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Teachers
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Expedition 301
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Journal
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30 July 2004
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ENGINE ROOM TOUR
We are continuing to core. Things are going well in that we are having good core recovery. There is some concern because the last couple of times the drillers have gone in or out of the hole, they have encountered some resistance in the casing that could lead to problems in a couple of days when we try to install the CORK. I haven’t included any pictures of today’s coring activities. Instead, I want to focus on a very interesting tour that Scott Cottell, Chief Engineer (USA), gave us of the JOIDES Resolution’s engine room. I will share what I can—I have some very interesting facts that were shared by Scott, but some information during the tour might be limited because the challenge that we had, as you may notice in some of the pictures, is that it was VERY loud. Scott gave us a great introduction and then took us on a tour during which we saw the engines, generators, facilities for making fresh water, the shafts for the two main screws (propellers), and more. It was impossible in some places to hear each other talking. It is a good thing that there are ear plugs available throughout the ship.
Here is a partial update for today given by Adam Klaus, Expedition Project Manager/IODP-USIO Staff Scientist (USA):
The Strange News: On the way back into the hole to continue coring, once again we found a problem with the 10 3/4-inch casing. However, this time it appeared that the problem was now a bit deeper (~8 m). This despite the fact that previously when we pulled out of the hole, we checked the problem area (raised/lowered the bit) but saw nothing!
This time on the way down, we were able to easily rotate a little and pass the problem zone. This is still quite a mystery, but it appears that there may be a short section of casing that has been somehow damaged (worn through by the rotating drill collars?). This zone may be getting longer as we continue drilling in the hole - as where we hung up this 2nd time was a bit deeper. It is not clear if or how this might affect our logging, packer, or CORK work that we need to complete in this hole. When we log, we may (?) try to use one of the tools to try to gather a little information about the damaged part of the casing.
The Good News: When the bit passed through open hole to TD (total depth), there were no problems encountered and there was ~7-10 m of soft fill in the bottom of the hole. This was easily circulated out of the hole and we started coring with the third bit.
The Not-So-Good News: Cores 1301B-29R to -31R, cored from 532.5 to 550 mbsf (267.13 to 284.84 m below basement), recovered only 1.55 m (9%). Not very good recovery. We are still evaluating our options with respect to how much longer we will continue coring before we stop to log, etc. We still have many very challenging, very high priority operations left to go.
We did have to pause coring for a short time (~30 min) to repair a leaking seal in the active-heave compensator.
Countdown to Astoria: 21 days
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 ENGINE ROOM TOUR. Today, we got to go into unknown parts of the ship (at least for the scientists). Satoshi Nakagawa, Microbiologist (Japan), is making his way through the bulkhead to the engine control room.
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 ENGINE CONTROL ROOM. Scott Cottell, Chief Engineer (USA) (blue coveralls), began our tour with several interesting facts about the enormous capablilities of the JOIDES Resolution’s engines. I have a few of the more choice facts here. The ship has 7 engines attached to generators that, when operating at full capacity, produce enough electricity to light a small city. There are 5 main engines that can produce 2.1 megawatts of energy each, and 2 smaller engines that can produce 1700 kilowatts each.
It takes 1,069,320 gallons of #2 diesel fuel to fill the tanks on this ship… Wow!!! This much fuel is more than enough to meet all the ship’s needs for sailing, drilling, making power, making fresh water, etc. for the two months that the JOIDES Resolution is at sea for a scientific expedition.
Shown from left to right are: Bjoern Steinsbu, Microbiologist (Norway); Verena Heuer, Organic Geochemist (Germany); Lisa Hawkins, Undergraduate Student Trainee (USA); Mark Nielson, Physical Properties Specialist (USA); Scott Cottell, Chief Engineer (USA); Marion Dumont, Organic Geochemist (Sweden); Bert Engelen, Microbiologist (Germany); and Takeshi Tsuji, Logging Scientist (Japan).
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 FRESH WATER. This is one of the ship’s evaporator units for making fresh water. We need water to drink, shower, wash clothes, cook, carry out some drilling operations, and more. The ship has to make 40 tons of water every day!!! That is approximately 19,000 gallons or 72,000 liters every day!!!
The ship has two different types of systems for producing fresh water. One is a vapor compressor that heats water to steam, which is then compressed and used to boil seawater. The steam from the seawater is collected and used aboard the ship. This is a very expensive method (approximately $1.25/gal). The other method is much cheaper and is used to produce much of the water on the ship. Seawater is pumped in a low pressure chamber in the jacket surrounding the engines. Because of the vacuum, the water boils at only 120°F.
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 We have had our introduction. Now it is time to go into the deepest levels of the ship to see the main engines. Here, Lisa Hawkins, Undergraduate Student Trainee (USA), and Bjoern Steinsbu, Microbiologist (Norway), make their way into the lower engine compartment.
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 MAIN ENGINE. This is one of 5 main engines on the ship that are used to power the ship. This engine runs a generator that is capable of producing 2.1 megawatts of electricity each day. The voltage that the generator produces is 4160 volts of direct current (DC). This gets transformed down to 600 or 400 volts here, and then transformed lower as needed for several places throughout the ship.
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 SCOTT DESCRIBES THE ENGINES. The scientists were very interested in the inner workings of the ship. Here Scott is describing the different components of one of the main engines.
Shown from left to right (faces visible) are: Satoshi Nakagawa, Microbiologist (Japan); Takeshi Tsuji, Logging Scientist (Japan); Mike Hutnak, Physical Properties Specialist (USA); Adam Klaus, Expedition Project Manager/IODP-USIO Staff Scientist (USA); and Scott Cottell, Chief Engineer (USA).
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 shaft FOR THE SCREW. We are at the bottom of the ship. The brown cylinder is the shaft to one of the two main screws (propellers) for the ship. These are attached to an engine that is capable of turning the screw 140 revolutions per minute (RPM). While we are on location, the screws are turning at 45 RPM to help keep us in place over the drilling location.
You may want to know how fast the JOIDES Resolution travels. It typically goes 11-12 knots when in transit. A knot is 1 nautical mile per hour (a nautical mile = 1852 m)
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 WHAT?!!! It is very loud in most of the engine rooms. We were all wearing ear plugs and it was still loud. It was amusing because we all wanted to know so much. We kept trying to ask questions. Scott yelled in my ear several times, but I didn’t hear anything. I finally gave up, kept my ear plugs in, and enjoyed the tour without commentary. Later, I cornered Scott and asked several questions. Here Scott is trying to give Mark some insights into the generator attached to one of the engines.
Shown from left to right (faces visible) are: Bjoern Steinsbu, Microbiologist (Norway); Mike Hutnak, Physical Properties Specialist (USA); Nielson, Physical Properties Specialist (USA); Scott Cottell, Chief Engineer (USA); Marion Dumont, Organic Geochemist (Sweden); and Lisa Hawkins, Undergraduate Student Trainee (USA).
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 WELL PROTECTED. The lower compartments are protected by water tight doors to protect against flooding should an accident occur. Here, Scott Cottell, Chief Engineer (USA), is opening the door so that we can continue our tour.
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