Structural analysis of an underwater energy storage accumulator

A full-scale three-dimensional simulation was conducted to investigate structural response of an underwater compressed air energy storage (UWCAES) accumulator to the hydrodynamic loads at Reynolds number of 2.3 × 105. The accumulator was assumed to be spherical, non-distensible and fixed to the bed of a water body via a cylindrical homogeneous isotropic elastic support. The simulation was carried out for three different supports with aspect ratios AR of 5, 10 and 20 where AR was defined as the ratio of the length to the diameter of the support. The effects of the aspect ratio on the frequency and amplitude of the vibrations of the solid structure induced by hydrodynamic loading were investigated. It was observed that the amplitude of the vibrations increases with the aspect ratio of the support, whereas the frequency decreases. The displacement of the spherical accumulator was illustrated on the X-Y plane for each case.