Aardvark Packers once again, proves design and quality craftsmanship produces excellent results for US Navy and a 3rd party Environmental Services client!
A US Naval property in Norfolk, VA wanted to drill 5” holes in a current drydock to measure stresses and continuity of the concrete used in its original design. This would be a long term series of continual testing using Aardvark Packers with multiple transducers mounted below the packers.
The task for the Aardvark team was to design a robust inflatable packer that would be inflated with an expandable foam! In addition, the packers needed to be fairly inexpensive yet extremely durable. The inflated timeframe would be upwards of 10 years without loss of pressure.
The Packer design would also need to incorporate (2) pass thru ports for ¼” transducer cables.
A special blend of rubber materials were chosen for abrasion resistance and possible high temperatures of the 2 part expanding foam.
Aardvark needed to design and test the 1” 304 stainless steel center tube which needed to be perforated to allow the foam to expand uniformly inside of the element.
The packer design would incorporate a “fixed end” style packer where the ends of the rubber are fixed to specially designed plastic heads. The type of plastic needed to be very strong as well as be rated for temperatures upwards of 300 degrees f.
3/8” OD tubing with a .049” wall thickness would be incorporated through the packers to allow the transducer cables to pass through from below the packers to the surface where the pressures could be monitored.
Aardvark manufactured (5) test pilot packers to be tested in concrete blocks. The packers performed flawlessly!. The pass thru tubes and the modification of the compression fittings allowed the transducer cables to be sealed within the packer and retain that seal.
Aardvark received the contract for 22 additional units after the Navy approved the design and testing measures.