Month: April 2020

Some parts of Florida are beginning to re-opened even though there is still a threat from Covid-19, but Everything is still locked down on the University of Miami campus for now. Which has been good. I’m able to stay pretty isolated the way things are. My only contacts are Don the chief engineer and occasionally Denis the marine tech.

Don and I finished a few projects together this week. We replaced a coupling for our fire pump to its motor called a love joy. It turned into a tricky project because everything was seized up which made it very difficult to take apart. Then it was tricky to get back together because we had to line up the motor’s shaft perfectly with the pump’s shaft. It was pretty difficult to get it perfect but we managed to in the end. We had another tricky task we took on. We replaced the main aft door gasket which was difficult because it has to be glued in place perfectly, then needs to seal totally with no gaps around any of the edges. Once we finished that we went around and tested all the bilge alarms. We only had a problem with one getting stuck on but we were able to free it up. As I was looking closer at the alarm panel I noticed one of the voltage regulators had burt. It hadn’t affected our bilge alarm so we will test the smoke alarm system next and order a new regulator unit to replace the old one.

Week 12: The Reading Continues

By Kaitlyn Beardshear

On April 26, 2020

In MATE Blog Archive

In continuing my reading of the NEETS modules, this week I learned more about alternating current. While direct current only flows in one direction, alternating current regularly switches directions. An AC circuit can be made by spinning a conductor, such as a loop of wire, in a magnetic field. This forms a generator. One way to determine the direction of current flow is to use the left hand rule: when holding your hand as shown in the example (taken from the NEETS module), your thumb will point in the direction of rotational motion, the index finger shows the direction of magnetic flux (movement from north to south), and the middle finger points in the direction of current flow. An easy way to remember the left hand rule is My Fine Clothes- Movement (thumb), Flux (index finger), Current (middle finger).

Week 9: On the walton smith

By Jonathan Raymond

On April 22, 2020

In MATE Blog Archive

This week we worked more on testing and maintaining the emergency systems. The Captain is back home in North Carolina but he called and went over the whole alarm system with me over the phone. He showed me which each alarm was for so when i have time i’ll be able to go around and test them all. Then Don and I took out the gas power high pressure pump so we could inspect it. The other 3 emergence pumps are all electric. So the gas powered pump is very important. If we had a fire or the ship was taking on water and it knocked out the power on board, we would still have a pump to either fight the fire or pump out the incoming water. The pump ran well but it was due for its yearly maintenance. We changed the oil, gaped the spark plugs, replaced some cracked hoses, fixed the pull cord, and cleaned up any rust.

I love looking into the water from where we have been docked. On days when the water is really clear there is so much to see. I’ve seen Stingrays, Eaglerays, Parrotfish, Pufferfish, Atlantic Spadefish, Needlefish, Tarpon, Creole Wrasses, Snook and two Nurse Sharks. I’ve also gotten to see several Manatees. This week I had one swim right under the dock. I have been trying to learn more about the animals that live around Southern Florida.

Week 11: More Reading

By Kaitlyn Beardshear

On April 19, 2020

In MATE Blog Archive

This week I finished the NEETS module on direct current. One thing that I learned is that there are multiple formulas that can be used to calculate resistance in a parallel circuit. The first formula being Ohm’s Law (resistance is equal to voltage divided by current, R=V/I). This works to find the resistance, but if there is more than resistor one then you’ll need to find equivalent resistance instead. The reciprocal of equivalent resistance is equal to the addition of the resistor reciprocals (1/R_EQ= 1/R₁+ 1/R₂+ 1/R₃+…+ 1/R_n ). Another option if the circuit contains resistors that have the same value, you can calculate resistance by dividing the ohmic value of one of the resistors by the number of resistors (R_EQ= R/N). This is simple but only works when the resistors are equal.

