Flow Characteristics and Power Generation Effect of a Seawater Intake Caisson Integrated with a Wave-Energy Converter
Publication: Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 149, Issue 3
Abstract
Seawater intake caissons are a kind of structure widely used in seawater extraction. Many existing seawater intake caissons have problems with poor water quality and large power consumption. In this paper, a new type of seawater intake caisson with an oscillating water column wave-energy conversion device is proposed to improve water quality and electricity compensation. A wave-energy conversion device at the front end of the structure can reduce the disturbance of wave energy to the rear water intake area, which is conducive to sediment deposition. In the meantime, it can also realize a certain compensation for the electricity consumption required for pumping water. Based on the two-phase flow solver (OpenFOAM-4.x), through a comparison and analysis of streamlining and flow velocity in the rear water intake area, it was found that the water purification effects of the integrated structure proved more effective than those of the traditional structure, and the overall average velocity of the flow field reduced by 10%–40%. The optimal energy conversion efficiency of the integrated structure was obtained by optimizing different parameters such as the ratio of the chamber width to the wavelength, the orifice size, the draft of the front wall, and the draft of the intermediate baffle.
Practical Applications
Seawater intake systems are widely used for seawater extraction. Many seawater intake structures suffer from poor water quality and large power consumption due to the large volume of water extraction. A new structure is proposed, which sets an oscillating water column wave energy–converting device on the front side of the traditional seawater intake caisson to capture wave energy. The working process is divided into three stages: firstly, waves enter the device. Wave surface oscillation causes air exhalation and suction to drive the blade rotation, and the generator rotor also rotates to generate electricity; secondly, the flow enters the water intake area and wave energy is significantly weakened by the reflection from the front and back walls of the chamber; finally, the relatively pure seawater is lifted through the pump to the water intake pipeline. The performance of the proposed device is evaluated by comparing the flow field changes of the proposed device and the traditional one and analyzing the energy conversion efficiency of the proposed device. The new structure is verified to have the dual effects of water purification and wave-energy conversion.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Al-Sammarraee, M., and A. Chan. 2009. “Large-eddy simulations of particle sedimentation in a longitudinal sedimentation basin of a water treatment plant. Part 2: The effects of baffles.” Chem. Eng. J. 152 (2–3): 315–321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2009.01.052.
Babamiri, O., A. Vanaei, X. Guo, P. Wu, A. Richter, and K. T. W. Ng. 2020. “Numerical simulation of water quality and self-purification in a mountainous river using QUAL2KW.” J. Environ. Inf. 37 (1): 26–35. https://doi.org/10.3808/jei.202000435.
Building Energy Conservation Research Center of Tsinghua University. 2021. Annual report on China building energy efficiency. Beijing: China Building Industry Press.
Cao, H., and D. Wan. 2017. “Benchmark computations of wave run-up on single cylinder and four cylinders by naoe-FOAM-SJTU solver.” Appl. Ocean Res. 65: 327–337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apor.2016.10.011.
Chandel, S. S., M. N. Naik, and R. Chandel. 2017. “Review of performance studies of direct coupled photovoltaic water pumping systems and case study.” Renewable Sustainable. Energy Rev. 76: 163–175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.03.019.
Chen, W., T. Tao, A. Zhou, L. Zhang, L. Liao, X. Wu, K. Yang, C. Li, T. C. Zhang, and Z. Li. 2021. “Genetic optimization toward operation of water intake-supply pump stations system.” J. Cleaner Prod. 279: 123573. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123573.
Chie, L. H., W. Abd, and K. Ahmad. 2020. “Derivation of engineering design criteria for flow field around intake structure: A numerical simulation study.” J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 8: 82710. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse8100827.
De Andrade Cruz, M., O. De Queiroz Fernandes Araújo, and J. L. De Medeiros. 2018. “Deep seawater intake for primary cooling in tropical offshore processing of natural gas with high carbon dioxide content: Energy, emissions and economic assessments.” J. Nat. Gas Sci. Eng. 56: 193–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2018.06.011.
Deng, Z., C. Wang, P. Wang, P. Higuera, and R. Wang. 2019. “Hydrodynamic performance of an offshore-stationary OWC device with a horizontal bottom plate: Experimental and numerical study.” Energy 187: 115941. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2019.115941.
Eca, L., and M. Hoekstra. 2014. “A procedure for the estimation of the numerical uncertainty of CFD calculations based on grid refinement studies.” J. Comput. Phys. 262: 104–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcp.2014.01.006.
Fan, J., and X. Yan. 1999. Water supply engineering. 4th ed. Beijing: China Construction Industry Press.
Garrido, A. J. E. et al. 2015. “Mathematical modeling of oscillating water columns wave–structure interaction in ocean energy plants.” Math. Probl. Eng. 2015: 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/727982.
Gelda, R. K., and S. W. Effler. 2007. “Simulation of operations and water quality performance of reservoir multilevel intake configurations.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage. 133 (1): 78–86. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9496(2007)133:1(78).
Gemmrich, J. R., and D. M. Farmer. 2004. “Near-surface turbulence in the presence of breaking waves.” J. Phys. Oceanogr. 34 (5): 1067–1086. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0485(2004)034.
Han, J., and B. Liu. 2011. “Design and operation of water intake project of large coastal thermal power plant.” China Water Wastewater 27 (18): 68–70. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10565-010-9168-0.
