Table of Contents

• About the Project
• Getting Started
  • Prerequisites
  • Installation
  • Running the GUI
• System Layout
• System Specifications
• Roadmap

About The Project

The Sandia Interactive Wave Energy Education Display (SIWEED) is a small portable wave tank to be used for outreach and engagement on wave energy converters (WECs) and, in particular, WEC control. Check out these videos to get a better idea of what SIWEED's all about:

• SIWEED video
• SIWEED live demonstration

If you're interested in building your own SIWEED, check out the Getting Started section of this README. (We're working on a paper for HardwareX that will hopefully provide an even better guide along with some data analysis from using the system.) If you're an educator or student in need of teaching materials/activities, checkout out the Educational Materials document.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• SIWEED requires
  • Arduino IDE 1.8.13 or higher for programming Arduinos
    • Libraries are included in the repo. Many are modified, so you need to use the versions in the repo.
    • Arduino SAM boards package
  • Processing IDE 3.5.4 for programming the GUI
    • Libraries are included in the repo. Many are modified, so you need to use the versions in the repo.
  • OSSI Interface for configuring Wave Probes, if equipped.

Installation

1. Download the latest version of Arduino IDE
2. Download version 3.5.4 of Processing IDE 2.5. If using wave probes, download latest version of OSSI Interface
3. Download the Master SIWEED Repository
4. Change the Sketchbook Location for the Arduino IDE to \siweed\Arduino

Open Arduino IDE
Change the location of your sketchbook folder to ~\siweed\Arduino at File > Preferences > Sketchbook location to 
Ex: C:\Users\user\Documents\GitHub\siweed\Arduino

5. Change Arduino IDE board to "Arduino Due Programming Port"

This can be found at Tools > Board > Arduino ARM(32 - bits) Boards > Arduino Due Programming Port

If you do not see the Arduino ARM(32 - bits) Boards, you need to install the SAM boards package by going to tools > board > boards manager, searching SAM, 
and installing the SAM package.

6. Upload the sketches to the Arduinos

With the Arduinos connected, select a port in tools > port, be sure to choose a port with an arduino plugged in. Go to file > sketchbook, and open WaveMaker_Controller.
Upload the sketch. 

Switch the port to the other arduino, and open WEC_Controller. Upload the sketch. That is all for the arduinos, you can close the IDE if you wish.

7. Open the Processing IDE Change Sketchbook Location to \siweed\Processing

Open Processing IDE
Change the location of your sketchbook folder to ~\siweed\Processing at File > Preferences > Sketchbook location to 
Ex: C:\Users\user\Documents\GitHub\siweed\Processing

Running the GUI

1. Open processing.exe
2. File > Open > siweedGUI.pde (Ex: C:\Users\user\Documents\GitHub\siweed\Processing\siWeedGUI\siweedGUI.pde)
3. (optional)Edit modifiers. These are booleans at the top of the code that will do things like enable basic mode, debugging, or data logging.
4. If using wave probes: edit the port names in the modifiers to match the ports of your probes. The port names can be found in the device manager, or using the OSSI Interface program. Also within the OSSI Interface program, the tempurature output of any probes needs to be turned off, and the baud rate should be set to 30hz.
5. Click "Run"
6. The GUI will open, allow some time for it to load.

System layout

SIWEED uses a PC to control two Arduino Dues: (1) to run the wavemaker and (2) to run the WEC. A detailed illustration of the system layout is shown in the diagram below.

System specifications

• Tank
  • 3/4 inch acrylic tank
  • Inner dimension: 1.5m x 0.3m x 0.5m (filled to ~0.3m deep)
  • Mass of water: 135 kg (~300lbs)
  • Mass of dry tank: ?
  • Volume: 135 L (~36 gal)
• WEC:
  • Diameter: 12 cm
  • Mass: 0.04 kg list item !!needs updating
  • Natural frequency: ~3.4 Hz list item !!needs updating
• System update rates:
  • Processing (GUI): 30 Hz
  • Arduinos:
    • Wave maker
      • General: 100 Hz
      • Serial communication: 30 Hz
    • WEC
      • General: 100 Hz
      • Serial communication: 30 Hz -Wave Probes: 30Hz

Roadmap

See the open issues for a list of proposed features (and known issues).

Copyright and license

Copyright 2021 National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC (NTESS). Under the terms of Contract DE-NA0003525 with NTESS, the U.S. Government retains certain rights in this software. The software is distributed under a GNU General Public License.