| Summary: | This study examined the near field external fluid mechanics of symmetrical OTEC pilot plant designs (20-80 MWe) under realistic deep water conditions. The objective was to assess the environmental impact of different plant configurations and to determine if pilot plants can be expected to operate without degrading the thermal resource available for power production. Physical modeling studies were conducted to investigate the variation of near field plume dynamics and the sensitivity of recirculation to different pilot plant designs. Experiments were conducted in a thermally stratified 12m x 18m x 0.6m basin, at an undistorted length scale ratio of 1:300, which allowed the upper 170m of the ocean to be studied. Measurements included temperature, dye concentration and visual observation from photographs. Both mixed and non-mixed discharge concepts were investigated. Discharge port design included two, four or eight discrete circular ports, with significant variations in the MWe/port ratio, issuing either horizontally or vertically. A range of ambient uniform current speeds was investigated while an ambient density profile, representative of potential sites off of Hawaii and Puerto Rico, was chosen.
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