotiations with several potential licensees in various countries and hope to make announcements relating to these projects in the coming months.

A selection of images from the latest round of testing can be viewed below.