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

Here's my idea from the MakerBot Blog
(http://blog.makerbot.com/2010/06/05/deepwater-horizon-call-to-action/):

At 1.5 km deep, the water must be about 4 C. Seawater freezes at about
-2 C, though that point will be depressed slightly by the 150 bar
pressure at that depth. So the temperature only has to drop by a bit
more than 6 C. A reasonable amount of liquid nitrogen should be able
to create a significant-sized block of ice round the leak. You’d have
to incorporate weights (rocks?) into it as it froze to stop it
floating, but that shouldn’t be too hard.

Subsequent research has shown me that I was not the first to think of
this. But nowhere on any of the online freeze-it suggestions are
there any follow-up comments on why it wouldn't work...

Best wishes

Adrian

Dr Adrian Bowyer
http://people.bath.ac.uk/ensab
http://reprap.org

G. Sachs wrote:
> "I have no choice but to trust those who are working on it, and hoping
> for the best."
>
> These were probably Obama's thoughts exactly - in the beginning. I am
> SURE he is coming to regret this "trust" now. If there is any reasonably
> quick solution to this I guarantee you it's probably going to come out
> of left field - not where you think (and trust) it should come from.
> Remember, BP has shown that it knows how to DRILL deep holes but equally
> apparently they have shown they don't have a clue as to how to fill them
> or seal them. This really needed the President to assemble a "Manhattan
> Project" type team of experts and innovative people, because this
> situation is very much like any other war. But, unfortunately, he
> completely missed the boat on that one, and placed all his faith on BP -
> the SAME GUYS who created the problem. Would GM, Ford, or Toyota go to
> the same guys responsible for a bad design and ask them how to fix it
> (except maybe if they were really desperate)? Is the U.S. now so
> desperate and devoid of all talent and innovation that it still has to
> rely on BP to fix a problem that it created and doesn't just affect BP
> anymore, it affects the entire world?
>
> Sorry, to go off on a slight tangent (and maybe rant) here, but others
> started going down the path of "just leave it to the experts at BP". I
> was hoping, even just for fun, to get some way to bring AM, RP, RM into
> the picture, but maybe BP is the expert on that as well - you tell me.
>
> Also, how many great new ideas have you seen come out of mega-billion
> dollar companies (except maybe IBM or HP)? Microsoft sure hasn't been a
> leader in innovation lately and even Apple hasn't come out with anything
> truly revolutionary in the past few years. You really expect the guys at
> BP to have a sudden stroke of genius? What's in it for the engineers
> there? You think they would get a multi-million dollar bonus, or something?
>
> Best regards to all still on the RP-ML,
> G. Sachs
>
> P.S. We all have a "choice" (at least in the U.S.) NOT to have to accept
> the current approach to doing things, and we can complain LOUDLY to our
> elected officials about how things are being handled and demand change -
> I sure have.
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From:* Yasser Hosni <yhosni@mail.ucf.edu>
> *To:* jeffrey.bagley@hs.utc.com; rp-ml@rapid.lpt.fi; G. Sachs
> <sachsg@sbcglobal.net>
> *Sent:* Tue, June 8, 2010 5:55:55 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [rp-ml] How could RP & RM help in solving BP's Gulf
> Catastrophe?
>
> Friends:
> I am almost sure that many of the ideas floating around must have been
> considered by those working on a solution. My reason for this is that
> most of those are just ideas (IDEAS) generated out of frustration (no
> deep thinking, experimenting, prototyping, ..etc) . Every time I look at
> the CNN viewing of the continuos gushing of this oil, I get 100's of
> ideas.
> Converting an idea to a design and practical process/ product to be
> applied in water at that depth and temperature within a certain time
> frame is not easy, especially when you are doing it through robots!
> Whoever is deciding on the worth of an idea would have to consider many
> many factors that non of us is aware of (except if you are specialist)
> is selecting a design/ process that is worth pursuing!
>
