Power Island

THE "V" ISLAND

It is my job as an accountant with an engineering degree and practical experience to question each and every part of this proposal. Put simply, I am to be the "devil's advocate", responsible to the board and the share holders. However, we will all be there at the presentation,over a week, to the assembly.

I head a group with years of experience in start-ups, forensic engineering and material sciences. Each and every part of this integrated proposal is to be examined and costed. The chances of failure are to be reduced to the lowest amount, humanly possible.

First, the high production time coincides with the harshest weather, making the loading of the shipping problematic. The best weather is in the southern summer when generation is at the lowest. A good time for safe plant maintenance, but not a money earner.

The rotating sails! Can we have the figures for their power at the varying wind speeds. What are the winter vortex speeds at what latitudes and how many sea mounts have we at our disposal to anchor our stations to.

I see that the problem of ice bergs has a new approach. Have we any actual tests of this ice breaking technology? Can we use any of the mounting pipes for wave power generation? The break-water piping at the lee may also be a wave power producer.

We can produce industrial amounts of liquid oxygen but the hydrogen is still too expensive to liquify, this needs research. The large submersibles while necessary for the ground anchors, can they be hired out for deep sea exploration and general biology field work. The extra submersible allows sufficient maintenance time that hire out is possible. The under water section of the island have we an estimate of it's life span and can we extend that life.

I think I have had the floor long enough so will we start with the rotating sails report. Engineer Sails.

These sails are the heart of the complex and started because of curiosity into the power generated by large sails on large yachts. Towing trials using calibrated strain gauges on towing cables at varying speeds showed a maxi yacht sail generated the equivalent of five hundred horse power at twenty knot wind speeds.

Research into data showed a rotating trio of sails set on an horizontal shaft as a viable power source. We duplicated this and started measuring the developed thrust or horse power. A helix set to the sails, developed such thrust, it needed metal to be strong enough to handle that thrust.

The next step was to investigate areas of the world where that technology would be most effective. Parts of Canada and Siberia have high wind speeds areas, but the Antarctic ocean winter vortex seems to be the strongest.

How to mount wind mills in the southern ocean seemed to be too expensive. Oil drilling platform legs from out of date units opened up the possibility of a floating platform. A vee shaped platform pointing into the wind automatically presented itself. With the wind mills aligned along the edge of the vee shape in air plane or bird flying formation we saw as giving the best total wind catch.

Just as oil rigs can be anchored to the sea bed, this platform shape would need an anchor system of immense strength. A shallow part of the ocean, a sea mount or under water mountain has definite benefits. Firstly the huge waves have a chance to be deflected and a shallow anchor on the "V" island has a lower angle and more inherint strength.

Production Engineer

Using the power that this island shape could generate presents a lot of logistic problems. Each mill with huge size sails gives a theoretical five thousand horse power. Multiply that by one hundred and half a million horse power all day and night for approximately six months. A good oil well will easily exceed that energy,but, first find that shallow cheap well and then ship the crude, refine it ,ship it again and then you have your income. We considered using desalination and electrolosis to give hydrogen and oxygen, a small unit for the people on board may be usefull.

A jet engine combustion chamber is fed by a series of compressors that if fed into a rotary vane compressor instead of a jet would have a high enough pressure to operate a cam driven high pressure compressor.

The Camshaft driven piston compressor allows us to consider liquefying the air, the very low ambient temperature makes this even easier. While shipping liquid air is unusual, it is no harder than LPG or LNG and certainly easier than various industrial acids or gases such as chlorine.

Liquid air as a motor power source is a new idea, compressed air vehicles are already sold. Distilling the oxygen from the nitrogen is better left to an on shore industry. A possibility is carbon dioxide to be shipped as dry ice, a possibility.

A note from the research chemists, they would like some dry ice to use with the methane ice they have obtained, with the possibility of combining them. The original diesel injector pumps have cam driven pistons with one hundred atmosphere pressure as standard up to one fifty.

A ship load of liquid air with no carbon input we consider to be as valuable as a similar load of crude oil without the problems that can occur. A life time of decades with proper maintenance is our estimate of the island, perhaps as many as five or six on site.

