Could a Cubic Block Stop the BP Spill?

[cph]

CUBIC BLOCK

Make 10 ft sided cubic block (1000 cu ft) of concrete, rebar, and sand, on a barge. Then use 2 barges and pulleys perhaps to drop such block 2000 ft (10 secs?), which might penetrate 100 ft(?) into muck. Drop it slightly off target, so that sub-mud surface conduit collapses shut. Water is non-compressible fluid, whereas gas in conduit is a compressible fluid. So the cubic block would push muck over into conduit, collapsing it.

 

[stewartcs]

CUBIC BLOCK

Make 10 ft sided cubic block (1000 cu ft) of concrete, rebar, and sand, on a barge. Then use 2 barges and pulleys perhaps to drop such block 2000 ft (10 secs?), which might penetrate 100 ft(?) into muck. Drop it slightly off target, so that sub-mud surface conduit collapses shut. Water is non-compressible fluid, whereas gas in conduit is a compressible fluid. So the cubic block would push muck over into conduit, collapsing it.

What the heck is 'muck'?

CS

 

[brushman]

Also, there's a thread on fixing the gulf oil spill problem already:
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=405948&page=10

 

[cph]

perhaps cement encasements of the base of oil rig posts (at 20 ft), useful for stability for hurricane season, would also push the water loaded sediments in part towards the collapsible gas conduit.

 

[xxChrisxx]

What the heck is 'muck'?

CS

My educated guess is probably seabed.

 

[pallidin]

Quite frankly, I'm all for some type of "brute force" containment method to stop this leak, since the other technologies appear to be ineffective.
However, I would go greater than a 1000 cubic foot drop seal. Maybe 10,000.
I don't know. Whatever it takes!

 

[Lancelot59]

Something I think would work, is drilling another intersecting well. Cap that so you can effectively collect all the oil from it. By forcibly sucking oil through the bypass that will reduce the pressure on the main well, and make it easier to close. All you need is to drop a giant concrete cap on it and bolt it to the seabed, or something like that.

 

[xxChrisxx]

Something I think would work, is drilling another intersecting well. Cap that so you can effectively collect all the oil from it. By forcibly sucking oil through the bypass that will reduce the pressure on the main well, and make it easier to close. All you need is to drop a giant concrete cap on it and bolt it to the seabed, or something like that.

What do you think a relief well is?

 

[Lancelot59]

What do you think a relief well is?

A well you go to the bathroom in?

 

[mheslep]

May all be moot, relief well has 900 feet left to go, drilling at about 60-70 feet per day at that depth.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/deepwaterhorizon/7086967.html