Wave Pool Tech Body Col V3 – Raised Water Research

Okahina Wave Technology

The Okahina Wave technology from Laurent Héquily and his company, Wavering Solution, is a new look at the circular wave pool strategy. The wave generation mechanism consists of a floating atoll surrounded by a ring. A few wave generators, a.k.a. foils, revolve around the ring and generate waves that propagate toward the center of the atoll where they encounter shallow water and break. The “reef" on which the waves break is spiral-shaped to help reduce the circular current that would quickly build up after running the wave generator for any length of time.

The entire structure is tethered to the floor of the body of water.

Early generations of Webber Wave Pool technology (below on right) also generated waves that propagated inward from an outer ring, but the eco-friendly and cost-conscious design of Okahina has financial and environmental advantages. The unique characteristics of the Okahina Wave technology also earned Laurent Héquily a patent on the technology in 2015.

The system can be placed in any body large body of water. Its engineered at the Okahina factory in Bordeaux and then shipped to the site where to be installed. Because it prebuilt, for the most part, and it doesn’t require installation of a giant pool or water filtration systems, construction costs are relatively low and the permitting process is potentially less arduous. According to the Okahina Wave team, on-site installation takes only a couple weeks. It’s also relatively easy to remove the system from the water and return the installation site to it natural state in less than 1 month.

In terms of size, the installation Futuroscope will be 36m in diameter and the installation at Libourne will be 60m, if everything goes according to plan.

The wave action generated by Okahina Wave technology also benefits aquatic life by oxygenating the water. Installation in the ocean are expected to attract sea life including mollusks, fish and anything else that feeds on smaller prey that hangs out on reefs. The design includes a natural barrier to keep jellyfish and sharks out of the surfing area.

Wave Size and Shape

As the waves propagate from the outer ring toward the center of the atoll, the move from deeper to shallower water where they stand up, crest, and break.

Okahina’s is predicting that the waves will measure between .6 and 2m (2-6 feet) high on the face of the wave. The shape of the wave will be “hollow and tubing" according to some company statements but they also state that it will be “for surfers of all levels".

They will run the wave generator long enough to give each surfer a 30 second ride. Then the wave generator will stop for roughly 15 seconds while the water settles in preparation for the next wave.

The foils can run in either direction allowing an installation to produce left or right-hand waves.

Capacity and Productivity

Assuming that the artist renditions of the Okahina pools are accurate, there will be 4 foils producing wave simultaneously when the wave generator is running. Surfers ride for 30 seconds, the generators stop for 15 seconds of settling, plus another 10-15 seconds for acceleration and deceleration of the foils put us at 4 rides generated every minute. You could think of this as 4 rides per set, with one set every minute. That works out to 240 rides per hour.

Its not clear how many surfers will share each 1-hour session, but Surfer Today reported that a Okahina Wave installation can handle 50 surfers at a time. In that scenario, each surfer will get 5 waves per hour. Thats probably not commercially viable. Even if you remove the 15 second acceleration and deceleration time, you only get 320 rides per hour. Thats still only 6 waves per hour per surfer.

Settling time will be particularly challenging for the Okahina team. Pushing energy in the same circular pattern can quickly generate current which deteriorates the quality of the waves. To help address this, the Okahina team is planning to shape the “reef" in a spiral fashion that will help minimize the current generated from the spinning foils.

Controlling Okahina Wave Pools

Okahina has yet to shared information about how their wave generation technology is controlled.

Based on other circular wave pools and foil systems, speculators suggest that operators will be able to control the speed and angle of the foils which will translate to changes in the size and shape of the wave.

It’s not clear whether they will be able to make these changes during a 30 second ride, between rides or between sessions. It’s also not clear whether or not the four foils must produce the same size/shape wave or if they can be controlled independently.

The Pool

The beauty of the Okahina Wave is that it can be installed into existing bodies of salt or fresh water. The planned side for the first two installations of Okahina Wave technology (Futuroscope and Libourne) will be 36m and 60m in diameter, respectively. Assuming the technology will benefit from water around the outside of the ring (e.g. to reduce settling time), its probably a safe bet that the lagoon needs to be roughly 2x the diameter of the installation.

The minimum depth of the water is not clear.

Energy Consumption

The exact figures on energy consumption have not been released by the Okahina Wave team, but they have made the claim that its less than other wave pools on the market.