Deltares, the Netherlands

Deltares is an independent institute for applied research in the field of water and subsurface. In 2021 ReefSystems has been selected by a jury from Deltares as best contender for two weeks of testing time at one of their facilities. In the Eastern Scheldt Flume 3 x 42 MOSES modules (1/20 scale) were placed on baseplates with different weights. Hydraulic Engineering MSc student Carolien Diederen from TU Delft and Menno de Ridder from Deltares have set up a detailed testing plan. Various storm conditions were simulated at different depths to find out when the reefs will start to move. Guided by Marcel van Gent (Deltares), Jeroen van den Bos (Boskalis), Barend van den Bosch (Van Oord) and Mark Voorendt (TU Delft), a useful tool will be developed to determine the minimum necessary weights of our reefs in different conditions.

Learning about the effects of different hydraulic conditions on the stability of our reefs will enable us to install reefs to stimulate biodiversity on a bigger scale. For instance as scour protection in offshore wind farms or nearer to shore to prevent coastal erosion.