Award-winning papers in 2022

The David Hislop Prize (also known as the Offshore Award), presented to the best paper published on heavy marine design and construction with particular reference to offshore engineering, was awarded to Ergul and Ozbek (2022).

The demand for renewable energy sources is increasing rapidly due to the increase in energy demand, the possible decline of fossil fuels in the coming years, climate change and environmental pollution. Several studies have been carried out on the potential of wave energy and many wave-energy converters (WECs) have been developed. Although there is potential for wave energy in Turkey, wave energy is hardly exploited. The main purpose of this study was to determine the most appropriate site and converter type for a wave-energy power plant planned to be built in Turkey. For this purpose, a two-phased multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) structure is constructed. Analytic network process (ANP) and fuzzy technique for order preference by similar to ideal solution (Topsis) are selected as MCDM methods. Five cities located on the Black Sea coast that have high wave-energy potential are selected as alternatives for the installation site of the wave-energy power plant. In the first phase, Sinop is determined by ANP as the most suitable site for a wave-energy power plant. In the second phase, the most suitable of the five alternative WECs, to be installed at Sinop, is determined by fuzzy Topsis to be Oyster.

The James Watt Medal, presented for the best paper on an energy topic, was awarded to Gibb and Beswick (2022).

The size of deep boreholes suitable for disposal of radioactive wastes can be increased through an innovative combination of blind shaft and oilfield drilling technologies. This would enable deep borehole disposal (DBD) of the UK's high-level waste (HLW), which is being packaged in containers hitherto considered too large for DBD and destined for a deep geological repository (DGR/GDF). DBD could advance, by over 40 years, disposal of this waste, avoid expensive replacement of ageing storage facilities and reduce the size and cost of the DGR/GDF by up to 70%. A generic reference design is presented for the boreholes and a route proposed for DBD of the UK's HLW in between seven and ten boreholes on a site smaller than three football pitches. Following location and approval of a suitable site, disposal could be completed in under 10 years using currently available technology. Estimates are presented that show the entire programme, including a non-active demonstration borehole, could be undertaken for less than £744 million (at today's prices); a saving of over £8.5 billion on the estimated cost of the proposed DGR/GDF. Implementing DBD of the UK's HLW could begin now and should be reconsidered as a matter of urgency.