Another thing I finally understand despite years and multiple explanations from previous professors (sorry Dr Moore), is voltage dividers. A voltage divider is used to provide different voltage levels to a circuit while only using one power source. A voltage divider consists of multiple resistors connected in series that step down the voltage. The way to calculate the value of the resistors needed is to use the 10% rule: the current used in the divider resistor should be approximately 10% of the load current. This is called the bleeder current and is not used in the circuit. Once the divider resistor is calculated, finding the total current and dividing by the voltage will give the ohmic value of the second resistor.

Week 8: On the walton smith

By Jonathan Raymond

On April 14, 2020

In MATE Blog Archive, R/V F.G. Walton Smith, University of Miami/RSMAS

The crew is still on leave so it has been just Don the chief engineer and I working on the ship. It has been really quiet around here but we have been able to get a lot done. Our starboard generator was due for an oil change. I Have done multiple oil changes to marine engines in the past but each ship has different procedures to how they like to do each engine. So it was good to do it with Don to learn the best way to change the oil on this engine. We replaced both oil filters as well as changed the fuel filters. Once we finished we pumped 55 gallons of new oil to our ships oil holding tanks. Now that we have the time we might start going through and changing the oil on the other equipment as well. We have been doing alot of engineering work on this ship because our other operations have been suspended for now, but this has been good practice. Don has been taking his time to show me all the different systems on board. The last thing we did was go though the whole fier pump and bilge pump systems which have been very helpful. Don also lent me his two QMED study guide books and a stack of flashcards so I can start studying for the QMED. The QMED is the Coastguard engineering licence it stands for Qualified Member of the Engine Department. Studying these will help me a lot in having a better understanding of all the working on the ship, and it could also prepare me for the examination. I would like to take the test in the future.

Week 10: Continued At Home Reading

By Kaitlyn Beardshear

On April 12, 2020

In MATE Blog Archive

This week I have been continuing to read from the Navy Electricity and Electronics Training Series (NEETS). This week I finished the chapter on batteries in which I learned about the parts of a cell, the different types of cells, and cells can be combined to form different types of batteries. I also started the chapter on direct current. So far I have read about Ohm’s Law, ways to calculate power and efficiency. Hopefully I’ll finish reading the module this week and move onto the next one.

Week 7: Saying Goodbye

By Lydia Sgouros

On April 10, 2020

In MATE Blog Archive, R/V Endeavor, University of Rhode Island, Graduate School of Oceanography

Hi all! We returned to port about one week ago now. The last few days were filled with taking the rest of the science equipment down, packing everything up, and enjoying the last little bit of time at sea.

Taking the passive air sampler down (and missing the weather in the Tropics) [Photo by Ben Geyman]

Nearly the entire research fleet is shut down for the next few months, so we also took a detour to check on the Coastal Pioneer Array. This is a complex array of surface moorings, gliders, and AUVs located on the continental slope south of Rhode Island that is part of the Ocean Observatories Initiative, a program involving collecting an incredible amount of data in arrays at sites of interest in order to observe processes and change. Three of the moorings had problems with either a wind turbine or antenna and we went to take pictures and see if we could determine any more about these problems.

One of the moorings. With two of most components and many backup systems, none of the failures were critical

Ultimately, two of the failures were easy to identify – the wind turbines were simply gone – but the third remains a mystery.

We landed the morning of April 1^st and New England was kind enough to welcome us back with some classic April weather – cold, windy, and with some sleet.

Landing [Photos by me and my mother, Celia Gelfman]

This has been an amazing adventure. I got to learn and do new things nearly every day from running CTD casts to finding a computer that could still run DOS to visiting the highest and lowest parts of the ship – the transducer well and the upper decks. And all of this on a moving platform where some days there is 10 meter heave (motion up and down from passing over a wave), 20 degree roll, and 40 knot winds to deal with and other days you are treated to dolphins, flying fish, squid, and strange creatures from the deep. The crew has been fantastic from the steward, Mike, and messman, Rick, who made three delicious meals for us plus cookies and cakes each day to the engineers who happily answered my million questions including whether they had thin copper pipe, shim stock, something to make an epoxy mold with, a 5” pipe wrench, or anything metric (yes to all but the last) to our awesome boson, ABs, mates, and captain. The scientists have been great to work with and learn from and Gabe has been an incredible mentor.

