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By Michael Carr– I operated at supporting myself under the ship, attempting to constant my body versus the hull while putting the foam lance’s fabric-covered pointer right into the icebreaker’s sea breast. Adding air to my Unisuit pushed me versus the hull. I held the 5 feet lengthy foam lance with both hands, with legs spread out as well as ultimately located a secure placement.

Now I can “pull the trigger” on the lance as well as pump up the foam plug. It was not actually a trigger yet a bar which penetrates a high-volume carbon dioxide cyndrical tube. And after that, as finest defined in the lance’s procedures handbook:

” … feeding co2 gas via a gas growth tube right into the back of the lance, at this moment the back tear disc breaks as well as pressurant gas gets in, driving a chrome steel round versus the pressurized foam mix, when the stress gains 300 psi the front tear disc paves the way as well as the polystyrene foam exists the lance, as well as a polystyrene matrix types, broadening as well as creating a strong round … “

This eruptive procedure takes much less than 2 secs. You turn on the bar as well as there is a BAM as well as WHOOSH as well as the strong polystyrene round is developed. It satisfies the form of the opening as well as comes to be promptly strong as well as unmoving.

You have round, one trigger pull to obtain this proper. I was not, presently, considering the chemistry as well as scientific research behind the lance, yet rather concentrated on obtaining the lance’s bag aligned properly in the ice breaker’s sea breast.

We had just one lance. The Coast Guard 140 feet icebreaker required to open its sea breast as well as repair service fractured welds from inside the ship. The Chesapeake Bay was covered in ice, this wintertime was extremely cool, as well as ice prolonged from the northern most C & & D Canal, completely southern to Norfolk VA.

“Send your divers to Yorktown VA, we need you to plug the ice breaker’s sea chest so they can repair cracks and get back to breaking ice” That was the goal we got. Figure it out, obtain it done.

We can have opted for a typical outdoors difficult spot yet attempting to fit a spot to the icebreakers bent hull would certainly have been taxing as well as tough. Working in cold problems, with air as well as water temperature levels listed below cold would actually test our capacities.

We chosen to attempt utilizing the foam lance. One shot, yet if we did it properly the lance would certainly secure the sea breast as well as repair work can be done that day. The lance had actually never ever been utilized in cold problems. It could not pump up. We called the Coast Guard Research as well as Development Center.

“Do you think it will inflate in freezing conditions?”

“Wow, good question. It should, but it might inflate slower. We recommend you pull the activation lever as fast as possible. Let that gas pressure increase quickly.”

So right here I was under the icebreaker, shuddering in my drysuit, holding the lance with 2 glove covered hands. Very little mastery, ice creating around me, as well as attempting to maintain the lance vertical to the ship’s hull.

“One shot, one kill,” I assumed. Line up the lance, press it versus the hull, draw the bar, do not wait. Steady breathing.

BAM, WHOOSH, BANG. I drew the bar, the carbon dioxide shot right into the lance, the polystyrene bag pumped up. I waited, after that jabbed the bag, it was hard as a rock. I inspected the sides of the sea breast; the foam bag overlapped the sides. Popping the kamlock installations on the foam plug I eliminated the lance as well as delicately tried to shake the plug. Was it actually holding? It did stagnate; it’s increased foam as well as water stress holding it in position.

“Damn,” I assumed, “I think its holding”.

Inside the icebreaker designers eliminated the sea breast cover as well as located it completely dry. Welding began to fix fractures brought on by resonances because of virtually continual icebreaking procedures. We paused on the ship’s mess deck alcohol consumption coffee as well as heating up.

Within a couple of hrs, the fractures were bonded. “You can take the plug out now” came words from the ship’s designer.

Down we went under the ship, as well as after a reasonable quantity of shaking, banging, reducing as well as cursing we eliminate the plug, which promptly fired to the surface area as soon as devoid of the sea breast opening.

We after that based on the dock as well as enjoyed the ice breaker heavy steam out right into the York River, heading back to starting a conversation.

“I love those guys at the R & D Center, we need to order more foam lances!” as well as I sure rejoice that foam increased!