Hydrodynamics and Capture Efficiency of Plastic Cleanup Booms: Part 1, Experiments and Dynamic Analysis

Abstract

To reduce the threatening consequences of plastic pollution on marine ecosystems and global economy, The Ocean Cleanup (TOC) Foundation develops technologies to extract, prevent, and intercept plastic debris from coastal and oceanic environments. The core technology being optimized is the use of floating booms placed perpendicular to the main ocean plastic flow so it can concentrate plastic debris to a point where it can be extracted, shipped and processed in a cost-effective manner. To better understand the behavior of such a system in the vertical plane and to calibrate dynamic analysis models as well as Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models, TOC conducted model tests of a portion of the boom at 1:5 scale. These tests were carried out in the Concept Basin at the Maritime Research Institute of the Netherlands (MARIN). The aim of this paper is to present those tests along with the assessment of the dynamics of the boom and the validation of a dynamic analysis model to predict the mooring loads on the system.