Although a high-risk Research and Development item, acoustic emission 

 technology should be developed to monitor the material behavior during the 

 operational life of the structure. This nondestructive method can be 

 employed to signal danger of a possible structural failure during adverse 

 weather conditions or incipient failure due to otherwise undetected 

 progressive deterioration. 



Repair Methods . Repair methods will be required and need to be 

 developed. These items, however, do not need immediate attention insofar 

 as the North Sea Concrete structures will undergo inspection and probable 

 repair. Techniques and methods will evolve from the North Sea experiences 

 and will have direct application to OTEC structures. 

 Schedule 



A schedule for the recommended research and development is given in 

 Table 2. The schedule is coordinated with ERDA's current time-phased 

 plan: (1) concept design completed by the end of 1979; (2) 25- to 50-Mw 

 prototype plant completed by end of 1982; and (3) demonstration power 

 plant in operation in the ocean by 1987. 



The Research and Development topics are ranked in order of relative 

 priority and risk. The time scale reflects an indication of duration 

 for each topic. In some cases the length of time shown could be reduced 

 if funding were high; in other cases the full time is required to obtain 

 results and the work could not be accelerated effectively by an increase 

 in funds . 



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