Anchor Engineer

Our job is not to be part of the money making, but to keep the system safe. The anchors are set out as a triangle to allow some direction shift of the "V". The main anchor is of course at the point of the island, with two extra lines from the ends of the arms of the vee. Changing the lengths of the outer cables points the island in different directions. The submersibles are needed to oversee the seabed anchors as well as the under water legs and their maintenance.

Our main headache has been ice bergs and how to deflect them or reduce their size. We would like to use old torpedoes from a submersible, but that will not happen,too many things to go wrong, quite apart from the wild life considerations.

We have arrived at a system of hydraulic vibrators, spears! to be placed into the bergs at one hundred and twenty degree spacing and using hydraulic vibrators fixed to the blunt end of the spear. As most of the ice is under water a sonar map is needed for us to accurately place our spears. An extendable hydraulic crane boom on the front of the berg boat gives us the safe reach to place our spears. Harder to manage if the sea is rough. We use a suspended cage from the boom end, with an operator aboard to raise or lower the cage according to the swell.

The spears have a central high strength metal core with a heating coil around it to melt the way into the ice. Once in place the flexible hoses connected to the shaft of the spear are activated, these have to be exactly the same length, the same length guarantees that the spear vibrations are at exactly the same pulse and are pointed at the berg centre.

With three fixings to our spears, they are the result of a lot of trial and error. The first fixing is of course the cable to recover them, the second line is the electricity feed to heat the spear to penetrate deeply, the third is the high pressure hydraulic line to transmit the vibration to the spear.

The pulse duration and frequency is variable and has to be different for each ice berg but, our success rate is very high. The aiming point of the spears sending the pulse to the centre of the berg is critical. The build up of the resonance in the ice does the damage. Some of our tests have resulted in total shattering of the ice, so no harm is possible to the island. A full record on video is available. The pulse duration and frequency is determined by sonar operatives from naval personel,also the research on dolphins with the technique of an increasing sonar pulse to stun fish,has been invaluable to our team.

Structural Engineer

The V shape gives some problems using the oil rig system, the long pipe legs under the arms of the V are easy enough, but, tying them together across the outer ends presents difficulties. Another lateral solution is to change the pipe orientation from vertical to horizontal. A series of submarine shape under the island to support it. We can still use oil platform legs, reinforce their structure to support thinner vertical links and using mating flanges connect them to the island. This system also allows us to change these submersible floats for maintenance. The latest submarines navies use , have a coating to dampen noise transmission, we think this needs exploring for a longer tube life. Our island could be used as a naval stop over , this idea needs exploring as we will be in an isolated ocean making money.

The smaller diameter links from these submerged pipes allows us to put vertical pipin onto them for wave power generation.

The larger diameter of the submerged pipes gives us an under water habitat, an air fee and sound dampening will need to be considered, this may have a tourist potential.

The V shape gives another bonus, the upper decking can be patterned on cruise ship shape. We can have sloping sides on the deck to accentuate the wind to the sides for better wind catch for the mills. The very top of the super structure can be level and be like an aircraft carrier, we will be able to land and take-off air craft. Not just helicopters, but long range transports.

This has to be a benefit, what ever system is approved our team can deliver an island structure which will not only survive, but thrive in this environment.

Power Engineer

The wind mills use a crown wheel and pinion drive system to increase the shaft speed. The crown wheel on the horizontal shaft and the pinion gear for a multiplying of the speed.

The upper super structure with sloping helps our wind catch and gives us a mounting for the pinion shaft where it enters the main building. We need to use heated oil to the horizontal mill bearings as the ambient temperature will give us lubrication problems. The heat from the air compressor system should be more than adequate.

In fact, our figurers show heating of the entire island is possible with out any other input.

The speed necessary for the first stage of the air compression, while high, jet engine high, we have gear trains which can reliably transmit the speed and power. The second stage rotary vane compressor will run at a much slower speed but can multiply the pressure two to three times. The third stage using the cam pushed pistons is the easy one and we envisage a very efficient liquid air production, with plenty of waste heat.