Jasak, H. 1996. “Error analysis and estimation for the finite volume method with applications to fluid flows.” Ph.D. thesis, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College London.
Khait, A., and L. Shemer. 2018. “On the kinematic criterion for the inception of breaking in surface gravity waves: Fully nonlinear numerical simulations and experimental verification.” Phys. Fluids 30 (5): 057103. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5026394.
Kumar, V. P., R. Sundaravadivelu, and K. Murali. 2021. “Experimental study on wave–structure interaction of an offshore intake well with a curtain wall.” Ships Offshore Struct. 16 (9): 931–941. https://doi.org/10.1080/17445302.2020.1789033.
Kurek, W., and A. Ostfeld. 2014. “Multi-objective water distribution systems control of pumping cost, water quality, and storage-reliability constraints.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage. 140 (2): 184–193. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000309.
Li, M. C., M. X. Dai, B. Zou, B. Zhou, S. X. Liang, Z. C. Sun, and Q. Si. 2019. “Numerical simulation research on ecological protection device for marine water intake engineering based on CFD.” Indian J. Mar. Sci. 48 (12): 1941–1948. https://doi.org/nopr.niscair.res.in/handle/123456789/52796.
Lin, J., and S. Kang. 2019. “Analysis of carbon emission hot spot and pumping energy efficiency in water supply system.” Water Supply 19 (1): 200–206. https://doi.org/10.2166/ws.2018.067.
Ma, Z., T. Zhou, J. Sun, and G. Zhai. 2019. “Simulation on tsunami-like solitary wave run-up around a conical island using a modified mass source method.” Eng. Appl. Comput. Fluid Mech. 13 (1): 849–859. https://doi.org/10.1080/19942060.2019.1642960.
Neelamani, S., N. Uday Bhaskar, and K. Vijayalakshmi. 2002. “Wave forces on a seawater intake caisson.” Ocean Eng. 29 (10): 1247–1263. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0029-8018(01)00069-5.
Ning, D. Z., R. Q. Wang, Q. P. Zou, and B. Teng. 2016. “An experimental investigation of hydrodynamics of a fixed OWC wave energy converter.” Appl. Energy 168: 636–648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.01.107.
Ren, Y., V. Venugopal, and W. Shi. 2022. “Dynamic analysis of a multi-column TLP floating offshore wind turbine with tendon failure scenarios.” Ocean Eng. 245: 110472. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2021.110472.
Shamsaei, H., I. O. Jaafar, and N. E. A. Basri. 2013. “Effects velocity changes on the water quality in water distribution systems.” Res. J. Appl. Sci. Eng. Technol. 5 (14): 3783–3790. https://doi.org/10.19026/rjaset.5.4525.
Vendhan, K. M., M. Murthy, and V. Sundar. 2015. “On estimation of wave forces on seawater intake caisson in high energy environment using field investigations.” In Proc., 8th Int. Conf. on Asian and Pacific Coasts, 300–309. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier Procedia.
Vicinanza, D., E. D. Lauro, P. Contestabile, C. Gisonni, J. L. Lara, and I. J. Losada. 2019. “Review of innovative harbor breakwaters for wave-energy conversion.” J. Waterway, Port, Coastal, Ocean Eng. 145 (4): 3119001. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)WW.1943-5460.0000519.
Vyzikas, T., S. Deshoulières, M. Barton, O. Giroux, D. Greaves, and D. Simmonds. 2017. “Experimental investigation of different geometries of fixed oscillating water column devices.” Renewable Energy 104: 248–258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2016.11.061.
Wang, D. X., J. W. Sun, J. S. Gui, Z. Ma, D. Z. Ning, and K. Z. Fang. 2019. “A numerical piston-type wave-maker toolbox for the open-source library OpenFOAM.” J. Hydrodyn. 31 (4): 800–813. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42241-018-0116-4.
Wang, Y., W. Shi, C. Michailides, L. Wan, H. Kim, and X. Li. 2022. “WEC shape effect on the motion response and power performance of a combined wind-wave energy converter.” Ocean Eng. 250: 111038. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2022.111038.
Wang, Y., K. K. Wong, Q. H. Liu, Y. T. Jin, and J. Tu. 2012. “Improvement of energy efficiency for an open-loop surface water source heat pump system via optimal design of water-intake.” Energy Build. 51: 93–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2012.04.013.
Weller, H. 2008. A new approach to VOF-based interface capturing methods for incompressible and compressible flow. Technical Rep. TR/HGW/04. Reading, UK: OpenCFD.
Wu, Y., Y. Wang, Q. Hou, and G. Sun. 2017. “Empirical feedback on the event of marine foreign matter blocking the water intake system of nuclear power plants.” Nucl. Saf. 16 (1): 26–32.
Zhang, G., H. Song, and Y. Mu. 2019. “Reason analysis and improvement measures evaluation for water intake blockage at northern nuclear power plants.” Nucl. Power Eng. 40 (5): 111–117. https://doi.org/10.13832/j.jnpe.2019.05.0111.
Zhang, R., and B. Wu. 2019. “Numerical study of solutions to sedimentation problems of the Miulan river and Dian lake water supplementation project.” J. Tsinghua Univ. Nat. Sci. Ed. 59 (5): 354–363. https://doi.org/10.16511/j.cnki.qhdxxb.2018.26.057.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 149 • Issue 3 • May 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 22, 2022
Accepted: Nov 27, 2022
Published online: Jan 20, 2023
Published in print: May 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Jun 20, 2023
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.