• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.689-702
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• 2019

This paper deals with the verification of the functions about mining robot, which is the system for developing deep seabed resources by applying V&V(verification and validation). In order to overcome water pressure of 500 bar and to travel on soft ground, and to operate in deep sea environment with bad conditions, it is necessary to develop a robot that can satisfy various deepsea conditions. A mining robot has been developed based on simulation based design and Multidisciplinary design optimization. In order to verify the developed robot, lab test and real sea test should be performed for various marine environment conditions. There are too many requirements to consider, such as space, time, cost, personnel, and environment to do performance test. So it is costly and time consuming for developing robot. In order to solve this problems, V&V technique was applied to mining robot. The stages of mining robot design, fabrication and commission were verified.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.119-125
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• 2015

This paper focuses on the efficient arrangement plan of buoyancy modules, which plan is used to secure the safe operation and structural stability of a marine riser. The marine riser is connected between a vessel and seabed devices. The movement of the vessel and the seabed devices are affected by the motion of the riser. The riser of a deep-seabed integrated mining system exerts a strong influence on the healthy transfer of minerals. So, buoyancy modules must be equipped to compensate for the problem which is the structure stability and the dynamic motion. Installation locations and quantities of the buoyancy modules are determined by real sea experiments. But this is not easy to do because in real sea experimental conditions the cost is expensive as well as being, time-consuming and dangerous. Therefore, the locations and quantities should be determined by numerical simulation. This method is called simulation-based design. The dynamic analysis models of the riser and the buoyancy modules are built into the commercial software of DAFUL.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.569-580
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• 2013

Co-rich ferromanganese crusts (Fe-Mn crusts) distributed on the seamounts in the western Pacific are potential economic resources for cobalt, nickel, platinum, and other rare metals in the future. Regulations for prospecting and exploration of Fe-Mn crusts in the Area, which enables the process to obtain an exclusive exploration right for blocks of the fixed size, were enacted recently by the International Seabed Authority, which led to public attention on its potential for commercial development. Evaluation and selection of a mining site can be established based on abundance and grade of Fe-Mn crusts in the site as well as topography that should be smooth enough for mining efficiency. Therefore, acquisition of shipboard echo-sounding and acoustic backscatter data are prerequisite to select potential mine sites in addition to visual and sampling operations. Acoustic backscatter data can be used to locate crust-covered areas in a regional scale with the understanding of acoustic properties of crust through its correlation with visual and sampling data. KIOST had collected the topographic and geologic data to assess the resources potential for Fe-Mn crusts in the west Pacific region from 1994 to 2001. However, they could not obtain acoustic backscatter data that is crucial for the selection of prospective mining sites. Therefore, additional exploration surveys are required to carry out side scan sonar mapping combined with seafloor observation and sampling to decide the blocks for application of an exclusive exploration right.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.167-176
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• 2014

This paper proposes an optimum curve driving method for adeep-seabed mining robot(MineRo) in deep-sea soft ground. MineRo was designed as afour-row tracked vehicle. A study on the turning methods for the four-row tracked vehicle was conducted using three case by changing the velocity profile of each track. The configuration of the four-row tracked vehicle and soft ground equation are introduced, along with the dynamics analysis models of MineRo and soft ground, which were constructed using the commercial software DAFUL. Because the purpose of this study was to investigate a driving method on soft ground, the marine environment of the deep sea was not considered.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.128-134
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• 2015

Axial vibration analysis is very important for a deep-seabed mining system. In this study, an axial vibration analysis was carried out to estimate the natural frequencies and tensions of the umbilical cable using experimental data obtained from the first pre-pilot mining test. The axial vibrations of the umbilical cable with a pilot mining robot at the bottom end were analytically determined. The range of the added mass coefficients of the pilot mining robot is estimated by comparing the experimental and analytical data. The natural frequencies and maximum tensions are calculated using four estimated added mass coefficients.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.260-270
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• 2008

