ULTRA-HIGH PRESSURE WATERJET CLEANING OF SHIP COATINGS

THIS PROPOSED WORK WILL EVALUATE THE USE OF ULTRA-HIGH PRESSURE (20,000 TO 55,000 PSI) WATERJETS AS A METHOD OF REMOVING COATINGS FROM SHIP'S HULL SYSTEMS. ULTRA-HIGH PRESSURE (UHP) WATERJETS ARE IN DAILY COMMERCIAL USE FOR NUMEROUS CLEANING AND COATING REMOVAL TASKS. THE ADVANTAGES OF UHP WATER INCLUDE: IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY; LOWER REACTION THRUST RESULTING IN INCREASED OPERATOR SAFETY; ABILITY TO REMOVE COATINGS THAT ARE RESISTANT TO REMOVAL AT LOWER PRESSURES, AND REDUCED WATER VOLUME FOR DISPOSAL. UNLIKE ABRASIVE BLASTING SYSTEMS IN USE TODAY, NO ABRASIVE WASTE IS GENERATED. WORK TO DATE HAS DEMONSTRATED THAT PAINT REMOVAL RATES FOR UHP WATERJET SYSTEMS CAN EXCEED THE DESIRED REMOVAL RATE OF 600 SQ FT/HR/MIL OF THICKNESS BY WELL OVER A FACTOR OF 10 MAGNITUDE. ULTRA-HIGH PRESSURE WATERJETS HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO HAVE GREAT POTENTIAL FOR SHIP'S HULL SYSTEMS COATINGS REMOVAL. THIS PROGRAM WILL ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING TASKS NEEDED TO EVALUATE THE TECHNICAL AND ECONOMICAL FEASIBILITY: (1) OPTIMIZE THE PROCESS FOR THE MANY COATINGS IN USE TODAY, (2) DEVELOP SYSTEM CONCEPTS AND PROCEDURES INCLUDING PROVISION FOR SPOILS CONTAINMENT, RECOVERY, AND DISPOSAL AND (3) EVALUATE THE COSTEFFECTIVENESS OF SUCH AN OPTIMIZED SYSTEM.