| Abstract | Recently, the provincial government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, issued a call for a pre-feasibility study for potential construction of a fixed link between Newfoundland and Labrador. Several concepts/ideas have been proposed. One old and popular concept is the construction of an immersed tunnel across the Belle Isle Strait (BIS). An alternative concept calls for the construction of a series of large concrete hydroelectric stations across the BIS and use these stations as piers for a bridge between Newfoundland Island and Labrador. Potentially, the 'bridge' will pay for itself over time by generating electric energy from the natural tides in the strait. The main objective of this research project is to conduct a study to evaluate the structural stability and the economic viability of the proposed power-generating stations across the BIS. The task of the structural stability deals with concerns related to whether or not the concrete hydroelectric stations are able to withstand the environmental loads (ice and hydrodynamic loads). The task of the economic viability, however, deals with estimating the electric power capacity that can be generated from the natural tidal waves and current in the strait. In this paper, the work on the task for the structural stability of the concrete hydroelectric stations is summarized. More specifically, the results given in the paper are those dealing with the predictions of maximum ice loads on the concrete stations. The hydrodynamic load predictions and the calculations of the electric power capacity are beyond the scope of this paper. |
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