Hi All
Michael Hayes asks about how bubbles could be deployed.
One possibility would be for a pair of wind-driven vessels to sail side
by side at, say, a kilometre separation, attached to each other by a
buoyant, streamlined tether.
The chord of the tether would be about 100 mm. In plan it would form a
catenary with a generous bulge to reduce the tensile load. The nose of
tether would contain a strong Kevlar or carbon tension member. Behind
this would be a number of high-pressure air-lines taking very well
filtered air from each vessel to a porous strip near the nose of the
foil section and running the full length. The drag of the tether would
be reduced by the bubble layer on the underside.
The tether would have to be elastic enough to follow the curvature of
the wave slope. In most sea states this is surprisingly low but
elasticity can be increased by running the tensile member in a series of
S shapes.
The vessels need power but could generate this in the same way as
suggested for the cloud albedo project. Indeed it would not be
difficult to design a dual purpose vessel which would change mode
according to cloud conditions. It would be convenient if the vessels
were symmetrical fore and aft so that they could tack by going into reverse.
The design does need information on bubble life and the best bubble
diameter and I would be most grateful for any advice on this matter.
Michael mentions the Dracone project. I worked on this in a very junior
capacity in 1960 but a kilometre wide bubble wake would be cheaper if
the bubbles can last long enough and less of a risk than a Dracone that
got loose.
Stephen
Emeritus Professor of Engineering Design
Institute for Energy Systems
School of Engineering
Mayfield Road
University of Edinburgh EH9 3JL
Scotland
Tel +44 131 650 5704
Mobile 07795 203 195
www.see.ed.ac.uk/~shs
On 26/04/2011 23:21, Michael Hayes wrote:
Please help me understand the mechanics of Bright Water deployment. I
have spent many months living on the Bering Sea (in winter) and have
piloted 150ft fishing vessels in that area for countless hours. I have
watched the sea continually produce white caps for as far as I could
see for days and weeks at a time. How can a practical, cost effective
and meaningful use of bright water be deployed which comes even close
to .0001 percent of the natural production of white caps? The energy
and equipment needed to cover any meaningful amount of the sea is
difficult for me to comprehend. Outfitting fishing fleets with the
needed equipment and paying the boat owners to run the gear is
possible. But, we are only talking about a bright water wake which
lasts for only a short distance...at best.
Designing autonomous platforms specifically for the mission may be
possible, but, one storm could beach every single platform within a
few hours. Who and how will they be collected and sent back out? This,
from a seaman's point of view, is difficult to see as being practical.
I have studied the concept though what has been offered here and
through other links. The mechanical challenge of producing such small
bubbles is interesting and I have even spent time thinking through the
possible use high throughput ultrasonic injectors. But, I still come
back to the questions of; 1) how can bright water be practically
deployed? 2) How can the investment be justified when the wide area
effect is so tenuous? 3) Would not reflective large surface rafts
provide a more cost effective long term overall result?
There is the option of a reflective form of the Dracone Barge as a
useful way to deploy large area ocean surface SRM.
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracone_barge.
If such barges were deployed in large numbers a large area rafting
system could be secured in needed areas and moved as the season
changes. With small desalinization pods attached, we could have not
just have low cost/long term/flexible ocean surface SRM but a nice
supply of needed fresh water. Sell the fresh water and buy more bags!!!!
I ask your help in understanding how bright water can be a competitive
form of SRM.
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "geoengineering" group.
To post to this group, send email to [email protected].
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
[email protected].
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en.
--
The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in
Scotland, with registration number SC005336.
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"geoengineering" group.
To post to this group, send email to [email protected].
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
[email protected].
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en.
