Hydraulic Performance of Offshore Water Intakes in Frigid Environments: Some CFD Findings

The paper focuses on the hydraulic performance of offshore, submerged water intakes located in frigid environments. It is well known that such intakes potentially are prone to ice blockage by frazil ice, or even by slush or brash ice, drawn with flow into the intake. Little is know, though, about how ice accumulates and hinders intake performance. Moreover, little is know about ice-cover effects on the hydraulic performance of submerged intakes. Presented here are findings from the early stage of a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and laboratory study of flow-field behavior and hydraulic performance of submerged intakes subject to ice presence. The intake form considered comprises a conical inlet, fitted optionally with an elevated cap, and connected to a shoreward pipeline. Included in the flow-filed findings is information about the effects of ice-cover presence on intake performance. The findings show that an elevated cap placed above the intake helps isolate the intake from the water surface and an ice cover, and potentially may minimize frazil-ice effects on intake performance.