Technical management techniques for identification and control of industrial safety and pollution hazards

Constructive recommendations are suggested for pollution problems from offshore energy resources industries on outer continental shelf. Technical management techniques for pollution identification and control offer possible applications to space engineering and management

Arabian adventures

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the world’s most rapidly urbanising countries. Despite the recent downturn in the economy, the region continues to undergo rapid development, particularly around Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Consequently the country is host to many major civil engineering projects including the world’s tallest building, artificial offshore islands, new international airports, metro systems and high-speed rail networks

Progress on the experimental set-up for the testing of a floating offshore wind turbine scaled model in a field site

This document describes design and realization of a small-scale field experiment on a 1:30 model of spar floating support structure for offshore wind turbines. The aim of the experiment is to investigate the dynamic behaviour of the floating wind turbine under extreme wave and parked rotor conditions. The experiment has been going on in the Natural Ocean Engineering Laboratory of Reggio Calabria (Italy). In this article, all the stages of the experimental activity are presented, and some results are shown in terms of motions and response amplitude operators. Finally, a comparison with corresponding results obtained using ANSYS AQWA software package is shown, and conclusions are drawn. The presented experimental set-up seems promising to test offshore floating structures for marine renewable energy at a relatively large scale in the Natural Ocean Engineering Laboratory field site

On motion analysis and elastic response of floating offshore wind turbines

Wind energy industry is expanded to offshore and deep water sites, primarily due to the stronger and more consistent wind fields. Floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) concepts involve new engineering and scientific challenges. A combination of waves, current, and wind loads impact the structures. Often under extreme cases, and sometimes in operational conditions, magnitudes of these loads are comparable with each other. The loads and responses may be large, and simultaneous consideration of the combined environmental loads on the response of the structure is essential. Moreover, FOWTs are often large structures and the load frequencies are comparable to the structural frequencies. This requires a fluid–structure–fluid elastic analysis which adds to the complexity of the problem. Here, we present a critical review of the existing approaches that are used to (i) estimate the hydrodynamic and aerodynamic loads on FOWTs, and (ii) to determine the structures’ motion and elastic responses due to the combined loads. Particular attention is given to the coupling of the loads and responses, assumptions made under each of the existing solution approaches, their limitations, and restrictions, where possible, suggestions are provided on areas where further studies are required

Design features of the upcoming Coastal and Ocean Basin in Ostend, Belgium, for marine renewable energy applications

The new Coastal and Ocean Basin (COB) located at the Greenbridge Science Park in Ostend, Belgium is under construction since February 2017. The laboratory will provide a versatile facility that will make a wide range of physical modelling studies possible, including the ability to generate waves in combination with currents and wind at a wide range of model scales. The facility is serving the needs in Flanders, Belgium, in the fields of mainly offshore renewable energy and coastal engineering. The COB will allow users to conduct tests for coastal and offshore engineering research and commercial projects. The basin will have state-of-the-art generating and absorbing wavemakers, a current generation system, and a wind generator. It will be possible to generate waves and currents in the same, opposite and oblique directions. The basin is expected to be operational in 2019. This paper presents an overview of the basin’s capabilities, the ongoing work, and selected results from the design of the COB

