Abstract
Ocean current power generation is expected to be renewable and stable energy source. Floating type ocean current power generation system is under development by joint research consortium comprised of TOSHIBA, IHI, the University of Tokyo and Mitsui Global Strategic Studies Institute. This system will be mainly operated at a depth of 50m in one of the largest ocean current Kuroshio, which flows along Pacific coast of Japan. However degradation data of materials have not been obtained sufficiently. In order to obtain material degradation data for development of ocean current power generation system, corrosion test and bio fouling test were achieved at depths of 1.5m - 70m in sea-water. Carbon steel and stainless steels were used for corrosion tests. Carbon steel with antifouling coating, stainless steels and fiber reinforced plastic were used for bio fouling test. Enormous amount of aquatic organisms were observed on specimens at near the sea surface, and the amount was significantly decreased at depths of 20m or deeper. Antifouling coating significantly decreased the amount of aquatic organisms even near the sea-surface. Species of aquatic organisms on specimens also changed significantly with time, depth and substrate. Corrosion rate at a depth of 70m tended to be lower than that at a depth of 1.5m - 35m. Crevice corrosion was observed on some part of SUS316, though general corrosion of SUS316 and SUS329 was not significant.
