RE: [rp-ml] How could RP & RM help in solving BP's Gulf Catastrophe?

From: Steve Pinkston <SPinkston_at_essexind.com>
Date: Wed Jun 09 2010 - 22:45:01 EEST

You wouldn't be able to pump the LN2 from the surface down to that
level. It would probably take weeks, if not months for it to get there.
At our plant it can take 5 minutes just to get the liquid to come out of
a 6 foot hose 5/8" dia, and that's with air touching the hose, not
water. The thermal conduction would kill the process. It may be possible
to lower a complete tank and operate it with their robots though. I am
not sure if anyone makes 3000 psi cryo tanks though.

There is a similar process used in the plumbing industry. a collar is
placed around a pipe that needs repair and CO2 is pumped through it,
freezing the liquid inside the pipe. The pipe can then be cut and
repaired and the ice plug melts after the repair.

Steve R. Pinkston
Engineering Manager, Aerospace & Defense Division

 
  
Essex Ind., Inc.
6 Sunnen Drive
St. Louis, MO 63143
314-644-3000, Ext 347
spinkston@essexind.com
www.essexind.com

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-rp-ml@rapid.lpt.fi [mailto:owner-rp-ml@rapid.lpt.fi] On
Behalf Of Adrian Bowyer
Sent: Wednesday, June 09, 2010 1:59 PM
To: Markus Hitter
Cc: rp-ml@rapid.lpt.fi
Subject: Re: [rp-ml] How could RP & RM help in solving BP's Gulf
Catastrophe?

Markus Hitter wrote:
>
> Am 09.06.2010 um 00:33 schrieb Adrian Bowyer:
>
>> A reasonable amount of liquid nitrogen should be able to create a
>> significant-sized block of ice round the leak.
>
> Then you have a hose with ice around it. Of course the ice will have a

> hole approxximately the size of the hose, as the oil constantly
> flowing out of the hose will quickly melt away any ice getting in it's
way.

Not if you cool the oil enough. Then it'll go like foamed tar, and
finally pitch.

Best wishes

Adrian

Dr Adrian Bowyer
http://people.bath.ac.uk/ensab
http://reprap.org
Received on Wed Jun 09 22:41:46 2010

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