Returning home to this strange world of Zoom, masks, and bleaching your groceries has made me more grateful of my time at sea. There’s nothing like being trapped in a 50 foot across apartment to realize just how spacious 185 feet is.

[Photo by Ben Geyman]

While my internship has unfortunately ended early due to COVID-19, I know that this is absolutely a field I would like to continue in and I can’t wait to get back out.

Stay safe out there and a big thank you to MATE for giving me this opportunity.

Weeks 6 & 7: On The Walton Smith

By Jonathan Raymond

On April 7, 2020

In MATE Blog Archive, R/V F.G. Walton Smith, University of Miami/RSMAS

Our trip to go to the dry dock for our 5 year ABS inspection was postponed due to the coronavirus. We have a stay in place order till further notice. We had done a lot of work to get ready for the inspection though. We spent a lot of time in between the decks and in all the void spaces to inspect the aluminum for pitting. We cleaned any salt that may have built up over the years as we went through. It was not easy to do. The chief engineer and I crawled around some pretty tight dirty spaces for a couple of days to get it all cleaned up. But lucky we did not see any major corrosion or cracks.

Now that we have been staying in place I have been doing alot of other work. I fixed two of the ship’s pneumatic pumps. I took them apart and I found two of the check valves were fouled up with debris. I cleaned them out and put the pumps back together. I tested it out and they worked. The ship also has a distilled water system for the scientists, but the system has not been working for months I was told. We ordered new pressure gages for it because the old ones seemed to not be working. I had a little bit of extra time so I decided to install the gages and see if I could troubleshoot the system and figure out the problem. I narrowed the problem down to the pressure tank. I read the manual for the tank and found out it was possible the air pressure in the tank could be too high. So I used a car tire pressure gage and found it was at 45 psi and it needed to be at 18psi. So I let out air till it was at the proper pressure and turned the system on. Once everything was recharged and all the air was bled out of the system I tested it out and it worked.

The rest of the crew have been asked to stand down until april 15th due to the coronavirus. So they are not coming on board the ship now and are trying to do what work they can from home. Now just the engineer and I are staying on the ship to make sure everything keeps running smoothly and we continue to chip away at projects.

Yesterday we noticed the black water pump was not shutting off. Which means there is either a problem with the pressure switch or the system had a leak somewhere and are losing the vacuum pressure that way. We shut the system down last night and decided to work on it today. We did a lot of trouble shooting to figure out where the problem was. We figured out that it was not a problem with the switch but a vacuum leak in the system. This is not an easy thing to find because the system runs throughout the ship and the leak could have been anywhere. By shutting down different parts of the system we narrowed down the leak to the part of the system where all the other parts come together to the vacuum pump. We found that there were two bad check values that were letting air escape. We replaced the valves and tested the system and it solved the problem. This kind of problem shows the importance of having someone on board the vessel. If this had happened and no one was here to catch it. It would have kept pumping and could have really damaged the system and the pump would have needed to be replaced.

Week 9: At Home Research

By Kaitlyn Beardshear

On April 5, 2020

In MATE Blog Archive

At this point, the Alvin team is on stand down for a few weeks. During this time, I’ll be doing some research and learning while sheltering in place. For my blog posts, instead of reviewing what I did the past week, I will be writing about what I am reading.

The first thing I am reading from is the Navy Electricity and Electronics Training Series (NEETS). It consists of 24 modules that cover subjects ranging from electrons to fiber optics. After each section, there are quizzes and at the end of each module is a test.

The first module is Matter, Energy, and Direct Current. It starts out with atoms and the subatomic particles, to what is magnetism and how it relates to electricity, before going into voltage, current, and resistance.