MARINE DRILLING & TESTING EQUIPMENT
VIBRaCORE: alpine system
Vibracoring is an efficient and versatile procedure for obtaining long, well-preserved cores in consolidated water-saturated sediments from wetlands, harbors, lakes and the deep ocean. It allows for deep penetration in a single deployment and a high core recovery where other approaches prove either inappropriate or impractical.
Gregg owns and operates the Alpine Vibracore system. This vibracore is capable of penetrating 20’, 30’, or 40’ into the seafloor to collect a continuous stratigraphic sequence of soils material. A quadropod stand allows the Alpine vibracore to be set on the seafloor and operate without the need to anchor the support vessel. A vessel with 20-ton crane is typically needed to extract the core barrel from the seafloor.They can be airfreighted at minimal cost anywhere in the world to be operated from local vessels-of-opportunity or any of the boats and barges in Gregg’s marine fleet. Designed to withstand deep ocean pressures, rough seas and arctic cold, the submersible vibracores are fully enclosed, easy to clean, and have also become tools of choice for retrieving cores in contaminated sediments and hazardous environments.
In addition, Gregg owns and operates the Mini-Vibracorer is designed for collecting 5’, 10' or 15’ sediment cores from small, shallow-draft vessels. The Mini-Vibracore can be easily transported and assembled for short-term projects at remote sites. The Mini-Vibracore has a large, flat base that enables it to be set on the seafloor and operated without anchoring the vessel. A 1-ton crane is typically used to deploy the Mini-Vibracore.
Specifications:
- 20 or 30 foot configuration with schedule 40 steel core
barrels - 4-inch diameter core barrel with 3.5-inch plastic core liners
- Air compressor: 500 cfm @ 100 psi
- Deployment via A-frame or crane
- Self supporting tower with H-beam support for 20 and 30
foot configurations - 500 feet of coiled air hose
- Penetration recorder and 500 foot data cable
- Stainless steel core retainer
- Ships in a 40 foot container
Sampling Technique:
- Core tube is driven into the sediment by the force of gravity, enhanced by
vibration energy (created by pneumatic vibrating head at top of tube) - Vibrations cause a thin layer near the inner and outer tube walls to
mobilize, reducing friction and aiding in penetration - Reduces effect of “plugging” or “rodding”
- Useful for deeper cores (>1m) OR where sediment consists of very compacted or large grain material (e.g. gravel)
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION | |
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| View/Print:: | See Also: | |
| Vibracore Datasheet | P5 Rossfelder Vibrocore | |
Gregg’s Alpine Vibracore in seafloor quadropod frame is lifted from deck while steadied by tag lines.
Vibracore is lowered to the sea floor for sediment core sample collection, then raised to surface and returned to ship deck for sample removal.
Sediment core samples in clear plastic liners are extracted and capped and can be archived for analysis at a later date.