The submarine system of support will give us a much easier set-up to use wave power for extra power generation for what ever need . Using liquid air for cooling is the usual way to liquify hydrogen, we have considered using the island for this, but .just as oil rigs have a production platform and a habitation platform, we would prefer a separate set up for liquefying hydrogen. To generate hydrogen on board is possible but we do not recommend it.

Transport Engineer

The top of the building being a heavy transport runway solved most of the personel shipping problem. Aircraft carries use transport planes for supplies and personel, with a similar system we can move people in and out easily. This system will include launching and retrieval, catch wiring and catapaults.

The submarine system for the platform mounting raises the possibility of using purpose built subs to take tanks of liquid air to port. A submarine which never needs t go below thirty metres deep and with nuclear power could become a tug towing our submerged liquid air tanks to the nearest port. Surface and a conventional ship can then load the tanks aboard and go anywhere.

A conventional ship could be directly loaded at the island and this is our preferred method. Using the wave power units the lee of the island will have a better loading environment,even in the worst weather. Picking the time to unload empty tanks and load full tanks could be a hold up. The size of the ship will have a big bearing on this. The roof of the island becoming an aircraft gives us a problem and an opportunity, instead of a fixed boom crane we will have to use mobile crane technology.

We can use two hundred ton extendable- retractable hydraulic ram booms for our main lifting cranes. These hydraulic booms can be extended to four times their least length. When retracted we can lay them flat onto the deck so as to guarantee aircraft an absolutely clear landing and take-off from the runway.

A probable problem is the intense load stress set up at the base of the crane boom. To handle this loading especially when the boom is fully extended, with a container over ship, will need carefull study by the structural engineers and us.

We are considering using a variable balance weight to counter act the loading weight at the lifting hook of the cranes.

Another hydraulic ram system but shorter and bigger diameter at 180* to the lifting boom with a barrel shape at the base end. The barrel to be full of lead and using the hydraulic system to extend and retract. With the two rams systems on a common rotating turn table, as the load comes onto the hook the counter balance is extended and either raised or lowered, just as the main lifting boom is raised or lowered.

A counter balance for crane loading is common in high rise building.

The power to operate the cranes can be supplied from the island itself, electricity to drive the oil pumps which supply the rams which raise or lower the lifting and balance rams and the hydraulic motors which rotate the crane turntables.

As mentioned before, when not in use the crane booms can be retracted and lowered right onto the deck, giving a clear air space, for any aircraft operations.

Moving the transport ships on the lee side of the island will need an excellent mooring system, because using the ships engines and thrusters to hold station, while possible will be expensive on fuel use.

We also need a Closed Circuit television camera for the operator of the loading crane the camera to be separately controlled and to always show the cable hook and load. The crane operator will then see exactly where his load is and the position he will need for that load. We want the highest resolution picture possible so that when loading it into a ships hold, which is rising and falling with wave action, there will be precise control. The maintenance and reliability of this cctv will need carefull management.

The precise control on his cable and hook also means a variable speed on the cable winch with an inching action incorporated. To be able to lower tons of liquid air in a heavy container will require the best equipment for our crane operators.

Personel Management

A thousand leagues is a long flight for a change of shift,but, the aircraft carrier flight deck will allow us to use pure jet aircraft and bring the flight time back to two hours. A safer working environment means we will have little trouble getting the high grade people this project will need. The under water habitat is interesting, we could definitely get a tourism income, how the quarters are set up will be crucial.

Submariners are normally housed in virtual closets, this would not be popular. As the under water horizontal piping is not that deep can the diameter be say ten metres? At ten metres our acommadation can be a good sized apartment. With under water round windows and full facilities tourism is a possible. An island life expectancy if five plus decaces or double that with a proper living style will be a good investment.

An island with one hundred power mills will need good maintenance personel and good operating people too.We can definitely get the people to make this island happen and keep it functional.

Over sight Engineer

First I want to thank you all for your reports, we will all be presenting all of the accumulated data to the board. We have been given a three day period, by the board for them to have a total over sight of every thing, with all of us present to explain and answer questions.

We may have to present every thing again to a share holder representative group with the board also again present.

The financing of a project of this size and nature will require large amounts of capital over a long time span, so the people involved will need all the information they can possibly obtain.Thank you all so we can close this meeting, sure we are prepared.