How big is the BP broken pipe?

[HardWorkingDem]

I hate to ask this here, but I've been unable to find out exactly how large the broken pipe is...


Thank you...

[yella_dawg]

1. The riser is 21 inches.

[CountAllVotes]

2. amazing to me

that they cannot plug up a 21" hole. :think: :mad:

[ladjf]

3. Or, put something over it such as a inverted barge or oil tank. nt

[Botany]

5. they tried but under the huge pressures and cold temps the methane .....

.... becomes super light "halides" that cause any cap to float away.

[ladjf]

12. I had in mind using a string of capture vessels, moving each one

that is full and replacing with an empty. Also, if the methane lighter, it might could be separated from the oil and water via some type of vents or suction.

[Botany]

15. might work but you might be trying to pump the ocean.

n/t

[Botany]

4. 100,000 psi of pressure coming out of the pipe

and all the work has to be done remotely under 1 mile of ocean.

[snooper2]

8. I don't know where you got that number from...

but it's way off the mark :) See my post below...

[Botany]

14. A scientist friend of mine sent it to me.

The pressure is a function of the size of the oil / gas deposit and the overburden force
on top of the formation ...... he also said that "they" drilled 25,000 ft under the sea floor
and not to the top of the formation ..... 18,000 ft.

Although I might be wrong on the 100,000 psi level.

I think they are slow to do the "top kill" because the pressure up the well and the pressure
that they will have to use to force the drilling mud down the well to cap it might cause the
pipe to explode.

[snooper2]

19. I got my number from the engineer on the 60 minutes interview

that was working on the rig when it blew..

[snooper2]

7. Ocean pressure at 1 mile is 2350 PSI

That's basically the same as this-



being held in the air by the bottom of your thumb...


Pressure coming out of that broken riser is around 4-5000 PSI

[Brother Buzz]

23. The riser pressure may be 4-5,000 PSI

But the pressure under the semi restricted screwed-up BOP, the wellhead, may be 6,000 to 11,000 PSI. A real working number I heard bandied about yesterday was in the 9,000 PSI range. Gnarly, but doable in theory, that is, with equipment and well casing that hasn't been compromised.

[Botany]

24. thanx

my guess is that it has to be somewhat higher than because the pipe might have constrictions of flow
and that might lead to a higher psi

[Warpy]

13. It's a little more complicated than that

It's a split along a length of that pipe on the sea floor with oil and gas shooting out of it under tremendous pressure.

The water pressure a mile down would crush you in an instant, yet the pressure of all that oil and gas is enormously greater. It's that pressure that is the problem, not the size of the pipe.

[PVnRT]

16. A 21" hole

Below nearly a mile of water with a bunch of crude shooting out of it at high pressure. Yeah, sure, easy fix.

[csziggy]

18. It'd be like trying to plug a firehose that you cannot shut off

Hard in itself. Now, work under vast amounts of pressure with remote controlled robots not intended for heavy duty work and no way to anchor them against the pressure of the liquid gushing out of the pipe.

I've replaced a spigot on a pipe without shutting off the water - it is possible, but not easy and very messy. But the pipe was not broken, the threads were intact and it was just a matter of getting it lined up and the threads started. Doing it with a broken pipe would have been nearly impossible.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

20. It amazes me that people claim to care deeply about the issue...

yet continue to be uninformed about the basic issues involved.

[HardWorkingDem]

10. Take it that is diameter?

Thank you so much....

[CountAllVotes]

11. yes

some folks are absolutely pissed that they cannot plug up a 21" hole. :mad:

[dgibby]

25. According to CNN, the diameter of the pipe is 2ft. n/t

[Deep13]

6. I would have supposed a compression fitting would do it.

I realize I'm just guessing and have no idea what the practicalities of doing a repair a mile underwater are.

I figured they could cut off the end of the pipe that was damaged in the explosion to make it regular. Then, slip a compression fitting nut over it. Then the compression fitting. It's like a metal ring that goes around the pipe. Then the top part which would be like a spigot. Install the spigot in the open position so there won't be much pressure until the whole thing is installed. The bottom of the spigot threads into the nut. As it tightens, the compression fitting gets squeezed between them, forming a tight seal on the pipe. When done, turn off the spigot or attach it to some hose or pipe to send the oil to the surface.

Again, just my amatuer impression.

[PVnRT]

17. They don't make compression fittings that big

Additionally, there's virtually no way you can get a compression fitting to clamp down enough on what is, at the least, a 1" thick pipe. At that size of pipe, about all you can get are elbows, tees and flanges, all of which have to be welded.

[slackmaster]

21. The problem with plugging the end of the riser is that the tubing is badly damaged

It's bent and fatigued. If you block the flow coming out of the end, the rest of the pipe may not be strong enough to contain the pressure.

[csziggy]

22. The "pipe" is a special alloy casing that is hard to cut or drill

This from one of the Bill Nye bits on CNN where he was discussing the various methods people have sent in to try to stop this flow. He said that BP is allowing three weeks to drill through the pipe with their pressure relief well effort once they reach it. See the first suggestion:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/ireports/2010/05/20/irpt.bill.nye.oil.spill.solutions.cnn?iref=allsearch

[uponit7771]

9. It's the speed and preasure the oil is coming out that is making this hard 21" hole is easy to plug

...but it looks like that oil even WITH the ocean preassure is coming out at a high rate

[HardWorkingDem]

26. Stent-like contraption....

I'd be curious to know if there is any sort of stent-like contraption for things like this. Something like a narrow, collapsed thing that can be threaded through the end and then mechanically expanded to stop the flow.

Sort of like those bladder contraptions used to unclog drains at the end of a hose.