Experimental Investigation of Hydrodynamic Response of an Ocean Uranium Extraction Machine Attached to a Floating Wind Turbine

Journal Article · 01 September 2018 · International Journal of Offshore and Polar Engineering

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17736/ijope.2018.jc735 · OSTI ID:1468528

Haji, Maha N. ^[1]; Kluger, Jocelyn M. ^[1]; Carrus, Justin W. ^[1]; Sapsis, Themistoklis P. ^[1]; Slocum, Alexander H. ^[1]

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1. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)

With conventional sources of uranium forecasted to be depleted within a century, developing methods to cost-effectively harvest uranium from seawater, which is estimated to contain 1000 times more uranium than on land, are crucial to the continued viability of nuclear power generation. Studies have shown that coupling a uranium harvester system with an existing offshore structure, such as a floating wind turbine (FWT), could greatly reduce the cost of harvesting uranium from seawater as it eliminates the need for dedicated moorings and increases the overall energy-gathering ability of the offshore wind farm. This study explores the hydrodynamic effects of adding a uranium harvester to an offshore floating wind turbine. The experimentally determined hydrodynamic responses of two designs of a Symbiotic Machine for Ocean uRanium Extraction (SMORE) are compared with that of an unmodified FWT. Both SMORE designs utilize adsorbent filament that is enclosed in a hard permeable shell to decouple the mechanical and chemical requirements of the device. In this work, it was found that both SMORE designs do not significantly shift the resonant peaks of the FWT.

• Research Organization: Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE); National Science Foundation (NSF); National Academies Keck Futures Initiative; S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation
• Grant/Contract Number: NE0008268; 1122374
• OSTI ID: 1468528
• Journal Information: International Journal of Offshore and Polar Engineering, Vol. 28, Issue 3; ISSN 1053-5381
• Publisher: SPECopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English