and
the home of SLySaR
Department of
Naval Architecture & Ocean Engineering
University of
Glasgow
|
|
Collaboration
between the author and Startech
Partners Ltd during February 1999 has secured £31,000 of funding
from Scottish Enterprise through
the Technology Ventures Support Scheme (TVSS). This will mobilise
the existing offers of support and carry the project forward for one year
from April 1999 thus bringing the new concept nearer to the market.
As a consequence of this funding, liaison will be developed with potential
manufacturers and towards the end of the year a 1:20 scale model of the
system will be demonstrated to interested parties. This will confirm
the effectiveness of the new technology in a five knot current with the
presence of waves using High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) particles to represent
the oiled water surface. On 24th August 1999 SLySaR Ltd. was set
up in order to provide a vehicle to further develop the project, up to
49% of the company share capital is available to outside investors.
These
pages summarise a concluding Ph.D. Initial supervision came from
Professor Douglas Faulkner, Professor
Atilla Incecik and Professor
Nigel Barltrop. The postgraduate work was funded through a Studentship
from the UK Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC),
Marine Technology Directorate (MTD) now incorporated into the Centre for
Marine and Petroleum Technology (CMPT).
It
is generally accepted that surface-piercing booms used for the recovery
of spilled oil are presently limited in use by pollutant release at (relative)
normal current speeds greater than around one knot.
Known mechanisms of low speed failure include: 'dynamic drainage', 'droplet
entrainment' and 'critical accumulation of viscous oil' which may act singly
or in combination to cause oil loss from beneath the barrier. Meanwhile,
a 1 knot operating speed severely restricts the number of vessels even
potentially available for towing purposes (Vessels of Opportunity or Emergency
Towing Vessels (ETV's)).
The
research specifically investigates a 'curtain-type' oil boom with hydrodynamic
testing of a directionally modelled experimental section. It covers
certain aspects of the design problem including structural loading on a
horizontal surface-piercing catenary-type form, dynamic geometry of the
barrier skirt ithe vertical plane and introduces an innovative technique
for mechanical containment of the crude oil layer (SLySaR - Surface Layer
Separation and Retention).
SLySaR
is designed for use with up to three vessels of opportunity with an attending
workboat (in keeping with existing arrangements) and may be be deployed
as an uninflated unit with an integral inflation source. The system will
operate at five knots in sea-states up to (Beaufort) force five and may
also incorporate a means for on-site recovery and storage of spilled oil.
Alternatively, microbiological techniques may be used in-situ to dispose
of the contained pollutants. Ultimately, the system offers the possibility
of deployment from a fixed wing aircraft by low-level airdrop.
Dissemination of the work includes a paper presented during the 1997 Arctic
and Marine Oilspill (AMOP) Technical Seminar in Vancouver, for practical
purposes, the file is (at present) too large to be downloaded and it's
currently easier to refer to the Conference Proceedings, volume I, pages
469 to 497. A piece was also published in the (Glasgow) Herald on
Monday, March 30, 1998, to download a Postscript file of this article,
with errata click here. The undertaking is presently
assisted by confirmed in-kind contributions from government, public,
private and privatised sector companies in UK which are listed below under
'Collaboration', hypertext links are given where available.
Future work consists of experimental modelling and research to finalise
the detailed design, followed by full-scale prototype fabrication and evaluation
during coastal and offshore sea-trials. This will lead to a product
being brought to the market and if required, the author can provide further
details of the work within certain restrictions imposed by ongoing negotiation
and Patent Law.
Collaboration
(most recent listed last):
Other
Related Links:
United Kingdom
Established Research-Specific Conferences [Primary
sponsors in square brackets]
For
further information, e-mail:
times since 24th February 1998.
Counter from Urbanite Interactive
Optimised
for a 640 x 480 monitor. Built on a Macintosh
Performa 5300 using Netscape Communicator v4.7.
Should any images infringe copyright, please e-mail
the author.