Doctoral Dissertations

Keywords and Phrases

Cylinder collapse; Deepwater Horizon; Explosive; Explosive Lensing; Sealing an Oil Pipe; Shockwaves

Abstract

"In 2010, the British Petroleum (BP) Deepwater Horizon accident leaked oil into the Gulf of Mexico for 87 days. A fast response method that can seal an oil pipe and stop the release of oil is needed in order to prevent future oil leaks from turning into ecological and financial disasters. Explosives can serve this need.

This research examined how a circular implosive discontinuous explosive lens interacts with a cylindrical surface. The following research was designed to study the applicability of the Method this author developed to predict the peak pressure from multiple shockwaves converging on a centrally located cylinder. This research also examined if multiple charges can impart a higher peak pressure or impulse on the centrally located cylindrical surface than a single charge of equal net weight. The experiments examined single charges in line with the signature sensor with various charge weights (0.2, 0.4, and 0.6 lb) and multiple 0.2 lb charges varying the number of charges (1-5) at different angular spacings (180, 120, 90, 60, and 40-degrees).

The Method developed throughout this research can be used to predict the pressure along the symmetry plane when 180 ≥ 0 ≥ 60 degrees, for two and three 0.2 lb charges. The Peak Pressure Predictive Method is accurate to ± 4 percent. The techniques developed to predict the peak reflected pressure and impulse generated from multiple shockwaves converging on a cylindrical surface will aid in generating a rapid response system to help prevent underwater disasters similar to the Deepwater Horizon event"--Abstract, page iii.

Advisor(s)

Baird, Jason

Committee Member(s)

Worsey, Paul Nicholas
Galecki, Greg
Nygaard, Runar
Lusk, Braden

Department(s)

Mining Engineering

Degree Name

Ph. D. in Explosives Engineering

Publisher

Missouri University of Science and Technology

Publication Date

Summer 2016

Pagination

xix, 237 pages

Note about bibliography

Includes bibliographic references (pages 233-236).

Rights

© 2016 Phillip R Mulligan, All rights reserved.

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

File Type

text

Language

English

Subject Headings

Oil spills -- Management
Offshore oil well drilling
Underwater explosions

Thesis Number

T 10970

Electronic OCLC #

958281096

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