The floating forest research was funded to the tune of $688,000 by the Australian Research Council, and also received funding from the Nanocomm Hub based at Monash University. Buoyant innovationДЄ leading international researcher in very large floating structures, Wang holds international patents in a new type of pontoon, an offshore floating bunker supply base and a floating fuel storage facility. Wang and a team of UQ and Monash University researchers, and construction engineers from Hyundai Engineering have made a small model segment of their floating forest and will test it in the UQ hydraulics lab wave flume.

вЂњWe hope that a smaller version may be constructed in places that are hit by strong cyclone seasons, such as Bangladesh, Mozambique, Taiwan and the Philippines,вЂќ Wang said. They also have plans for a smaller version. Wang said the completed floating structure will be around 1 km long, with tubes that are 20 m tall. A concept design for the floating forest.

вЂњInstead, weвЂ™ve chosen to build the tubes out of plastic and concrete and place them in a formation that provides the most resistance to wind, therefore dissipating its strength,вЂќ he explained. Trees for the forestД«ecause a windbreak consisting of real vegetation would be difficult to maintain and manage in its offshore location, Wang said the researchers had decided to use artificial replacements. вЂњWeвЂ™re the first ones to place a windbreak on top of the floating breakwater structure,вЂќ he added. Wang said that previous work has focused on reducing the height of waves, but until now there has been nothing to break the wind. It consists of a tilted concrete deck to dissipate wave energy, topped with hollow tube вЂtreesвЂ™ to reduce wind speed. Professor Chien Ming Wang from the University of Queensland (UQ) School of Civil Engineering has led the design of a floating breakwater and windbreak structure. A team of civil engineers is testing out a way to protect them. High winds and waves caused by extreme weather events can inflict serious damage on beaches, boats and coastal infrastructure.

Floating breakwaters design