TRS Foundation

Two weeks ago, we posted a theory for stopping the disaster in the gulf: use the force of the oil against itself. Shortly after, we proposed a concept based on that theory. TRS Foundation presented this concept to Dr. Ana Unruh-Cohen of the Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming. The video below displays our proposed concept for developing an effective solution to stop the catastrophic spill.

As you will see in the video, the vent valves redirect the pressure to enable precision installation. Once attached, oil will flow through the openings to relieve the pressure. Once the butterfly valves are mechanically closed, the pressure in the inner chamber will rise causing the ball or piston to rise and plug the exit hole, and thus stopping the oil spill. Simple thinking for a complex problem.

This past week BP used an “economy” version of a similar concept and was able to temporarily stop the gushing of oil. Continued dialogue between TRS Foundation and Ana Unruh-Cohen are hoped to develop a sustainable solution to prevent future disasters similar. The slideshow below from our Flickr page details different angles and phases of this concept. For those who are interested in getting better details, please download our 3D PDFs of the plug at the bottom of this post.

This is still an on-going effort. The Foundation will continue its pursuit until there is such a solution to prevent disasters like this – in policy, awareness and scientific innovations. As a society, we must not only learn how to invent amazing innovations, but also how to prevent these same innovations from destroying our society.

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Day 71

Solution that we could use to defend ourselves while also protecting attacker from injury.

Yesterday, we posted a theory for putting an end to this disaster in the Gulf: use the force of the oil against itself. Today, we present our concept based on this theory to put an end to the most devastating environmental disaster of our history.

The principle of this concept is based on a ball check valve that contains strategically engineered ram-fed passages inside the walls of the device for bypassing oil pressure. The primary cylinder of this device is equipped with O-rings to serve as the sealing mechanism at the top and to hold the ball in place on the bottom.

The bladder-shaped passages inside the walls channel the oil out of the device while alleviating the pressure to ensure precision and ease of installation. The ram-fed passages increase the velocity of the oil flow just prior to exiting the top vents creating a suction force which aids the release of pressure. In between each passage are additional vents to enable and manipulate the flow of oil through the device. These vents help control the oil pressure pushing against the primary cylinder. Once the device is in place, the vents can be closed, activating the check valve. Therefore, as we presented in our theory, we use the force of the oil spill to cap itself.

The diagram to the right displays a cross-section view of our concept while it is stationary. The red dots represent O-rings that will seal the device to the leaking pipe and the device itself. The black elements indicate butterfly valves as inlet and exit ports of the oil flow. Portions of these vents are equipped with bladder-shaped passages. As with most ball check valves, there is a portion near the top where the body comes in so that the ball can seal against the O-ring and not allow fluid to pass. This body shape for a ball check valve is common.

How it will work

A very simplified depiction of how this concept will work is shown in figures above and below. The purple arrows represent the flow of oil through the bladder-shaped passages.

In the diagram above, the device channels the oil vigorously through its ten openings. The oil will flow through the bladder-shaped passages, vents, primary cylinder of the device and around the ball. Each of these openings in the device cause some of the oil pressure to be bypassed so that the device can be attached to the leaking pipe without as much force.

The pressure inside the primary cylinder will increase, raising the ball as shown below (left). When the vents and passages are closed via the butterfly valves, the oil is no longer bypassing through the openings of the body. This causes the oil pressure to direct its energy and push the ball up towards the O-ring, and consequently seal the device as shown below (right).

The figure below and to the left displays a cross-section view of the device with the bladder-shaped passages inside (left) and a front view of the passages.

The passages expand at the exit point. This mechanism creates an increase in velocity, and a suction force that helps the oil escape efficiently. In turn, it provides ease of installation. The bladder’s wall thickness also increases at the exit point to further prevent rupture and over pressurization.

The diagram to the right displays a top view (up) of the device and a side view of the opening and closing mechanism (bottom) for each hole. From the top view, there are 10 openings, 5 of which contain connected passages and 5 of which are vents. The vents allow for the oil to pass through the device for easy installation. The two images show the closed (left) and open (right) positions. Each of these openings contain a butterfly valve which can be triggered to close once the device is attached to the leaking pipe.