Labour Market Developments in the Maritime Industry of the South Baltic Region

There are two aims of this study. The first is to outline the developments in the maritime economy and employment in the South Baltic Region, and the second to identify the emerging activities in the maritime industry and to reveal the prospects and potential for labour market development, taking into account the demand for labour, required professions, qualifications of the labour force, and feasible cross-border mobility. This comparative study refers to four EU Baltic coast regions, namely the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (D), Zachodniopomorskie (PL), Pomorskie (PL) and Klaipeda (LT) regions. Prospects for the economic development and employment potential specified for each region and selected segments of the maritime economy are consequently elaborated. The analysis of the maritime economy in the South Baltic Region reveals some crucial differences in terms of strategic maritime activities and employment potential and prospects for each of the regions. The phenomenon of the diverse demand for labour force through the various segments of the maritime economy and by region has been identified and is presented in the form of a comprehensive matrix of the projected demand for labour.Dwa główne cele badań, to analiza stanu gospodarki morskiej i zatrudnienia w Rejonie Południowego Bałtyku oraz zidentyfikowanie sektorów gospodarki morskiej wykazujących potencjał dla rozwoju i określenie wpływu, jaki będzie to miało na zatrudnienie i wymagane kwalifikacje zawodowe, a także na możliwości wymiany międzyregionalnej pracowników. Badania porównawcze przeprowadzono dla czterech nadmorskich regionów UE, a mianowicie Meklemburgii-Przedpomorza Przedniego(D), województw: Zachodniopomorskiego i Pomorskiego (PL) oraz Regionu Kłajpedy (LT). Wskazano na perspektywy rozwoju gospodarczego poszczególnych segmentów gospodarki morskiej i ustalono związany z tym wpływ na rynki pracy w poszczególnych regionach. Analiza porównawcza poszczególnych segmentów gospodarki morskiej Rejonu Południowego Bałtyku umożliwiła zidentyfikowanie różnic w możliwościach ich rozwoju i w efektach popytu na pracę i na kwalifikacje zawodowe dla każdego z regionów. Zjawisko zróżnicowanego potencjału rozwoju rynków pracy w wyróżnionych segmentach gospodarki morskiej w ujęciu międzyregionalnym przedstawiono w formie wielokryterialnych macierzy prognoz popytu na pracę

Analysis of offshore wind turbine operation & maintenance using a novel time domain meteo-ocean modeling approach

This paper presents a novel approach to repair modeling using a time domain Auto-Regressive model to represent meteo-ocean site conditions. The short term hourly correlations, medium term access windows of periods up to days and the annual distibution of site data are captured. In addition, seasonality is included. Correlation observed between wind and wave site can be incorporated if simultaneous data exists. Using this approach a time series for both significant wave height and mean wind speed is described. This allows MTTR to be implemented within the reliability simulation as a variable process, dependent on significant wave height. This approach automatically captures site characteristics including seasonality and allows for complex analysis using time dependent constaints such as working patterns to be implemented. A simple cost model for lost revenues determined by the concurrent simulated wind speed is also presented. A preliminary investigation of the influence of component reliability and access thresholds at various existing sites on availability is presented demonstrating the abiltiy of the modeling approach to offer new insights into offshore wind turbine operation and maintenance

Optimal control of the heave motion of marine cable subsea-unit systems

One of the key problems associated with subsea operations involving tethered subsea units is the motions of support vessels on the ocean surface which can be transmitted to the subsea unit through the cable and increase the tension. In this paper, a theoretical approach for heave compensation is developed. After proper modelling of each element of the system, which includes the cable/subsea-unit, the onboard winch, control theory is applied to design an optimal control law. Numerical simulations are carried out, and it is found that the proposed active control scheme appears to be a promising solution to the problem of heave compensation

Can technology help solve the Arab-Israeli conflict in Palestine?

This repository item contains a single issue of Which Way?, a series of occasional papers published by The Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future at Boston University. Which Way? pamphlets highlight emerging controversies at the crossroads where decisions must be made about choices that will affect the future of humankind through the twenty-first century and into the next. They are intended to illuminate, inform, arouse interest, and inspire debate among opinion-molders, decisionmakers, and an informed and thoughtful public.This paper looks at the lack of land in Palestine as one part of the problem that might have a low technology solution if the right pressures were applied. If the Gaza settlements were extended and Israel itself was built out into the eastern Mediterranean, then if a time came when peace was in reach, the struggle for land might not remain quite so desperate an issue. This is modeled after the “Dutch Solution,” in the hopes that their success could likewise be achieved using this obvious yet overlooked idea. Dr. Davidson encourages more practical collaboration between the academic sphere and those in positions to make change. Calling it “the quite unnecessary human tragedy in the Middle East,” he focuses on instances of past cooperation and exchange between the cultures of East and West. The paper also notes how, with technological vision, Death Valley was transformed into one of the most agriculturally productive regions in the United States. Dr. Davidson calls for greater real international support, pointing out the high tariffs of the U.S. and France on exports from North Africa which discourage economic expansion