Ken: Week 1 and 2

Since this is a long-term internship running through nearly the end of May, I will be providing updates roughly every two weeks.

The Alvin team is an amazing group and has been welcoming at every step. I am housing with Wren (mech engineer) and Randy (expedition leader). During the first weekend, they made sure I was settled into our housing and fully prepared for our first day. I work alongside the sea-going operations half of the team for much of the regular workday, where my endless, excited questions are always welcomed and answered. I also regularly spend time with the shore-based team during lunch, enjoying stories and getting to know the entire group. I will primarily be working with the electrical engineering team during the overhaul, but I also hope to spend time with the mechanical engineers when possible.

Day one started off slowly, as nearly the entire Alvin group and a few other WHOI personnel gathered in an auditorium for the first half of the day for a presentation and discussion on how the next seven-plus months will proceed. Meticulous planning has clearly gone into ensuring the overhaul goes as smoothly as possible. After a generous lunch of pizza, we headed to WHOI’s Smith Laboratory High Bay to meet the Alvin and begin our hands-on work.

Alvin on day 1

Week one quickly gained momentum as the electrical and mechanical teams continued the disassembly of Alvin, which had partially begun before all team members arrived in Woods Hole. My own start was a bit slower, as I spent much of the first week completing on-boarding training and other administrative requirements. Fortunately, I still had time to assist with disassembly occasionally.

During the removal of one of the syntactic foam blocks, which provide buoyancy, I noticed tiny cracks in the bend radius of a bracket. The bracket was tagged for later review by the mech team to determine whether it would need to be re-fabricated. I also assisted with the crane lift of the wiring harness from inside the sphere and transporting it to the birdcage. The birdcage is a replica of the framework inside the sphere, providing a way to manage equipment and wiring during testing of the sphere’s electronics. One of this weeks most important discoveries was the very important WHOI tradition of office dogs. There are so many, and they are all friendly and loving, truly great for morale.

Week two continued with disassembly. Much of the work involved straightforward manual tasks, such as disconnecting and pulling the dozens of cables from their pathways snaking throughout the vessel, then coiling them up at the junction boxes. Once each j-box was completely free of its tethered connections, we removed it so the mech team would have full access to the components they handle.

A major highlight of the week was the first session of our overhaul DnD campaign. Multiple team members met up Thursday night for character creation and planning. If the first session is any indication of the campaign ahead, there will be no shortage of laughter.

On Friday, Ben (a new electrical engineer) and I began visual inspections of the motor controllers. These are titanium pods that contain a motor driver and a WHOI designed supervisor board. The inspection process involves disassembling and cleaning the titanium housings to inspect for damage, replacing o-rings, and checking the cable fittings for signs of wear. A slow and purposeful procedure that will continue into next week. With full testing of the electrical components happening at a later stage of the overhaul. Though Rick (senior electrical engineer) was able to provide us a lesson on how the motor controllers function, how the supervisor boards cleverly manage the motor controllers when the pods are fully sealed during normal operation, and a bit of history on how and why the current versions differ from the older designs.

Two stellar weeks down and 27ish more to go. I’m excited for all the fascinating things I’ll continue learn throughout this internship and for the opportunity to keep working with such amazing people.