Below is a list of requirements that must be considered in developing this concept:

• The material and weight of the ball must be calculated based on the pressure bypassed through the openings
• The sequence of the valve operation is critical to manage the pressure to activate the check valve.
• A retaining spring could be explored for connecting the ball to properly manage the check valve function.
• All material properties used in this device must be properly engineered for the ocean floor conditions and petro-chemical application.

This is one concept we have developed from our theory post. We invite everyone’s participation to share and contribute their knowledge and experience to develop this or another concept so that we can have a truly effective action for disasters such as this.

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We are currently 70 days into this disaster. With the rising estimates of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, and the lack of success BP has had, it’s more critical than ever to take innovative concepts and develop them into solutions for putting an end to this disaster.

We recently posted several things about the disaster in the Gulf: timeline of events, by-the-numbers look and cold hard truths about BP’s intentions. One thing we haven’t touched upon, however, is a theory of our own. Our theory is simple: use the force of the oil against itself.

Below is a simplified list of the attempts made by BP for containing and/or stopping the leak. For a more detailed breakdown, please view our previous blog post.

25 April – BP fails to activate the shutoff valves
7 May – 100-ton “Top Hat” fails when crystals build up
14 May - Riser insertion tube tool (RITT) used to collect oil and succeeds in collecting 2,000 barrels/day by May 16
17 May – 2-ton “Top Hat” fails
29 May - “Top Kill” fails
30 May – “Junk Shot” fails
3 June – Diamond saw fails to cut through pipe
4 June – Shears work and BP fits containment cap on pipe – more than 50% oil still gushing out
28 June – Tankers that BP promised would arrive (by around June 14th) to syphon more oil, still have yet to arrive

Basic chemistry and physics tells us that the pressure at the ocean floor is approximately 2,200 psi – about twice as much as a high-pressure hose at a local car wash. Given the known properties of oil, the pipe and the fact that the reservoir is approximately 3 miles beneath the ocean floor, the oil pressure is on the order of 12,000-15,000 psi. This is a massive pressure difference for BP to attempt these “Top Hat” ideas at these depths. The “Top Kill” tried to suffocate the leak with heavy mud and cement, but likely could not overcome the massive pressure. “Junk shot” attempted to force materials inside the pipe with massive pressure against it. The image below is a diagram of the “Top Kill” idea. Notice how it attempts to force mud and cement against the oil and its massive oil pressure.

There are a multitude of factors involved in this giant engineering problem, but the one constant is that the pressure of the oil is several times stronger than the pressure of the water at the ocean floor. Instead of viewing this massive pressure differential as a problem, let’s view it as an opportunity. This opportunity leads us to the theory of a check valve. There are several scenarios in our everyday life that use a check valve for extreme situations. The diagrams below display a side-view of a two check valves that close when the pressure is greater from a particular side.

Is there a way we can use this theory to engineer a potential concept?

These seal valves work in special ways to specifically use the massive force against

itself, as seen in the excerpt from a product catalog from Velan: “the higher the internal pressure, the greater the sealing force.”

Within the Oil and Gas industry, there are a multitude of these types of valves. They are specialized to deal with high pressures and varying viscosities. Velan (and others) have identified and been working for a long time for how to deal with these situations and innovate around them .

We recognize that it is unlikely there be a product already in existence that can fix this disaster, but surely there is a way to modify and innovate upon the theory of these valves to create something that will work for this situation. It should also be possible to use known concepts of dealing with over pressurization and other issues and apply engineering innovations to overcome them.

Our goal is to change the way BP and others have thought about concepts to this problem: use the force of the oil against itself. Tomorrow, we will use this theory and post our own concept.

All of this brings up one thought: the difference between being Capable and being Willing.

References include: CNN, New York Times, Active Rain, ABC news, NECN, Velan, Newsweek, SkyTruth

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Claims about how much oil was gushing into the Gulf of Mexico

• BP first claimed 1,000 barrels/day
• BP finally agreed to 5,000 barrels/day in mid-May despite several independent reports indicating the spill being more between 15,000 to upwards of 100,000 barrels/day
• Shortly after live video of the leak was released, government scientists estimated the leak to be 12,000-19,000 barrels/day
• On June 10th, this estimate was revised to 20,000-40,000 barrels/day
• On June 15th, this was once again revised to 35,000-60,000 barrels/day
• As of June 17th, BP is claiming to siphon 15,000 barrels/day

Thoughts:

• Oil giants like BP meticulously keep track of data, including flow rates, pipe sizes, depths, viscosity, type of oil, reservoir pressure, etc. They do this for several reasons, but mostly, it is to know how much oil they are receiving so that they can provide projections and forecasts to present to investors and other stakeholders as guaranteed income.
• How then did/does BP have absolutely no idea how much oil could possibly be spewing out?
• Yes, the flow rate would not be the same if the well were operational and under control; it would be higher! Still, BP should be able to approximate the minimum leakage based on its previous data.
• Given that current estimates are 60,000 barrels/day, BP’s initial estimates of 1,000 barrels/day is beyond suspicious. It’s damn right a lie.
• How does BP collect 15,000 barrels/day – 15 times more than their initial estimate – yet a significant amount of oil is still gushing out?

Who is saying what

The below chart details what different sources have been estimating for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. In this chart, only the dates when a party changed their estimate are included.

Remarks by BP Executives

• Mid-May – CEO of BP, Hayward, said that the amount of oil and dispersant being dumped into the Gulf is very low compared to the volume of the ocean
  • Of course this is true. It doesn’t mean that this isn’t the worst oil spill in U.S. history by far, however.
  • This is a poor PR remark made to try to spin the story. Much like BP’s attempts at capping, plugging and containing the spill, this was a failure.
• Mid-May – CEO of BP, Hayward, said that the environmental damage should be “very, very modest”
  • This is either complete incompetence or a blatant lie. Either way, it is a horrible attempt to spinning the story. In our previous post, we mentioned some hard facts/numbers about the oil spill. Many of these included marine life that has been impacted (as of June 16th):
  • 783 birds killed
  • 41 dolphins and other mammals killed
  • 353 endangered sea turtles killed
  • This is not ‘very, very modest’. We haven’t even begun to feel the real effects of this disaster. The environmental and social effects of the Exxon Valdez spill are still going on two decades after the event. This oil spill is (as of June 17th) 14 times as large as that one.
• May 30 – Hayward said that he wants his life back.
  • What about the eleven lives your safety shortcuts took?
  • What about the hundreds of thousands of people who have been left jobless and others directly or indirectly affected by your inability to put safety as a number one priority?
  • They want their lives back.
• May 31 – Hayward blatantly said that there are no plumes in the ocean
  • Researchers have since disproved this completely
  • On June 8, to save face, BP was still trying to argue the definition of a plume
• June 1 - Hayward’s response to claims that the workers cleaning the oil were sickened by the fumes of the oil, was “food poisoning is clearly a big issue”
  • To date, 109 cleanup workers have gotten sick
• June 15 – Hayward, along with other top executives from the world’s largest oil companies are blasted for their emergency response plans which contained:
  • References to walruses, which haven’t lived in the Gulf for over 3 Million years
  • A scientist contact who has been dead for 5 years
  • Almost the exact same material from one company to the next – “cookie-cutter” plans
• June 16 – BP Chairman, Carl-Henric Svanberg, said “We care about the small people” when he was referring to those affected by this disaster
  • “A slip in translation” or the truth coming out?
• June 19 – BP chief officer, Tony Hayward, is seen on his boat at the Isle of Wight during a yacht race.

References include: CNN, Newsweek, MSNBC, SkyTruth, New York Times, Tree Hugger, Channel 4 News, BP

• *Estimates made from low-quality video released by BP
• ^Estimates made from higher quality video released by BP
• **Revised estimated made from government scientists with more data
• SkyTruth is an organization with multiple resources including remote sensing, satellite imagery and digital mapping technology.
• Dr. Ian MacDonald, an oceanography professor at FSU has been providing his own estimates using SkyTruth’s satellite imagery and his knowledge of oil spills, the properties of water and other factors.
• The Coast Guard estimated the oil spill by measuring how much oil surfaced daily, but decided to not estimate twelve days after the explosion.
• The general media continued displaying the numbers obtained from the Coast Guard weeks later despite the Coast Guard ceasing their estimates. After BP released the low-quality video, there wasn’t a general media consensus as many news stations were finally starting to report independent estimates.
• It is unknown how BP was estimating the oil leak.
• “Researchers” include the consensus from different government groups, known as the Flow Rate Technical Groups, analyzing the videos provided by BP
• It is important to note that there were various independent estimates others made using sound waves, satellite imagery, BP’s video, etc.

