The Kuroshio Power Plant

235 Pages·2013·6.514 MB·English

by  Falin Chen (auth.)

Lecture Notes in Energy 15
Falin Chen
The Kuroshio
Power Plant
Lecture Notes in Energy 15
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Falin Chen
The Kuroshio Power Plant
FalinChen
InstituteofAppliedMechanics
NationalTaiwanUniversity
Taipei
Taiwan,RepublicofChina(ROC)
ISSN2195-1284 ISSN2195-1292(electronic)
ISBN978-3-319-00821-9 ISBN978-3-319-00822-6(eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-3-319-00822-6
SpringerChamHeidelbergNewYorkDordrechtLondon
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2013944673
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Preface
The earth’s three great oceans feature many perennial and stable currents
encompassing tremendous amounts of kinetic energy. This energy, if properly
captured,couldmakeanimportantcontributiontohumancivilizationandsustain-
able development. The Kuroshio, a branch of the North Pacific Gyre, shows
particular promise in this regard. It flows particularly strong along the eastern
coast of Taiwan and then follows a stable course to pass the Ryukyu Islands and
Japan.Fromtheperspectiveofenergydevelopment,theKuroshioisahigh-quality
ocean current, able to provide a steady and high-volume power output needed to
achieve economiesofscale andcommercialvalue.TheKuroshiopowerplant has
manycompetitiveadvantages.Ithasenvironmentaladvantagesinthatitcausesno
carbonemissions,pollution,orwaste.Itiscompletelyrenewablerequiringnofuel.
It offers a continuous power supply with a capacity factor greater than 0.7,
considerably superior to most currently available renewable energy sources. In
terms of technical advantage, the power plant construction can be accomplished
withexistingtechnologiesandmatureengineeringprocesses,thusavoidingpoten-
tialtechnologicalbottlenecks.Intermsofcostadvantages,itisestimatedthat,once
technical development costs are accounted for, construction and operation costs
willbecompetitivewithoffshorewindpower.
Over the past 30 years, research institutions in Europe, the USA, Japan, and
otherdevelopedcountrieshaveinvestigatedocean-basedenergysourcesanddevel-
opedover70projectstoexplorevariouskindsofoceanenergy.Infacilitiesoffthe
coastofEuropeandNorthAmerica,long-termtestingandoperationhavefocused
on the development of wave, tidal, and ocean-thermal energy. Among these
projects, the principles of tidal energy generation are similar to that proposed for
the Kuroshio, but the former is designed to be implemented in shallow waters no
more than 30-m deep, while the latter requires construction in waters several
hundred meters in depth, thus requiring different engineering designs. The key
differenceslieinthedesignoftheturbinegeneratorsandtheanchoragesystem.
ThisbookpresentsanewdesignfortheKuroshiopowerplant.Thedeployment
ofhundredsofturbinesindeepwaters,anchoredinastableformationtotheseabed
hundreds of meters below is an unprecedented engineering feat, entailing new
v
vi Preface
approaches to turbine design, anchorage system planning, deep-sea marine engi-
neering, and power plant operations and maintenance. In addition, the large-scale
deployment of such turbines will inevitably have an impact on the local environ-
ment and ecology. Power plant operations may also be subject to impacts from
earthquakes, typhoons, climate change, and othernatural factors. Consequently, a
careful assessment for the environmental impact, both on the plant and from the
plant,isabsolutelyrequiredforsuchapowerplantproject.
The six chapters of this book explore each of these challenges in detail.
Chapter 1 reviews the available literatures to survey the ocean current
characteristics, seabed geology, ecology, and environment of the Kuroshio’s
waters. In Chap. 2, we propose a conceptual design for the Kuroshio power plant
while focusing on the power plant’s core technologies—the turbine, the replay
platform,andthemarineengineeringatdeepsea.Chapter3establishestheanalysis
logic for the design of the turbine. We first select the Gulf Stream Turbine for
computational fluid dynamic analysis to investigate the dynamic reaction of each
turbine component under the action of the Kuroshio. Results provide information
for the designs of the tail–wing stabilizer, a mechanism needed to ensure the
turbine’s autonomous balance and the single-cable anchorage system. In Chap. 4,
therelayplatformdesignfollowsanotherlogic.Wefirstanalyzetherigidityofthe
unit platform and then analyze the stability of the test platform (composed of six
unit platforms) under the actions of the designed anchorage system and the
Kuroshio. Finally, we analyze the complete relay platform (composed of 66 unit
