Evaluation of seawater intake discharge coefficient using laboratory experiments and machine learning techniques

Seawater desalination is increasing due to the global water crisis, and velocity caps are widely used at intake entrances to protect marine life and facilitate the required flow. Despite various investigations of seawater intake, a lack of precise research on the discharge coefficient of these structures is evident. The discharge characteristics of seawater intake are investigated both analytically and experimentally. Results show that the circle velocity caps have higher capacity than square ones, about 2% to 3.5%. Also, the Froude number of approach flow and the area of the velocity caps are the two parameters with the greatest impact on discharge coefficients. However, the height of caps and the number of separator blades have the least effect. Furthermore, some equations of discharge coefficients are developed based on machine-learning techniques with appropriate accuracy. Additionally, the Taguchi method, evaluated as an economical approach, significantly reduces the number of tests while the accuracy of results decreases.