파일럿 양광시스템 성능 실증을 통한 기술개발 성과

Abstract

Deep-seabed mining operation consists of three-step processes: the 1st step process is collecting by mining robot on seafloor, the 2nd step is lifting through vertical lifting riser and the 3rd step is on-board processing. A buffering stepis considered as an intermediate process between collecting and lifting for the purpose of safe and eco-friendly mining: the buffer station is where the collecting process ends at and the lifting process starts from. The collecting process by mining robot crawling on seafloor is inherently time-variant due to inconstant nodule coverage, inhomogeneous sediment properties and undulating seafloor topography etc., which consequently make hard immaculate performance of mining robot in nodule pick-up and driving on seafloor. It is why the development of mining robot had been focused on the controllability on seafloor sediment [Hong et al., 2013]. Hydraulic lifting using riser and pump needs prevention of pipe clogging, i.e. slurry flow assurance. The buffer station, developed with functions of storage and feeding of nodules, controls the volumetric concentration of slurry in lifting pipe to be optimal [Hong et al., 2014]. Validation of hydraulic lifting performance requires a large scale test, which is able to represent the complexity of slurry transportation phenomena passing through buffer, riser and pump. As the last step of a series of PPMT(pre-pilot mining tests), the 3rd PPMT ha