Offshore soil investigation extends to ever increasing depths, where the conditions place greater demands on the technology to be used. The A.P. van den Berg system, called ‘the Deep Water WISON-APB’, was specially designed for these conditions. In the first quarter of this year, one of the A.P. van den Berg customers will take the system into use for the first time. On Thursday February 10th, A.P. van den Berg successfully tested the system on its premises. Pre-testing is standard procedure for A.P. van den Berg: this way potential problems can be resolved in early on in the process. The situation at sea, where the equipment sometimes descends up to 3000 meters deep, is simulated in a small scale test. For this test A.P. van den Berg deployed heavy artillery. A crane lowered the device from 25 meters high into a 14 meters long pipe, after which the equipment was tested on its performance. The test results are very positive. In the coming week a number of final tests will be performed after which the equipment is ready for use.

The Deep Water WISON-APB

The CPT system is for use in a drill pipe of a geotechnical survey vessel and offers the customer many advantages. For example the multi purpose tool makes it possible to change between CPT and core sampling in just minutes. An electric constant tensioning winch with a reinforced umbilical cable allows fast down hole operation to 3000 meters depth. Of course the engineers from A.P. van den Berg have also paid attention to high speed data communication by means of fibre optics. A.P. van den Berg feels very strongly about ease of use: easy operation of the Deep Water WISON-APB system is available from the control room by means of two touch screens. Finally, A.P. van den Berg cares about the environment. The deep water WISON-APB system is fully enclosed to prevent spills and does not affect the deep sea environment.

Tags: A.P. van den Berg