I can plug oil leak, says NY genius

I can plug oil leak, says NY genius

www.nypost.com

BP's engineers can't stop the gushing oil spill, but a young genius from Long Island says she found the solution in less time than it takes most people to finish a crossword puzzle.

Since the "top kill," "junk shot" and "top hat" techniques failed to end the environmental nightmare, Alia Sabur -- who started her engineering Ph.D. at age 14 -- is pushing for a more radical idea.

The Northport native, who started reading before she could walk and who at 18 broke a 300-year-old record to become the youngest-ever college professor, proposes surrounding a pipe with deflated automo

(visit the link for the full news article)

Right now, BP nor the government know what they are doing, or even trying to do. They've resorted to asking James Cameron to sit in on a brainstorming session.

Maybe, they should be looking at solutions from the PEOPLE that are going to be effected by this, rather than have some 3D buff chime in. It could be using hay, or using this girl's idea. If it makes sense, try it!

www.nypost.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

She has an outstanding record behind her. However, I do not see how this will work. The tires used have the valve stem in the rim/wheel it is through here that you air up the tire. How is she going to air up the tires without a valve stem set in place?

Unless of course she is talking about tube tires and the article just fails to mention that. I could see that working but not the normal tire thing.

Raist

First there has to be enough force to get the tires in the riser. Good luck at 15,000 + psi. Secondly, the pipe shrinks in size (from the mouth) the further you go down. Perhaps we enlist AutoZone to help air those bad boys up!


I'm thinking what they should do is level the whole structure, saddle the well so it shoots straight up, and then use an inverted "anchor" to channel the oil/gas into a cone shape funneled into multiple pipes around the sides. At the same time start drilling relief wells.

i've thought out a solution in my head too.

i wondered why they don't put in a heavy duty inflatable tube in there. something easily pushed in against the flow of oil.
Thjen when they fill up the inflatable tube instead of air use either cement or some chemical that will turn the oil into a solid instantly.

plugged up pipe!

It won't work. The pressure of the out flowing oil would shred the tires to pieces. Not only that, but you're talking about inflating a tire that is normally rated to operate with internal pressures of about 70psi at most. You're going to have to subject it to a LOT more than that to get it to inflate at the bottom of the ocean.

Originally posted by Portugoal
Right now, BP nor the government know what they are doing, or even trying to do. They've resorted to asking James Cameron to sit in on a brainstorming session.

Don't sell Cameron short, he is a world expert in working in undersea extreme environments and his brother is one of the top engineers in the world building machinery for undersea work. His brother designed a lot of the rigs Cameron needed to shoot his undersea movies - things that did not exist until they were made for his films.

reply to post by LifeInDeath


I've heard that Cameron is a "deepsea buff" but they should listen to people who might just know what they're talking about.

I was thinking the pressure would be very high but she probably would account for that in designing her solution. If she could come up with it in minutes, imagine how well it could be upgraded and revamped in a day or two. Take the idea, and run with it...

reply to post by Portugoal


The "genius haste" with which she came up with the idea might be the problem, actually. The story seemed to be more about her interesting life and history, rather than about the feasibility of her idea. Seems like there's some glaring problems, such as the structural integrity of tire material, the extreme temperatures, and the extreme pressures at that depth are all very important factors that the article totally failed to acknowledge. She may have, but the article didn't =)

stick me in the pipe, i'll wear a rubberman suit and flex the whole time.. just make sure there is an oxygen line down there 24/7.

Yea i hope this genius realizes the types of pressures we are talking about. Plus at that depth the pressure on the tires themselves will not allow them to inflate to the diameter they would be at the surface.


Personally i think the only solution is a very small yield tactical nuke would seal it forever. After all it worked for the Russians when this happened for them...or why don't they just crimp the damn pipe shut.

Originally posted by CaptGizmo
Yea i hope this genius realizes the types of pressures we are talking about. Plus at that depth the pressure on the tires themselves will not allow them to inflate to the diameter they would be at the surface.


Personally i think the only solution is a very small yield tactical nuke would seal it forever. After all it worked for the Russians when this happened for them...or why don't they just crimp the damn pipe shut.

I'd be a tad bit concerned about a sea floor collapse with more holes cropping up.

