OTEC Cold Water Pipe Design and Laboratory Testing

Construction, deployment and operation of a 30-ft diameter, 3000 ft. long OTEC cold water pipe presents numerous engineering challenges. Science Applications, Inc. and its subcontractors performed parallel composite materials and model basin test programs to resolve engineering issues surfaced in previous OTEC Cold Water Pipe Systems Design Studies. Three test projects were undertaken to investigate fiberglass reinforced plastic (FRP) sandwich materials performance in seawater, FRP cold water pipe deployment and OTEC ocean system operation. Although some development and/or demonstration remains, the present program provided increased confidence that FRP sandwich wall CWP structures can be built, deployed and operated under established OTEC design requirements.