Investigation of the Effect of water level on deep seawater intakes

Feedwater supply for coastal desalination plants, powerplants and other coastal industries using marine intakes has become a common approach during last years. Besides providing water with high quality, intake design should be economically and environmentally acceptable too. The intakes are generally divided into two groups i.e. direct and indirect intakes. The efficiency of direct intakes is a function of sea conditions such as the changes in seawater level and the hydrodynamic of the waves and tides. In deep intakes, the size of the cap, changes in seawater level, and consequently changes in water inflow are challenging design parameters. Seawater level changes due to tides, and the potential effects of climate change and global warming can disrupt the functionality of deep intake systems. In this study, the effect of sea-level changes on the performance of deep intakes has been investigated by studying the hydraulics of the velocity cap along the nearfield. So, an experimental and computational fluid dynamics model has been developed to investigate flow regimes at the location of the velocity cap, vicinity of the surface, and at the sea floor. Density stratification, wave effects, and ambient current have been ignored, so the simulations only developed for stagnant and non-stratifield conditions.