Originally posted by Son of Will
reply to post by Portugoal

 

The "genius haste" with which she came up with the idea might be the problem, actually. The story seemed to be more about her interesting life and history, rather than about the feasibility of her idea. Seems like there's some glaring problems, such as the structural integrity of tire material, the extreme temperatures, and the extreme pressures at that depth are all very important factors that the article totally failed to acknowledge. She may have, but the article didn't =)

A lot of people forget about that sort of thing when they hear the term genius. I personally think the term is just tossed about like candy any more but whatever.

There have been several very good points brought up by the posters here. You are right the article does little to help her cause though in my eyes. It seems more of a “look what I can do” sort of thing and not “this is what will work”.


Raist

I dont think the governemnt or BP amocooa really cares about outsiders information or knowledge of how to contain the spill..they never asked* usually, thats how it goes..unless you show up in person to thier business people and give an outstanding demonstrationa nd performance.
they may simply just want to use what they have, so theirs no liabilitys or having to pay someone who dosnt even work for them

Someone commented on the article that a company already proposed something like this and BP never got back to them... It's better to TRY than to twiddle thumbs IMHO, whether or not they think it will work.

if she's a genius? the guy that invented this must be really smart!
www.infolink.com.au...
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/d8d69e9f99df.jpg[/atsimg]

It's only been around for 40 to 50 years. The petroleum industry use them all the time. Try to get that baby in the hole with that much pressure...g'ahead...

she needs to google a little bit before she opens her smart mouth and looks like a fool.

MEGAPLUG pipe plugs, available from Giant Inflatables , are used to temporarily seal off a pipe for pressure testing, repairs, purging, or blocking contaminates.

The MEGAPLUG is a Kevlar reinforced, multi-size, inflatable pipe plug that is chemical resistant, and used within a variable diameter large bore pipe range. This makes stocking the wide range of sizes required a simplified operation.

The MEGAPLUG multi-size, inflatable pipe plug is available with or without bypass ports. They are inserted into a pipe and inflated to form plugs that can withstand head pressures of 6-15psi.

www.infolink.com.au...


[edit on 2-6-2010 by Just Wondering]

I think her idea is akin to a catheter. In fact, with the right materials, it could actually work, especially as someone said, the pipe gets smaller as you go down deeper.

The inflatable balloon part could be inside the tube, then inflated once it is in place. It would have to be extremely strong material, but even if it was only a short fix, enough to stem the flow to allow for concrete placement, it could work.

If they had something strong enough to blow the mud in there, then they have the way to blow air in, or, for that matter they could use concrete in place of the air.

Think along the difference in trying to blow up a balloon and trying to blow up a hot water bottle. If they could come up with something that durable in comparison, I think it could actually work. Perhaps even something like one of the monster truck tubes, like for those giant dump trucks like this:

farm4.static.flickr.com...

All they would have to do is contact the manufacturer. I am sure they would work on something like this, and hell, at this point, anything is worth a try.

Originally posted by Americanist

Originally posted by CaptGizmo
Yea i hope this genius realizes the types of pressures we are talking about. Plus at that depth the pressure on the tires themselves will not allow them to inflate to the diameter they would be at the surface.


Personally i think the only solution is a very small yield tactical nuke would seal it forever. After all it worked for the Russians when this happened for them...or why don't they just crimp the damn pipe shut.

I'd be a tad bit concerned about a sea floor collapse with more holes cropping up.

Here we go again, the sea floor WILL NOT collapse.

SHe had a good idea, it was an eye catcher nonetheless* that gave me yet another idea!
isnt thier a way to safely soldier stainless steel over the plug hole? get my idea? solder a thick sheet off stainless steel over it, n solder it shut.
make a pipe cap n solder it over the pipe*
I still think syphoning the crude into waiting crude ships is better than nothing at this point

Originally posted by ziggy1706
SHe had a good idea, it was an eye catcher nonetheless* that gave me yet another idea!
isnt thier a way to safely soldier stainless steel over the plug hole? get my idea? solder a thick sheet off stainless steel over it, n solder it shut.
make a pipe cap n solder it over the pipe*
I still think syphoning the crude into waiting crude ships is better than nothing at this point

I think siphoning is what this attempt is all about.