platforms) to examine the power plant’s structural integrity. These two chapters
provideacompleteKuroshiopowerplantanalysisanddesignlogic,basedonwhich
the design engineer could set out the complete construction specifications for the
detailed design of power plant. Chapter 5 attempts to elucidate potential environ-
mentalandecologicalimpactsfromtheconstructionandoperationoftheKuroshio
power plant, while also explores the potential impact of natural events, such as
earthquakes, typhoons, and climate change on power plant operations. Finally,
Chap.6presentsaplantobuilda30-MWpilotpowerplant.
AsexplainedinChap.2,theKuroshiopowerplantdesignhasmanyadvantages.
Mainly, the single cable used to anchor the turbine to the platform is short, thus
minimizing the amplitude of the fuselage’s drift with the current. In addition, the
multi-cable anchorage design for the relay platform can protect from earthquake
damage, and the power plant’s flexible structure can effectively prevent damage
from high-frequency fatigue. However, the design also includes some drawbacks:
The new design increases uncertainty, the structure flexibility reduces overall
turbineefficiency,anddeep-seaconstructionisextremelychallenging.
Thetechnologiesproposedherecan alsobeapplied togeneratepower inother
waters, such as the Gulf Stream east of Florida, the East Australian Current, the
HumboldtCurrentwestofSouthAmerica,theEastAfricaCoastalCurrent,andso
on.Alltheseareasfeaturestrongcurrentsanddeepwaters,similartothosefoundin
the Kuroshio. For application in other areas, the environmental and ecological
impact assessments presented in Chap. 5 would need another comprehensive
study and, if a different type of turbine (Chap. 3) or relay platform structure
Preface vii
(Chap.4)isused,therelevantcomputationalanalyseswouldalsohavetoberedone.
However,theanalysislogicandsequencepresentedinthisbookwouldstillapply.
Finally, since the proposed Kuroshio power plant is a new design and requires
deep-sea construction, it entails high research costs and construction risks during
the development stage. Therefore, initial development and construction must be
conducted with extreme caution to methodically explore and resolve all potential
problems.Onceallpotentialissuesareresolved,the machinery canbecommitted
andunderwaterconstructionbecommenced.
Taipei,Taiwan,RepublicofChina FalinChen
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Acknowledgments
This book touches on many fields outside the author’s field of expertise. Without
thevaluableassistancebythefollowingscholars,thisbookcouldhaveneverbeen
finished. First, the author is particularly indebted to Professor Chao Shenn-Yu of
the University of Maryland and Dr. Ko Dong-Shan of the US Naval Research
Institute.WithouttheircomputationalresultsfortheKuroshioshowninChaps.1,5,
and6,itwouldhavebeenverydifficulttoillustratetheflowcharacteristicsofthe
Kuroshio,letalonetoestablishthelegitimacyoftheconstructionoftheKuroshio
powerplant.IamalsoverygratefultoProfessorTangTsun-YongoftheInstituteof
Oceanography at National Taiwan University for his generous providing of a
wealth of research results and graphics presented inChap. 6, which are criticalto
the conception of the pilot power plant. I would also like to express particular
thanks to Professor Pai Shu-Chen also of the IOO-NTU for his patience in
explaining his meticulous research results. The unique insights resulting from his
long-term investment inresearch of the source ofthe Kuroshio was criticalto the
introductionoftheKuroshio’shydrologicalenvironmentpresentedinChap.1.
In the preparation of this book, many of my colleagues of the Department of
Geology at NTU were very generous with their time and expertise, offering
valuableinputandfeedbackwhichgreatlyimprovedthebook’scontent.Professor
Chen Cheng-Hong provided valuable insights into the geological evolution of the
waters off eastern Taiwan. Professor Wei Kuo-Yan provided key information on
the ancient Kuroshio. Professor Chen Hong-Yu provided precise explanations for
the mechanical properties of the rock forming the Kuroshio’s seabed. Professor
Yang Tsan-Yao provided the massive information about the geological structure
under the Kuroshio waters. Moreover, Professor Liu Char-Shine of IOO-NTU
shared the results of his long-term research into underwater earthquakes in the
Kuroshio, Professor Chiu Feng-Chen of the Department of Engineering Science
andOceanEngineeringprovidedinsightsintothepossibleimpactoftyphoons,and
Professor Liu Chi-Wen of the Department of Electrical Engineering offered the
valuableinformation about power transmission schemes whichare also gratefully
appreciated.Finally,IwouldalsoliketothankDr.KoChia-HaoofHouston,Texas
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