A ZERO-RELATIVE-VELOCITY BELT SKIMMER, STAGE II - CONFIRMING TESTS AND PROTOTYPE DESIGN

A 40-foot-long prototype skimming vessel has been designed which uses twin floating sorbent belts to recover spilled oil in 6-8 knot currents. Oil recovery rates up to 600 gpm are possible with the prototype because the composite belts are propelled at the same speed as the water (relative to the vessel). The performance of this zero-relative-velocity (ZRV) belt arrangement was tow-tested at full scale in calm water and in waves. Also tested for proper motion response was a 1/8-scale model of the catamaran vessel that supports the oil recovery apparatus. Results from the test program were used to aid the prototype ZRV Skimmer design effort and quantify its projected oil recovery performance. (Author)

• Corporate Authors:

  Shell Development Company

  Pipeline Research and Development Laboratory
  Houston, TX  United States  77035
• Authors:
  • Ayers, R R
  • Ward, J M
• Publication Date: 1977-5

Media Info

• Pagination: 152 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Absorbents; Catamarans; Life expectancy; Manual safety belts; Ocean currents; Oil recovery equipment; Oil spill cleanup; Oil spills; Open water; Polypropylene; Prototypes; River currents; Rollers; Separators; Ship motion; Ships; Structural models; Velocity; Water waves
• Uncontrolled Terms: Model tests; Recovery; Removal; Ship models
• Old TRIS Terms: Absorbers materials; Belt skimmers; Belts; Felts; Inshore areas; Oil recovery; Oil skimmers
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Environment; Hydraulics and Hydrology; Marine Transportation; Society; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00166085
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: USCG-D-23-77 Final Rpt.
• Contract Numbers: DOT-CG-42229-A
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 20 1977 12:00AM