Abstract
The Deep Sea Basin at the National Maritime Research Institute of Japan was constructed in 2002 because of the increasing demand for R&D on deep sea technology; such as the riser technology for deep water oil and gas production, drilling and deep water utilization. In this paper, we described the main characteristics of the Deep Sea Basin. It consists of two parts, the circular basin with a depth of 5m and with 14m in diameter. The deep pit is 30m in depth and 6m in diameter. It has the maximum depth of 35m. It is one of the deepest model basins in the world. 128 absorbing-type wave generators surround the circumference of the circular basin. For simulation of ocean currents we have one main current generator for the circular basin and six compact current generators for the deep pit. For measuring the dynamic behavior of underwater objects we have 3-D measurement equipment. This consists of 20 sets of two high resolution CCD cameras and one underwater light. Finally, we described the results of model tests on the behaviour of the riser pipe, of the Ocean Nutrient Enhancer“TAKUMI.”This is one example of the utilization of the Deep Sea Basin.
