Q) Does the Hover Barge (HB)
vibrate like high speed craft?
A) No. As it is not moving fast, there is no wave impact and the large mono
cushion acts as a dampener.
Q) When air is lost say all engines fail will the craft
come down hard?
A) No it takes some minutes as the aircushion has to vent out so it is a soft
landing
Q) Will it hover with one engine lost?
A) Yes. If on hover and one engine goes down, we have a shut off valve to stop
air escaping back through the fan.
Q) If a skirt segment is torn what happens?
A) Each one is individual and the one each side will try to expand and fill gap.
Q) How many skirt segments can you loose before it
stops hovering?
A) Probably 10% in a complete section.
Q) How steep a slope can you ascend?
A) As steep as you like if you have the pulling force the critical area is the
transferring from level to the slope and the barge forming a triangle. The
transfer slope is determined by the hover height.
Q) Will it float off hover?
A) Yes just as a marine barge (if it is designed to be amphibious)
Q) What happens if the load is on one side?
A) The same as a marine barge, it will tilt in that direction and may need
counter ballast.
Q) When traveling across a slope, will it slide?
A) Yes. It will swing in the direction of slope, so you need side restraints
such as tractor or anchor points, or trailing wheels. Any rigger worth his
salt would soon sort it out. This is a reason for the trailing wheels so
they act like a keel.
Q) What is the effect of undulating ground?
A) The skirt takes up the profile and the platform will stay level.
Q) What are the skill levels to operate these?
A) An ignition key to the diesel engine is the most sophisticated item. Normal
contract labour is needed as all the equipment is standard contract
equipment, except for the skirt.
Q) If the skirt is damaged, how would it be repaired?
A) They are fitted on frames and can be removed and replaced in units.
Q) What happens if you pass over gullies?
A) The skirt will fall into the gully and seal the air loss up to the depth of
the skirt. So a barge with a 1.2m hover height will be able to cross gullies 1 m
deep.
Q) What happens if you pass over deep gullies?
A) This depends on the gully depth and width. If we fill a large room full of
ping pong balls and open a small door at the bottom of the room, the
movement of balls out of the exit will be fast but the top layer of balls
in the room will hardly move. Opening more doors will increase the loss. The
loss of air in a large mono chamber is similar to this.
Q) How do you cross areas with gullies?
A) If an area with gullies is to be crossed on a regular route then these can be
filled on temporary basis with 1m diameter x 2 m long kit bags filled with
plastic balls. These can be dropped in to form a seal and removed as the
barge passes over. Other methods are available depending on the site conditions.
Q) Can the barge be built without pontoons - i.e. a
single hull with a skirt?
The thought is that a larger hull allows more of the equipment to be stored
below.
A) Yes pontoons are only used for ease of transport, the Sea Pearl was a one
piece construction.
Q) If pontoons are necessary, what is their load
capacity while stationary on hard ground?
A) Deck load 15T/m squared
Q) What is the required air flow of the pumps and what
pressure is required to pump the air?
A) Sorry but this is proprietary information and not required by anyone other
than the designers and operators and we would only make available after
NDA's are signed by those concerned with an actual order.
Q) Is the barge self propelled?
A) No, although some work has been done on in this area.
Q) How do you move the barge?
A) It is towed or winched as on level ground it takes less than 1/50th of the
all up weight to move it in fact the pulling load is small for speeds under
5 knots. Once it moves above this the loads required increase quickly.
Please contact us if
you have any other questions.
