• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.22-28
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• 2015

The design on a riser in 1MW OTEC system is performed. The minimum diameter of the riser is decided depending on intake quantity of deep-sea water to supply an OTEC cycle. An applicable pipe material is selected from analyzing the properties of commercial pipes. The selected HDPE pipe with the low density and strength is reinforced with a lumped block attached at the end of and wire ropes along the riser. A lumped block, connected to a floating structure by wire ropes, with 25% and 50% weight of a GFRP riser is designed to be attached the end of a riser. The structural safety of the HDPE riser with wire rope supporting axial loads induced by a lumped block is analyzed under the harsh ocean environmental condition near Hawaii ocean with the numerical method. The final dimension of the riser and accessories is determined considering the economic point of view. The designed riser will be applicable to the construction of the 1 MW OTEC pilot plant.