http://morecontrol.com/2010/05/would-an-acoustic-trigger-have-prevented-the-oily-mess-in-the-gulf/ Everything remote control Tue, 01 Feb 2011 17:50:44 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 http://morecontrol.com/2010/05/would-an-acoustic-trigger-have-prevented-the-oily-mess-in-the-gulf/comment-page-1/#comment-252 Amy Fri, 04 Jun 2010 09:36:34 +0000 http://morecontrol.com/?p=1782#comment-252 The rig crew triggered the blowout preventer before the explosion, and received an acknowledgement from the BOP that it had been activated. That should have been sufficient to actuate the BOP and seal off the wellhead. For some reason, the BOP didn't actually fire when it claimed to have done so. An acoustic control system wouldn't have helped; the problem was not that the BOP didn't get the command signal in the first place. The rig crew triggered the blowout preventer before the explosion, and received an acknowledgement from the BOP that it had been activated. That should have been sufficient to actuate the BOP and seal off the wellhead. For some reason, the BOP didn’t actually fire when it claimed to have done so. An acoustic control system wouldn’t have helped; the problem was not that the BOP didn’t get the command signal in the first place.

]]> http://morecontrol.com/2010/05/would-an-acoustic-trigger-have-prevented-the-oily-mess-in-the-gulf/comment-page-1/#comment-210 paul robichaux Fri, 07 May 2010 23:44:31 +0000 http://morecontrol.com/?p=1782#comment-210 The rig crew triggered the blowout preventer before the explosion, and received an acknowledgement from the BOP that it had been activated. That should have been sufficient to actuate the BOP and seal off the wellhead. For some reason, the BOP didn't actually fire when it claimed to have done so. An acoustic control system wouldn't have helped; the problem was not that the BOP didn't get the command signal in the first place. The rig crew triggered the blowout preventer before the explosion, and received an acknowledgement from the BOP that it had been activated. That should have been sufficient to actuate the BOP and seal off the wellhead. For some reason, the BOP didn’t actually fire when it claimed to have done so. An acoustic control system wouldn’t have helped; the problem was not that the BOP didn’t get the command signal in the first place.

]]> http://morecontrol.com/2010/05/would-an-acoustic-trigger-have-prevented-the-oily-mess-in-the-gulf/comment-page-1/#comment-207 Ed Fri, 07 May 2010 15:40:06 +0000 http://morecontrol.com/?p=1782#comment-207 The Acoustic Switch would have made no difference in this case. The same BOP valves that the acoustic switch would have triggered have already been manually actuated by ROV's. It appears that the BOP valves were blocked from closing completely until sufficent erosion had taken place that closing them fully did not shut off the flow. This erosion likely happened during the first minutes and hours of the blowout, before an acoustic switch would have been operated anyway. Also, it is likely that the BOP had already been triggered from the rig during the time (~30 Sec) between the blowout and ignition. If the BOP had not been triggered and if the ROV actuation of the BOP valves had worked, having the acoustic switch may have saved a day or two. The Acoustic Switch would have made no difference in this case. The same BOP valves that the acoustic switch would have triggered have already been manually actuated by ROV’s. It appears that the BOP valves were blocked from closing completely until sufficent erosion had taken place that closing them fully did not shut off the flow. This erosion likely happened during the first minutes and hours of the blowout, before an acoustic switch would have been operated anyway. Also, it is likely that the BOP had already been triggered from the rig during the time (~30 Sec) between the blowout and ignition. If the BOP had not been triggered and if the ROV actuation of the BOP valves had worked, having the acoustic switch may have saved a day or two.

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