Naar hoofdcontent

The new investment will enable researchers to continue contributing to the development and application of essential new knowledge and innovations in the fields of flood risk management, offshore energy and climate adaptation. This boost to our unique testing facilities will strengthen the Netherlands' international position.

New demands because of societal challenges

Behind the scenes, far away from the eye of a superstorm, in the Deltares wave and flow basins in Delft, we have been working on knowledge and innovations that keep deltas safe and sustainable every day for nearly a century. But even the best facilities get older. Today’s demands are different those of yesterday, with new societal challenges including climate change, the energy transition and ageing infrastructure. It is vital to future-proof test facilities with the latest technologies so that new knowledge can be developed and applied with the sector to face those challenges. That is why the Ministry of Economic Affairs has approved the GOLFTOP proposal.

Why are the Deltares experimental basins important?

The two Deltares wave and flow basins are used to test marine and offshore structures at scale. Scale tests are often indispensable in the design process for hydraulic infrastructure because they provide a controlled and ‘evidence-based’ environment where the design of hydraulic structures can be tested in design conditions (sometimes of an extreme kind) in an uncertain future (such as a superstorm). That enhances our understanding of how the structure performs, reducing the risks and costs involved both during construction and throughout the lifetime.

Two Deltares wave and flow basins. The test structures in the photos are an energy island (left) and the foundation structure for the transformer station in the Borssele offshore wind farm (right).

Ready for the future

The GOLFTOP project will involve a significant upgrade for the Deltares wave and flow basins. Currents and waves can be simulated at the same time in one basin. In combination with a sandy seabed, this provides an ideal environment to investigate the interaction between waves and currents, the structures and the seabed. Another basin can be used to simulate the wave impact on complex structures such as harbour basins, breakwaters and artificial reefs. It can generate waves from different directions with natural spatial variation and therefore realistically simulate the interaction between waves and a structure. If nothing is done, the basins in their current form will run up against their technological and capacity limits within five years, making it impossible to conduct import research for flood risk management, offshore energy and climate adaptation in these facilities. GOLFTOP will therefore prepare the basins for the future with:

  • physical modifications to the experimental infrastructure (including higher water levels and more powerful wave boards);
  • the automation and digitalisation of test execution and data processing, including the integration of AI and digital twins;
  • the renewal of measurement instruments to provide greater accuracy and reliability;
  • the securing of knowledge vitality through documentation, training and knowledge sharing.

Strengthening of international knowledge position

The Netherlands has a strong tradition in hydraulic research. The Deltares basins are unique in the national research infrastructure and they are part of the Large-Scale Scientific Infrastructure (GWI) in the Netherlands. The upgrade will make them the only ones in the Netherlands, and some of the few in Europe, where large-scale waves, tidal currents and morphological processes can be simulated at the same time in a single controlled environment.

Dutch scientists and engineers will not have to go to foreign facilities for integrated, complex trials of this kind. This will cut lead times, enhance the quality of research results, and strengthen the international position.

Yorick Broekema, researcher at Deltares

The proposal was developed with the involvement of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, the Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth, the Top Consortium Knowledge & Innovation Offshore Energy and Top Consortium Knowledge & Innovation Delta Technology.

Share this page.