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| Dr. Claude
Daley gave an engaging and informative lecture on the
properties of ice. |
By Michelle Osmond
Dr. Claude Daley has been known to voice his opinions once or
twice and he’s not shy about his passion for ice. Dr.
Daley, a professor of ocean and naval architectural engineering
in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science and director
of the Ocean Engineering Research Centre, recently delivered
the first public lecture in the Speaking of Engineering series.
His topic: Ice.
“The economy and culture of Newfoundland is intimately
connected with the sea and with ice,” he said. “Ice
costs the province billions in actual expenses (e.g. Hibernia,
Terra Nova), future expenses (e.g. Voisey’s Bay), and
many billions more in lost opportunities. After all ice is the
reason we have no gas industry up to now. Also, in terms of
safety (offshore platforms, ferries, and towns) ice is a significant
hazard.”
Dr. Daley spent the first 30 minutes explaining to the 70 or
so people who attended the basics of ice and wowed them with
the tale of one iceberg that was over 250 kilometres long and
more than 70 kilometres wide.
Dr. Daley went on to explain what not to do when building a
ship or a structure that will have to withstand icebergs and
glacier ice 100 times its size.
The Hibernia platform, for example, has “points”
to act as a kind of bumper to reduce the magnitude of the ice
loads.
“The problem is that the points have limited value in
reducing the load, but they have the unwanted effect of increasing
the effect for any off-centre load,” he said. “They
enable an off-centre load to twist the platform, which is not
good. I suspect that a better design balance would be a smooth
round structure. This does not suggest that there is any significant
danger. I know that the structure is very safe, but it could
be improved.”
Dr. Daley also commented on a false sense of security that surrounds
the Marine Atlantic ferries. Last month, more than 185 passengers
were stranded on the Caribou between Newfoundland and
Nova Scotia for almost three days. The ferry made it through
thick ice with the help of a Canadian Coast Guard cutter. A
second ferry, the Joseph and Clara Smallwood, also
got stuck a few kilometres from Nova Scotia with about 85 people
on board.
“They are designed to operate in sea ice. (But) if they
hit heavier ice or icebergs at speed they would be seriously
damaged. The major risk with ice is pressure, which may, in
rare cases, rupture the hull and flood the car deck. If that
happened, the ship would most likely be lost. It’s not
a likely thing to happen, but I believe pressure, along with
ship-ship collisions and groundings, are risks.”
He’s quick to point out, however, that the ferries are
fully able to sail in our waters and are being operated safely
with proper inspections. But part of the problem, adds Dr. Daley,
is that Canada does not have the resources to comply with what
is regarded as the most important international treaty concerning
the safety of commercial and passenger ships: the International
Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea. The first version
of this treaty was adopted in 1914 after the Titanic
disaster.
The Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, along with the
Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Newfoundland and
Labrador, initiated the public lecture series to highlight engineering
milestones and research, and to shed some light on the diverse
nature of engineering professionals in our province. On April
20, 2004, Dr. Mary Williams will speak about the history and
future of shipping and how it has made St. John’s the
gateway to the Arctic. |
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| Next
issue: April 8, 2004
Questions? Comments?
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