Comparison of 3D concerete printed sinkers and formwork casted sinkers to minimise bed erosion for floating solar farms

Abstract

Singapore is implementing more renewable energy measures that the nation can tap into, namely solar power. It is in the processing of achieving the goal of up to 2.0 gigawatt-peak (GWp) by 2030 by building more solar photovoltaic (PV) farms in reservoirs. Multiple concrete anchors, called sinkers, are used to anchor these floating PV farms in place. However, each sinker does potentially create an area of scour, or local scour, due to currents in the reservoir, generated by the release of excess water, thus causing sediment resuspension which reduces the water quality. The goal of this study is to observe and reduce the amount of local scouring and resuspension of the sand bed through different sinker shapes, ranging from a simple cuboidal shape to a scenario where the sinkers are combined or even changed to improve fluid flow around the sinker. The method of production of the sinker is also changed, as 3D printed sinkers may be more cost effective and efficient in production as compared to traditional formwork. The study makes use of 3 different shapes of 2 different production methods each, bringing the total of 6 sinkers used.