Spike Spiegel
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I'm no engineer, but I'm pretty sure we've got some here on the forum. I'm hoping some of them can pick apart this idea I had for plugging the "leak" in the Gulf of Mexico. If it's a dumb idea, I want to know, and I'd like to know why it's dumb. If it's a good idea, or needs refinement, then let me know as well.
Here's the idea. Build a probe that is mounted on the end of a shaft. This shaft is probably a large screw and is driven by a motor above the probe. The outside diameter of the largest part of the entry probe is exactly the same as the inside diameter of the open pipe. The entry probe is shaped such that the oil can flow easily around it as it is moved into place. The whole probe, drive shaft, motor, and support frame are dropped onto the area from above. I figured it might need some weight to keep it down, so there are large concrete blocks for ballast. The frame I've come up with here is representational; I'm pretty sure it would be built differently, but you should get the general idea.
The center of the probe is a pipe to allow oil to flow through as the probe is inserted. Attached above this is another short pipe with a valve built in. Above that is the plate that the drive shaft pushes on. This is attached to the entry probe by three equally spaced pushrods/shafts. The bottom of the pusher plate has a curved "flow diverter"; basically a nice shape to allow the oil to keep flowing out of the way as it comes up out of the pipe. The shape I've created here may need to be altered to minimize resistance.
Once the entry probe is fully inserted, the valve is closed. I haven't figured out how to pipe out the oil after that. Like I said, I'm not an engineer. I know there's some serious pressures involved (about a ton per square inch, I read), which is why I thought a nice rounded shape would work, but I don't know if the forces can be countered by a motor as I've envisioned here.
I whipped up a very rough model of my idea in 3DS Max, and I've attached some images below. Please fire away and tell me if this sucks or not.
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P.S. - I came up with an alternate probe concept which I don't have images for. Imagine a similar support structure and drive shaft system, but the entry probe instead is a smaller diameter head with an array of wedge-shaped "airbags" surrounding it. Once the entry probe is in the pipe, the "airbags" would be inflated (expanding outward to increase the diameter of the probe) to close the opening. Since I doubt actually filling the bags with air could combat the pressures there, I thought perhaps the bags could be filled by opening valves at the bottom and allowing the oil to fill the bags. I'm not sure if that would be sufficient to fully close it off though.
Here's the idea. Build a probe that is mounted on the end of a shaft. This shaft is probably a large screw and is driven by a motor above the probe. The outside diameter of the largest part of the entry probe is exactly the same as the inside diameter of the open pipe. The entry probe is shaped such that the oil can flow easily around it as it is moved into place. The whole probe, drive shaft, motor, and support frame are dropped onto the area from above. I figured it might need some weight to keep it down, so there are large concrete blocks for ballast. The frame I've come up with here is representational; I'm pretty sure it would be built differently, but you should get the general idea.
The center of the probe is a pipe to allow oil to flow through as the probe is inserted. Attached above this is another short pipe with a valve built in. Above that is the plate that the drive shaft pushes on. This is attached to the entry probe by three equally spaced pushrods/shafts. The bottom of the pusher plate has a curved "flow diverter"; basically a nice shape to allow the oil to keep flowing out of the way as it comes up out of the pipe. The shape I've created here may need to be altered to minimize resistance.
Once the entry probe is fully inserted, the valve is closed. I haven't figured out how to pipe out the oil after that. Like I said, I'm not an engineer. I know there's some serious pressures involved (about a ton per square inch, I read), which is why I thought a nice rounded shape would work, but I don't know if the forces can be countered by a motor as I've envisioned here.
I whipped up a very rough model of my idea in 3DS Max, and I've attached some images below. Please fire away and tell me if this sucks or not.
---
---
P.S. - I came up with an alternate probe concept which I don't have images for. Imagine a similar support structure and drive shaft system, but the entry probe instead is a smaller diameter head with an array of wedge-shaped "airbags" surrounding it. Once the entry probe is in the pipe, the "airbags" would be inflated (expanding outward to increase the diameter of the probe) to close the opening. Since I doubt actually filling the bags with air could combat the pressures there, I thought perhaps the bags could be filled by opening valves at the bottom and allowing the oil to fill the bags. I'm not sure if that would be sufficient to fully close it off though.