Submersible OTEC Platform Positioning and Waste Flushing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing aquaculture systems for growing and harvesting fish in open ocean environments face challenges with waste accumulation and contamination in mesh netting, requiring costly and time-consuming cleaning methods, and are limited by the need for anchoring or mooring to the ocean floor, restricting operations to shallower waters.
Innovation Solution
An automated positioning and submersible open-ocean platform using a submersible cage structure with a signal-receiving apparatus for GPS signals, a geostationary-position-correction apparatus, and a propulsion system to maintain a stable position, combined with an OTEC power and propulsion system for electric power generation and waste flushing, allowing untethered operation in deeper waters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the cage structure is anchored to the ocean floor or moored to shore piers, then the cage can be stable in position, but it is restricted to shallower waters and cannot operate in deeper ocean depths
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical anchoring and mooring systems with an automated positioning system that uses propulsion forces to maintain the cage structure at a predetermined geostationary position. The signal-receiving apparatus receives positioning signals from external sources, and the propulsion system generates corrective forces based on these signals, eliminating the need for physical connection to the ocean floor or shore.
2Ease of operation
If the cage structure is tethered to an anchor on the ocean floor, then it can maintain position, but it requires extensive use of divers and specialized high-pressure-washing equipment for cleaning the lower portions of the netting, which is very costly and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the cage structure dynamically positionable rather than statically anchored. The automated positioning system with propulsion capability allows the cage to be moved and repositioned as needed, enabling easy access for cleaning operations and eliminating the need for complex anchoring systems that would complicate maintenance.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If the cage structure uses mesh netting for containing fish, then it provides containment, but the mesh netting becomes contaminated with wastes and requires extensive cleaning
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a self-cleaning mechanism where the automated positioning system enables the cage structure to be moved to optimize waste removal and cleaning efficiency. The system can reposition the cage to allow natural ocean currents to flush wastes away or to facilitate easier access for cleaning operations without requiring extensive manual intervention.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables efficient waste management through continuous flushing with pathogen-free deep ocean water, reduces operational costs, and allows large-scale fish growing operations in deeper ocean depths without anchoring, enhancing the scalability and sustainability of open-ocean aquaculture.
Implementation Method 1
OTEC systems use a heat pump cycle commonly referred to as the 'Stirling' cycle, after the Stirling-cycle engine invented by Robert Stirling in 1817
Implementation Method 2
An early example of an oceanic heat pump is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 2,006,985 to Claude et al., issued in July 1935
Implementation Method 3
U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,191 to Kawamura, issued in February 1988, disclosed a land-based plant using heat exchange with cold deep well water inducted through ground pipes to generate electricity
Data Source
AI summary
An open-ocean fish-growing platform has a submersible cage structure for growing fish, an antenna for receiving positioning signals transmitted from an external source, a position-correction apparatus for calculating a position error signal from a target geostationary position, and an ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) system for generating electric power for thruster units to maintain the cage structure in the target geostationary position. The OTEC system inducts colder ocean water from a deeper ocean depth for driving its heat exchange cycle, and is also of hybrid type using a fuel-fired unit as a heat source. The cold water effluent from the OTEC system is directed into the cage for flushing wastes generated by the growing fish. The self-positioning, self-powered open-ocean platform enables unmanned, extended marine deployment in deeper ocean waters without the need for tethering or anchoring to the ocean floor.