Investigation of Dynamic Behavior of Ultra-Large Cold-Water Pipes for Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is a process that can produce electricity by utilizing the temperature difference between deep cold water and surface warm water. The cold-water pipe (CWP) is a key component of OTEC systems, which transports deep cold water to the floating platform. The CWP is subjected to various environmental and operational loads, such as waves, currents, internal flow, and platform motion, which can affect its dynamic response and stability. In this paper, we establish a computational model of the mechanical performance of the CWP based on the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory and the Morrison equation, considering the effects of internal flow, sea current, and wave excitation. We use the differential quadrature method (DQM) to obtain a semi-analytical solution of the lateral displacement and bending moment of the CWP. We verify the correctness and validity of our model by comparing it with the finite element simulation results using OrcaFlex software. We also analyze the effects of operating conditions—such as wave intensity, clump weight at the bottom, and internal flow velocity—on the dynamic response of the CWP using numerical simulation and the orthogonal experimental method. The results show that changing the wave strength and internal flow velocity has little effect on the lateral displacement of the CWP but increasing the current velocity can significantly increase the lateral displacement of the CWP, which can lead to instability. The effects of waves, clump weight, internal flow, and sea current on the maximum bending moment of the CWP are similar; all of them increase sharply at first and then decrease gradually until they level off. The differences in the effects are mainly reflected in the different locations of the pipe sections. This paper suggests some design guidance for CWP in terms of dynamic responses depending on the operating conditions. This paper contributes to the journal’s scope by providing a novel and efficient method for analyzing the mechanical performance of CWP for OTEC systems, which is an important ocean energy resource.