An 11yr Olds Solution to the Oil Disaster...

[M.D. Holloway]

My Son asked me why they couldn't "just drag all the junk away from the hole and pour like a million tons of cement on it to plug it up... or better yet just blow it all up and let the hole fill it self!"

Interesting but I am not sure it would work plus I think BP is really trying to recover the well site and salvage what they can and still have a functioning site.

I don't know the dynamics or what the plan really is. Seems to me they are doing what they can in order to save the site.

[Jim Bremner]

I say a BIG screw that is tappered. just drive it down the hole and start turning. Of course being 1 mile down makes it kinda hard.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

One. Big. Nuke.

[URY914]

A pipe a mile long filled with concrete would be a problem. The concrete would set up before it got to the end of the pipe. Even if you had a way to keep the concrete flowing the amount of concrete needed would be massive.

[red-beard]

I came up with an idea for a set of expandable seals. A girl (21-21 yrs old, but phD in Engineering) came up with a similar but better idea.

Basically a stick with a series of rubber tires. this is pushed down into the well. When enough of these "tires", really pneumatic bladders, are down the hole, they are inflated and they expand to seal off the pipe. Each one only has about 50-250 psi across it. This would stop the flow, until the relief wells are dug out. Or, it would allow a regular valve to be placed on top of the BOP. The pneumatic system would then be pulled, and valve closed. Now pipes, etc, could be hooked back up and we could close off the well.

[GH85Carrera]

The pressures necessary would make that unlikely to work. I heard one smart ass fix. Just drop a big wedding ring over it and it will stop putting out.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

The pressures necessary would make that unlikely to work. I heard one smart ass fix. Just drop a big wedding ring over it and it will stop putting out.

Why do you say that? If you have enough bladders, the pressure drop across each one is reduced to where it is managable. I agree that a single bladder isn't going to hold 2000-3000 psid across it. But 50 psid could be easily managed. The thing would look like a series of 50 small rubber tires on a hollow tube. You use the tube to fill the bladders with a hydraulic fluid, and inflate them. 50 of them, if the pressure differential was 2000 psid, would only have 40 psid across each one. 100 would reduce the pressure across each one to 20 psid. And it only has to hold long enough to get a regular valve in place, over the top of the BOP. There is still a flange there. I saw it on the cameras when they were "top hatting" the well.

[M.D. Holloway]

How many leak holes are there? Whats the pressure coming out? Seems like if you are able to suck the flow with great bar than the psi is pushing it should capture it no?

[Pazuzu]

The only reason it's leaking is pressure pushing the oil out. Remove the pressure.


Drain the gulf, then dredge about 15,000 feet of rock away. The pressure will be gone, and the leak will stop.

[AFD660]

we put a man on the moon.. and we're letting an oil leak kick our butts??? lol...

why not crush the pipe closed to at least lessen the amount flowing out...

[URY914]

What is the diameter of the pipe/well?

[cashflyer]

Originally Posted by BlueSkyJaunte

One. Big. Nuke.

Russia says DO EEET

[Gogar]

James,

Are you filling the bladders with air, or water, or oil, or what?

I don't think filling them with air at that depth is going to work in a predictable way.

[Tim Hancock]

I thought I heard that they were concerned about damage lower in the system. If they were to simply plug the leaking end somehow (squeeze/pinch it shut with a robot operated hydraulic pincher clamp for example), it could rupture at a lower level below the sea floor at which point they would truly be screwed.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Originally Posted by cashflyer

Russia says DO EEET

I know theees, Komrade. Eeet eees why I suggested eeet.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by Gogar

James,

Are you filling the bladders with air, or water, or oil, or what?

I don't think filling them with air at that depth is going to work in a predictable way.

Hydrualic fluid. Air would compress way too much. It would be a form of oil.

Originally Posted by Wayne at Pelican Parts

While I am also in the camp that thinks that BP has moved very slowly and has not done everything they could really quickly, the problem is very complex due to the high pressures. What does that mean? At 5,000 feet below the surface of the water, the pressure from the weight of the water above is HUGE. Thus, the weight from the pressure of the water is pushing on the bottom of the well. The oil is still coming out of the well, thus the pressure inside the well is much greater than the pressure being exerted by the water on top of the well. Thus, any cap effort or plug effort would involve stopping pressures even much greater than the actual high pressures found at the bottom. Not an easy task...

-Wayne

It isn't the absolute pressure you need to deal with, but the differential pressure.

Originally Posted by Pazuzu

The only reason it's leaking is pressure pushing the oil out. Remove the pressure.


Drain the gulf, then dredge about 15,000 feet of rock away. The pressure will be gone, and the leak will stop.

That's just silly. What we need to do is build a caison around it made of concrete. It would look just like one of those crayfish mud mounds...

[DARISC]

Originally Posted by Jim Bremner

I say a BIG screw that is tappered. just drive it down the hole and start turning. Of course being 1 mile down makes it kinda hard.

A Phillips screwdriver wouldn't work - need a Goliath screwdriver.

[Aurel]

Here is an idea: get a long powerful submarine in there, stick its nose on the hole, pointing vertical, go WOT until it gets stuck at least half its length in there. Have Obama drive the submarine .

[M.D. Holloway]

Wouldn't really need hydraulic fluid Red - prolly just crude oil would be fine.

[Aurel]

How big is that hole anyways?