Page 53: of Marine Technology Magazine (July 2010)

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MAR Incorporated – Ohmsett Facility

Ohmsett Program Manager: Bill Schmidt

Atlantic Highlands, NJ

Tel: 732-866-7183

Email: bschmidt@ ohmsettnj.com • www.ohmsett.com

Ohmsett - The National Oil Spill Response Research &

Renewable Energy Test Facility is located in Leonardo,

New Jersey. It is the largest outdoor saltwater wave/tow tank in North America where full-scale oil spill response testing, research and training can be conducted with oil in a realistic simulated marine environment under controlled conditions. The facility consists of a large outdoor above- ground concrete test tank measuring 667 feet long by 65 feet wide by 8 feet deep filled with 2.6 million gallons of crystal clear salt water, conference rooms, maintenance/machine shop, chemistry laboratory, and offices. Ohmsett’s mission is to increase oil spill response capabilities through independent and objective perform- ance testing of equipment, providing realistic training to response personnel, and improving response technologies through research and development The U.S Department of Interior, Minerals Management Service (MMS) has operated the Ohmsett facility for 16 years as part of its mandated requirements to ensure that the best and safest technologies are used in offshore oil and gas operations.

The Ohmsett facility is maintained and operated by

MAR, Incorporated through a contract with Minerals

Management Service. Ohmsett plays a critical role in developing effective response technologies and represents a necessary intermediate step between small scale bench testing and open water testing of equipment. Many of today’s commercially available oil spill cleanup products and services have been tested at Ohmsett either as off-the- shelf commercially available equipment, or as equipment or technology still under development. The facility has the capability to test and evaluate all types of oil spill response technologies such as: chemical treating agents and dispersants, fire-resistant containment booms, remote sensing and detection instruments, sorbent materials, temporary storage devices, viscous oil pumping units and oil water separators. Recent research projects include development of the American Society of Testing and

Materials (ASTM) skimmer test protocol, testing concepts for new products not yet in production, and the develop- ment of testing capabilities for dispersants. Ohmsett’s wave generator system recently underwent an upgrade to expand its wave generating capability. The new system has the ability to generate random waves that more closely approximate waves in the ocean. In addition to generat- ing sinusoidal and harbor chop waves, Ohmsett is now able to create more realistic waves such as those based on

Pierson-Moskowitz, JONSWAP, and Frequency

Modulated (FM) Slide, with scalable ocean water depth, wind speed, and model scale factor. In addition to devel- oping and testing response technologies, Ohmsett pro- vides first responders, from state and federal government agencies, private industry and foreign countries, with the most realistic training available enabling a rapid and effi- cient response to an actual spill event. Ohmsett course offering includes U.S. Coast Guard Class C Response

Technician training, U.S. Coast Guard SMART Protocol training, Oil Spill Response and Strategies Training (in

English and Spanish), and Dispersant Training for the Oil

Spill Responder. Over the years substantial progress has been made in harnessing marine renewable energy resources, including off-shore winds, tidal currents and wave energy. MMS has made a commitment to support- ing the development of alternative energy devices and has upgraded the Ohmsett facility to test marine renewable energy systems, in particular wave energy mechanical devices, in a controlled environment. The Ohmsett test tank is larger than most test tanks internationally and can handle many devices at meso-scale. The advantage is that arduous scaling considerations are minimized, and valida- tion testing is more realistic. Ohmsett facility has the capa- bility of 6.5 knot tow rates, as well as the ability to gener- ate complex waves with periodic reproducibility. www.seadiscovery.com Marine Technology Reporter 53