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Time and Oil

58 days – the length of time oil has been gushing into the Gulf since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion

60,000 barrels or 2.5 Million gallons – daily rate of oil spewing into the Gulf

250,000 barrels/day or 11 Million gallons/day – The rate of oil spill BP’s response plan claimed it could contain

1,000 barrels/day – BP’s initial estimate of the rate of oil leaking

30,000 barrels/day – the amount of oil a good well in the Gulf Coast provides when it is under control. This has to increase for a well not under control.

5,000 barrels/day – The “taken for” rate long agreed upon by BP and government officials.

15,000 barrels/day – the rate of oil currently being siphoned by BP

145 Million gallons – the estimated total amount of oil that has leaked from the source.

14 – the approximate number of Exxon Valdez spills it would take to equal this BP spill thusfar

1.1 Million gallons – approximate amount of toxic chemical dispersant BP has deployed into the Gulf to break apart the oil.

1,800 – gallons of oily water have been skimmed (CNN 6/10)

3,800,000 – gallons of oil have been burned (CNN 6/10)

4,000,000 – gallons of oil have been recovered from the gushing well (CNN 6/10)

BP wastes time after explosion and in between attempts

• 5 days after explosion before BP attempts and fails activating shutoff valves
• 11 days pass before BP tries its 100-ton “top hat”
• 4 days after that failed, BP tries another “top hat”
• 9 days after that failed, BP attempts “top kill”
• 3 days after that and “junk shot” failed, BP fails at cutting through pipe
  

11,505 square miles – the area of the Gulf covered with a layer of oil on June 3rd

30 days – time passed before BP released live video footage of leak

50 days – time passed before BP released higher quality video footage

Financials

$140 Million – Amount U.S. government has used in cleanup efforts and plans to keep “pouring in assets” (CNN) – 6/10

$75 Million – the maximum amount BP is legally liable for cleanup costs under the 1990 Oil Pollution Act

$1 Billion – estimated costs of the cleanup efforts alone thusfar

$20 Billion – tentative amount BP has agreed to set aside in a fund to pay entitlements to those impacted by the oil spill

$20 Billion – Dollar value of Gulf tourism

$163 Billion – Profits made by BP from 2001-2009 alone

Environment & Misc.

783 – Number of birds killed by this disastrous oil spill

1 – percentage of birds that survive long-term after being covered in oil

72 – percentage of U.S. shrimp that come from the Gulf of Mexico

353 – number of endangered sea turtles killed

41 – number of dolphins and other marine mammals killed

109 – number of oil cleanup workers who have gotten sick

760 – the number of OSHA violations committed by BP in the past three years (97% of industry)

25,000 people – contractors, volunteers and members of military were involved on the ground (CNN 6/10)

For a detailed play by play of the major events that have occurred since the explosion, please view our previous post.

References include: CNN, Newsweek, Before It’s News, Tree Hugger, New York Times, Inhabitat, BP

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20 April – At 10 PM, an explosion occurred on the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig, licensed to energy giant BP, in the Gulf of Mexico. There were 126 people on board at the time. Fifteen of those were injured and eleven died.

22 April – A second explosion caused the Deepwater Horizon to sink into the Gulf of Mexico at 10:22 AM, taking with it a riser pipe which remained attached to the blowout preventer. Read more.

24 April – Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) inspected the capsized rig on the sea floor and found two oil leaks from the well pipe along the sea floor (at a depth of approximately 5,000 feet).

25 April – Efforts to activate the well’s blowout preventer fail (Ch4) and the Coast Guard released the below diagram to explain the situation.

28 April – U.S. Coast Guard warns oil spill could be worst in history increasing estimate to 5,000 barrels a day – five times greater than initial estimates.

29 April – Oil washes up on the beaches of the Mississippi Delta.

30 April – U.S. government rules that there will be no drilling in new areas until the cause of the accident is known. Read more.

2 May – BP began drilling the first deep-water intercept relief well to attempt to intercept the wellbore 16,000 feet below the sea floor – a process which could take months. Read more. Meanwhile, animals are being washed up on shores such as this sea turtle.

5 May – BP announced that it had stopped the flow of oil from one of the three existing leak points on the damaged oil well and riser in the Gulf of Mexico. The total amount of oil gushing into the Gulf, however, remains the same. BP made plans to deploy the cofferdam, a 125-ton, 14’ x 24’ x 40’ structure to be set over the end of the riser. Read more.

