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Project Number 121
Date of Summary March 31, 1997
Subject Water Jet Barrier Containment of Oil in the Presence of Broken Ice
Performing Activity Emergencies Engineering Division, Environment Canada
Principal Investigator Mr. Harry Whittaker
Contracting Agency Minerals Management Service
Estimated Completion Complete
Description This was a Joint Industry Project (JIP) with Environment Canada to evaluate and optimize the design of an innovative oil spill containment barrier. The barrier uses high pressure water and fine droplets above and parallel to the water surface resulting in a high velocity local wind. This wind drives the surface oil in front of it but the near surface water layer is not as affected as it would be with conventional mechanical containment booms. Phase I of the project focused on field testing of various nozzle configurations and jet velocities. Phase II of this project titled `Optimization of an Innovative High Speed Waterjet Containment Boom for High Current/Ice Areas` redesigned and modified the system to achieve optimum performance and evaluated the product both as an oil containment device and for its effectiveness in reducing smoke emissions when contained oil is burned in place.
Progress Complete. Testing of the waterjet barrier was conducted at the OHMSETT facility in New Jersey, to determine the extent of the barrier's containment performance and capabilities. Areas evaluated were the barrier's ability to contain different thicknesses of oil slicks and its ability to contain these slicks in varying wave conditions.

Reports

AA (138 pages)   File in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) . High Pressure Water Jet Barrier - Design Optimization, Environmental Emergency Manuscript Report Number EE-88, Environment Canada, Ottawa, Ontario 125 pp., April 1987.
AB (3 pages) File in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) . Laperriere, F., Evaluation of a Water Jet Barrier In Ice Conditions, Proceedings of Technology Assessment and Research Program for Offshore Minerals Operations Workshop, Minerals Management Service, Herndon, Virginia, pp. 157-159, 1988.
AC (46 pages) File in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) . Comfort, G., Tests to Evaluate the Effect of a Waterjet Barrier on the Burning Efficiency of a Floating Oil Slick, Fleet Technology Limited, Kanata, Ontario, Canada, November 1988.
AD  (52 pages) File in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) . Comfort, G., Tests to Evaluate the Effect of a Waterjet Barrier on the Burning Efficiency of a Floating Oil Slick, Environmental Emergency Manuscript Report Number EE-112, Environment Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, 43 pp., 1989.
AE (17 pages) File in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) . Comfort, G., Punt, M., Oil-Burning Tests Conducted in the Presence of a High Pressure Waterjet Barrier, Proceedings of the Twelfth Arctic and Marine Oil Spill Program Technical Seminar, Environment Canada, Ontario, pp. 227-243, 1989.
AF (6 pages) File in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) . Laperriere, F., Evaluation of a Water Jet Barrier in Ice Conditions, Spill Technology Newsletter, Volume 14, No. 1, pp. 8-13, 1989.
AG (68 pages) File in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) . Comfort, G., Paterson, R. B., Redesign of Waterjet Barrier Flotation System, Fleet Technology Limited, Kanata, Ontario, Canada, March 1991.
AH (10 pages) File in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) . Paterson, B, Comfort, G., Punt, M., Development of a Waterjet Barrier for Oil Spill Containment, Proceedings of the Fifteenth Arctic and Marine Oil Spill Program Technical Seminar, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, pp. 439-455, June 10-12, 1992.
AI (144 pages) File in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) . Redesign, Construction and Field Testing of a Prototype Flotation System for a Waterjet Barrier (Draft), Fleet Technology Limited, Kanata, Ontario, Canada, September 1992.
AJ (149 pages) File in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) . Redesign, Construction and Field Testing of a Prototype Flotation System for a Waterjet Barrier (Final) , Fleet Technology Limited, Kanata, Ontario, Canada, October 1992.
AK (46 pages) File in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) . DeVitis, Dave, Ohmsett Tests of the Water Jet Barrier System, Final report, MAR, Incorporated, Rockville, Maryland, August, 1996.

 

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