The economics of manganese nodules mining was assessed based on 36 scenarios which reflect recent changes of the metal market. Those scenarios included optimistic/neutral/pessimistic prospect for the cost, 2 production scales(1.5 MT and 3 MT) and 6 assumptional paths of future metal prices. A large part of scenarios, in which optimistic or neutral prospect for the cost and metal prices were assumed, showed good economic feasibility of the project. For example, 37.12% of Internal Rate of Return(IRR) was obtained in the scenario of 3 MT production, neutral cost prospect and present metal price maintained in the future.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.26 no.2E
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• pp.44-49
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• 2007

Donghae City - Ulleung Island Line (DC-UI Line) is a representative line for underwater and geoacoustic modeling in the middle western East Sea. In this line, an integrated model of P-wave velocity is proposed for a low-frequency range target (<200 Hz), based on high-resolution seismic profiles (2 - 7 kHz sonar and air-gun), shallow and deep cores (grab, piston, and Portable Remote Operated Drilling), and outcrop geology (Tertiary rocks and the basement on land). The basement comprises 3 geoacoustic layers of P-wave velocity ranging from 3750 to 5550 m/s. The overlying sediments consist of 7 layers of P-wave velocities ranging from 1500 to 1900 m/s. The bottom model shows that the structure is very irregular and the velocity is also variable with both vertical and lateral extension. In this area, seabed and underwater acousticians should consider that low-frequency acoustic modeling is very range-dependent and a detailed geoacoustic model is necessary for better modeling of acoustic propagation such as long-range surveillance of submarines and monitoring of currents.

• Ocean and Polar Research
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.475-484
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• 2006

In order to reveal the vertical variation of physical properties in deep-sea sediments, deep-sea sediment cores were collected at 78 stations using a multiple corer in the KR5 area, one of the Korea contract areas for manganese nodule exploration, located in the northeast equatorial Pacific. Based on the color of sediments, sampled sediment cores were characterized into three lithologic units (unit 1,2, and 3). In all sediment cores, three units appear systematically; unit 1 lies at the top of cores and unit 2 and/or unit 3 appear to underlie unit 1 or alternate with unit 3. Unit 1 layer from the top of cores shows dark grayish brown to dark brown with mean thickness of 10.2cm. Unit 2 and 3 layers show very dark brown to black color and yellowish brown to brown color, respectively. According to the physical properties of the deep-sea sediment cores, sediment column can be divided into three sections. Section A $(0{\sim}15cm)$ in subbottom depth consists mostly of unit 1. Mean values of physical properties of section B $(15{\sim}30cm)$ in subbottom depth are similar to those of section C (>30 cm) in subbottom depth. However, the physical properties of section B were more variable than those of section C because of the high activity of bioturbation in section B. These results will provide valuable information for selecting suitable sites for mining manganese nodules in the Korea contract areas.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.80-86
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• 2013

KIOST developed a deep-sea mining robot called "MineRo" to collect manganese nodules in 2007. MineRo operates on flat ground. SMS (seafloor massive sulfide) deposits are shaped like undulating mountains. This paper deals with a numerical analysis model of a mining robot for SMS deposits. The mining robot consists of a tracked vehicle, chassis structure with a turntable, boom arm with 2 articulations, excavation tool, discharging unit, hydro-electric system, and sensing-and-monitoring system. In order to compare and analyze the dynamic responses of the driving mechanism, various tracked vehicles are modeled using commercial software. Straight driving simulations are conducted under undulating ground conditions. A conceptual design of a mining robot with four track systems for SMS deposits is modeled on the basis of these results.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.105-111
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• 1997

This Paper Proposes a new efficient system design strategies for the acoustic-based underwater multiple modem and media access control protocol. The system aims to establish the acoustic-based communication network of an underwater vehicles for deep sea mining, which ensures a certain level of maximum throughput regardless of the propagation delay of acoustic and allows fast data transmission through the acoustic-based multiple channel. A media access control protocol for integrated communication network and it's acoustic-based communication modems that allows 'peer-to-peer' communication between a surface mining plant multiple underwater system is designed, and the proposed media access control protocol is implemented for its verification. Furthermore, a proposed design strategies which make it possible to control the multiple vehicle for an underwater mining is presented in this paper.