Full-scale experiments on a coandă-effect-based polymetallic-nodule collector

Conference paper (2022)

Authors

S.M.S. Alhaddad Offshore and Dredging Engineering - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering
Laurens de Jonge Royal IHC
W.B.A. Boomsma Royal IHC
R.L.J. Helmons Offshore and Dredging Engineering - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering , Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
Research Group
Offshore and Dredging Engineering (Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering) (TU Delft)
Copyright: © 2022 S.M.S. Alhaddad, Laurens de Jonge, W.B.A. Boomsma, R.L.J. Helmons
Deep sea mining Polymetallic nodules Coandă effect Nodule pick-up device Hydraulic collector
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Published Date

2022

Language

English

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Faculty

Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering

Department

Marine and Transport Technology

Research Group

Offshore and Dredging Engineering

Abstract

Polymetallic nodules are potato-sized rock accretions that form on vast areas of the abyssal plains of the global ocean. These nodules are rich in commercially precious metals, such as nickel, cobalt and copper, making them a target for potential future deep-sea exploitation. Generally, polymetallic nodules are partially buried in the seabed sediment, which is predominantly composed of clay. Among the existing mechanisms for mining polymetallic nodules (mechanical, hydraulic and hybrid), hydraulic collecting is deemed the most suitable technology in deep sea mining. This is primarily because hydraulic collecting hardly involves interaction with the seabed during the collection process (Agarwal et al., 2012); the collector generates a pressure gradient to harvest the nodules, thus substantially reducing the associated disturbance to the seabed.