Mitigating suspended-sediment environmental pressure in subsea engineering through colliding turbidity currents

Turbidity currents have extensively been explored in quiescent environments. However, during several underwater activities (e.g., dredging and deep sea mining), generated turbidity currents could travel in opposite directions and interact with each other, which could largely influence their hydrodynamics and sediment transport capacity....

Numerical Investigation of Turbidity Flows Generated by Polymetallic Nodules Mining

The depletion of terrestrial mineral deposits and the increasing demand for minerals are causing disruptions in the global supply chain. The shift towards renewable technologies requires significant quantities of metals used, for example, in the production of electric vehicles and wind turbines, putting additional strain on the supply chain. The...

Flocculation effect on turbidity flows generated by deep-sea mining: A numerical study

We have developed and investigated a hydrodynamic model of Deep-Sea Mining (DSM) collector turbidity flows that captures sediment particle aggregation and breakup. Flocculation is expected to have a significant impact on determining the spread patterns of the turbidity flows and the resulting turbidity currents. The recently validated drift...

The effect of particle size, salinity, flocculating agents on the propagation of mining-generated turbidity currents

Renewable energy installations and energy storage solutions require a significant amount of critical raw materials such as nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements. The supply chains of these raw materials face many challenges, e.g., these materials are often found at lower grades on land. These complications motivate the search for new resources....

Experimental and Numerical Modelling of Deep-Sea-Mining-Generated Turbidity Currents

Renewable energy installations and energy storage solutions require significant quantities of critical raw materials such as nickel, cobalt and rare earth metals. The supply chains of these raw materials face many difficulties, such as the continuous decrease of mineral ore grades on land. In view of these complications, the motivation to...

Near-Field Analysis of Turbidity Flows Generated by Polymetallic Nodule Mining Tools

The interest in polymetallic nodule mining has considerably increased in the last few decades. This has been largely driven by population growth and the need to move towards a green future, which requires strategic raw materials. Deep-Sea Mining (DSM) is a potential source of such key materials. While harvesting the ore from the deep sea by a...