> I share the frustration, and I have no choice but to trust those who are
> working on it, and hoping for the best.
>
> Take care,
>
> Yasser Hosni
>
>
>
> >>> "G. Sachs" <sachsg@sbcglobal.net> 6/8/2010 3:56 PM >>>
> Again, Jeffrey, you are ignoring the depth and pressures down there. I a
> lot of the ideas coming in to BP (though why they have to go through
> them at all, I don't understand or agree with) forget this very
> important parameter to the problem. There really are no super-simple
> solutions for this. BP has said there are NO quick fixes, but I still
> hold out hope there might be 1-2. If we could get three astronauts back
> from the moon during Apollo 13, I think we can do this as well. Then
> again, we placed a lot more faith in our scientist and engineers back
> then, and also gave them a lot more resources to work with. America,
> really does seem to be in decline sometimes - this may be one of those
> times.
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From:* "Bagley, Jeffrey K HS" <jeffrey.bagley@hs.utc.com>
> *To:* Carl Dekker <carl.dekker@met-l-flo.com>; G. Sachs
> <sachsg@sbcglobal.net>; rp-ml@rapid.lpt.fi
> *Sent:* Tue, June 8, 2010 3:33:25 PM
> *Subject:* RE: [rp-ml] How could RP & RM help in solving BP's Gulf
> Catastrophe?
>
> All,
>
>
>
> Perhaps high technology might not be the answer. The problem is after
> all pretty basic, an open pipe leaking fluid. Why not try a pretty
> basic solution. Perhaps something like a wooden telephone pole ground
> with a shallow angle to a point on one end and on the other end install
> a metallic cap that would allow the pole to be pile driven into the
> pipe. This temporary fix might stop or slow the leakage enough to allow
> time for a more robust and permanent solution.
>
>
>
> Jeff Bagley
>
>
>
> *From:* owner-rp-ml@rapid.lpt.fi [mailto:owner-rp-ml@rapid.lpt.fi] *On
> Behalf Of *Carl Dekker
> *Sent:* Tuesday, June 08, 2010 1:53 PM
> *To:* G. Sachs; rp-ml@rapid.lpt.fi
> *Subject:* RE: [rp-ml] How could RP & RM help in solving BP's Gulf
> Catastrophe?
>
>
>
> All,
>
>
>
> My first thoughts would be autonomous vehicles with
> interchangeable/cargo filtration type devices capable of separating and
> containing the oil that is floating in the water at, and below the
> surface. I can’t help but imagine that this disaster will spread with
> the currents ultimately destroying and enormous amount of marine ecology
> that will take decades to repair. The long term impacts of this type of
> devastation is mind-boggling. Every time I think of it, I feel bad to
> be part of the human race. And yes, this idea is FREE!!! Please take it!
>
>
>
> Time is not on our side with this one! I truly hope they can start the
> repair process SOON!
>
>
>
> P.S. I hope they already have a plethora of ideas for stopping the flow!
>
>
>
> Thank you,
>
>
>
> Carl Dekker
>
> dekker@met-l-flo.com
>
> Phone: (630) 409-9860 Ext 227
>
>
>
> *From:* owner-rp-ml@rapid.lpt.fi [mailto:owner-rp-ml@rapid.lpt.fi] *On
> Behalf Of *G. Sachs
> *Sent:* Tuesday, June 08, 2010 11:19 AM
> *To:* rp-ml@rapid.lpt.fi
> *Subject:* [rp-ml] How could RP & RM help in solving BP's Gulf Catastrophe?
>
>
>
> I was wondering how various RP processes, including AM, might help in
> the Gulf oil disaster. I don't expect the "geniuses" at BP (or even in
> the government) to have spent much time thinking about that one. I have
> at least one idea, and thought it might be a good way to RM a higher
> profile.
>
> First suggestion I have:
> Use scanners to scan the badly cut wellhead and then create a CAD model
> of the opening. Make a perfectly mating pipe joint that can have a
> rubber seal attached to it. Use rapid prototyping in combination with
> rapid casting to create this joint. This could be tried before trying to
> make another, better, cut (and might be faster). And - by the way, BP -
> this idea isn't free, if you don't already have it in your little
> "suggestion box" of free ideas (that you and your buddies in the
> government won't release to the public). I am sure at this time of
> crisis, BP likes nothing better than getting all those helpful free
> suggestions and volunteers. Poor BP, they need all the free help they
> can get, I guess.
>
> G. Sachs
> Paradyme Systems U.S.A.
>

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