Beakbane Bellows Used On Gulf Cleanup Skimmers
Beakbane is supplying three oil-skimmer manufacturers with bespoke, flexible bellows for the systems that are being deployed in the aftermath of the Mexican Gulf oil spill. These skimmers float on the sea and, using a powerful pump, create a vortex that sucks up the viscous heavy oil and debris from the surface of the ocean and pumps it through a discharge hose to a nearby vessel. The bellows connect the pump and discharge pipe to the floating oil intake, allowing it to move freely in all directions and stay level with the surface of the water.
As they are submerged during operation the bellows have to be resistant to sea water and crude oil, and also be tough and durable to cope with heavy-duty demands over years of service. To meet these requirements, the components - which from 500 to 800mm diameter - are moulded from Beakaprene, a polychloroprene-coated nylon fabric that is resistant to oil, dirt and aggressive environments. The material was developed in-house by Beakbane as part of its research and development programme of materials and products for demanding applications and environments.
Other applications include industrial installations such as steelworks and railway rolling stock, where it is important to protect equipment from dirt, grit and liquid contaminants. To make the bellows, the Beakaprene is moulded around a simple and relatively low-cost metal tooling before being cured in an oven. This makes it a very cost-effective process for one-off or small batch components, but also allows production to be easily scaled up for larger orders.
As they are submerged during operation the bellows have to be resistant to sea water and crude oil, and also be tough and durable to cope with heavy-duty demands over years of service. To meet these requirements, the components - which from 500 to 800mm diameter - are moulded from Beakaprene, a polychloroprene-coated nylon fabric that is resistant to oil, dirt and aggressive environments. The material was developed in-house by Beakbane as part of its research and development programme of materials and products for demanding applications and environments.
Other applications include industrial installations such as steelworks and railway rolling stock, where it is important to protect equipment from dirt, grit and liquid contaminants. To make the bellows, the Beakaprene is moulded around a simple and relatively low-cost metal tooling before being cured in an oven. This makes it a very cost-effective process for one-off or small batch components, but also allows production to be easily scaled up for larger orders.
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