6 May – Oil reaches the shores of the Chandeleur Islands off the Louisiana coast.

7 May – BP’s “Top Hat” attempt to place a dome over the well fails.

9 May – BP sends a second, smaller (2-ton) ‘Top Hat’ to place a dome over the well.

12 May – BP hires many workers to clean up the oil by hand using absorbent towels and other materials. Some are paid to literally wipe the oil off the blades of grass. Their hard work and commitment is evident, but the act itself seems futile.

16 May –  A riser insertion tube tool (RITT) was successfully tested and inserted into the leaking riser, capturing some oil and gas. BP estimates that it is currently capturing slightly more than 2,000 barrels per day, but that amount varies greatly day to day.

17 May – A second drill rig, Transocean’s Development Driller II, began drilling a second relief well. Current flow charts show that oil is shifting to the East Coast of Florida and will likely impact the East Coast.

18 May – U.S. doubles its no-fishing zone to 19% of U.S. waters in the Gulf of Mexico. Read more.

20 May – BP launches a live camera of the leak after being heavily pressured to do so, as its containment rate drops to 2,000 barrels a day. Read more.

24 May – Approximately 65.6 miles of Louisiana shoreline have been impacted by oil. Protestors storm BP headquarters in Houston, TX.

25 May – Elmers Island in Louisiana awaits pick up for several bags and booms of oil.

26 May – BP starts its ‘Top Kill’ operation to block the oil well with heavy mud and debris. Read more.

29 May – BP CEO, Tony Hayward, makes his first trip to the Gulf. Protestors receive a multitude of alternate BP logos featured below.

30 May – BP’s ‘Top Kill’ plan fails. Read more.

4 June – BP fits a containment cap onto the well using remote control robots. Read more.

6 June – BP says it has captured 10,500 barrels of oil in the last 24 hours. The sites of dead fish, animals and impacted environment are devastating.

9 June – White House demands BP cover all costs of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico including millions of dollars in salaries of workers laid off as a result. BP common stock value has been halved since the day of the explosion dropping from slightly above 60 to below 30.

10 June – After BP finally released a higher resolution video of the leak, researchers revised estimate of the leak to 20,000 – 40,000 barrels a day – BP initially told the public the spill was 1,000 barrels/day. The blue dots are areas which have been affected in some way from the oil spill so far.

11 June – U.S. has spent over $140 Million in cleaning up the oil spill.

15 June – Government scientists revise estimate of oil spill to between 35,000 – 60,000 barrels per day. This translates to 1.5 – 2.5 Million gallons per day. Exxon Valdez spill is easily dwarfed by this new estimate.

15 June – President Obama used his first Oval Office address to the nation to detail a plan for the Gulf disaster and ensure BP’s financial and environmental responsibility.

16 June – Executives from five of the world’s largest oil companies are blasted for having “cookie-cutter” contingency plans for disaster situations. President Obama to meet with BP top executives – over eight weeks after the explosion took place. Read more.

We will soon post several hard facts about this disaster, BP, response times, etc. to provide truth and clarity to this horrible situation that has been filled with lies and PR spins.

[Update]

19 June – BP’s chief officer, Tony Hayward, is seen on his boat during a yacht race at the Isle of Wight. Read more.

22 June – The National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling has appointed Richard Lazarus, a graduate of Harvard University Law School as its staff director. One of the goals is to determine what new regulations will govern future deepwater drilling operations. Read more.

22 June – In response to a suit by Hornbeck Offshore Services joined by 20 other companies, Judge Martin Feldman of the US District Court in New Orleans yesterday granted an injunction against the President’s moratorium on further exploration for deep sea drilling in the Gulf of Mexico for a period of six months. Read more.

23 June – BP managing director, Bob Dudley is replacing  Tony Hayward as president and CEO of BP’s newly formed Gulf Coast Restoration Organization. He will report to company CEO Tony Hayward who was previously in charge of the organization. Read more.

23 June – Robot bumps into vent causing BP to remove the containment cap, temporarily allowing anyone watching the live feed to see the true gusher. This is not a spill or a leak. This is a geyser.

References include Newsweek, SkyTruth, New York Times, Active Rain, ABC news, CNN, Inhabitat, Washington Post, Louisiana Bucket Brigade, Before It’s News, MSNBC, Nola, CBS news

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