SMALL SCALE EQUIPMENT

Equipment

DRILLING

In Iraq, only 4 boreholes were needed because surface water provided the majority of supply but in Afghanistan more boreholes have been needed. The initial development of Camp Bastion needed local contractors to drill eleven to a depth of over 100m and many FOB’s now have boreholes.

At one stage in operations in Afghanistan over 60% of air freight between Bastion and the Forward Operating Bases (FOB’s) was for bottled water. Given the cost in fuel, maintenance and manpower this was clearly not sustainable and so a number of studies were undertaken to reduce the need for transporting water.

Water is heavy and costly to transport so the centralised production and bottling of water, however efficient it may be.

So in 2008 2 Troop (Drilling) Troop 521 Specialist Team Royal Engineers (Water Development) deployed to Afghanistan with a T60 Drill Light and HE175 Drill Heavy to develop the water infrastructure in 6 Forward Operating Bases. Each drill was manned by a 4 man section with a 4 man HQ section providing coordination and support.

Despite the success of this deployment it was clear that the equipment was not adequate and replacements needed.

The Royal Engineers now operate a small number of new drilling rigs, 5 of. The Dando Watertec 12.8 rigs are carried on the Iveco Trakker 6×6 trucks supplied under the C Vehicle PFI by ALC.

The video below shows a Dando 12.8 on a self-propelled tracked chassis, the version in use by the Royal Engineers is a modified version of this, and of course mounted on a 6×6 truck.

Dando Drilling Australia (Mintec12.8 Drilling Rig) Mineral Exploration Rig Australia

These have been successfully used in Afghanistan where the first unit was trialled; the other 4 units were subsequently modified following a number of lessons learned. 521 STRE will deploy to Afghanistan later this year.

Dando Watertec 12.8 Truck Mounted Well Driller (TMWD) Dando Watertec 12.8 Truck Mounted Well Driller (TMWD) Dando Watertec 12.8 Truck Mounted Well Driller (TMWD) Dando Watertec 12.8 Truck Mounted Well Driller (TMWD) Dando Watertec 12.8 Truck Mounted Well Driller (TMWD)

Officially called the Truck Mounted Well Driller (TMWD) they can drill a 300mm diameter borehole to a depth of 300m or deeper with a narrower borehole diameter and is A400 and C17 air portable, this being one of the major modifications to the off the shelf equipment.

From the ALC description;

The drilling system incorporates various, state of the art integrated units including a mud pump, water/foam pump, a Mosa Electrical Welder/Generator, CAT Hydraulic Power Pack. The drilling rig is also designed to work in conjunction with a drilling mud recycling system called a Mud Puppy, which is transported on a support vehicle

The Dando rigs have now replaced the three Edeco Truck Mounted Well Drills and three Edeco Truck Mounted Site Investigation Drills.

This consolidation has delivered a reduction in spares holding, training and documentation.

Also available is the Comacchio MC450, designated the Drill Rotary EOD, it is designed for soil investigations, core drilling and water well drilling. We have 5 of these as well (ho, ho, no pun intended)

Drill Rotary EOD – Comacchio MC450

These have replaced the two Howden T30 drills.

As a tangential subject, water infrastructure is equally as important such irrigation, flood control and longer term geological surveys. The Royal Engineers work with a number of civilian and reserve personnel and organisations, 170 (Infrastructure Support) Engineer Group started Operation Tethys in Afghanistan in 2010 to improve irrigation and water supply in the Helmand Valley.

A good write up on Operation Tethys at the Geological Society, here

SMALL SCALE EQUIPMENT

At the smallest scale; simple filter straws, Millbank bags, boiling and water purification tablets may be enough but this is not sustainable and highly inefficient.

The Army traditionally relied on centralised water supply, specifically from Royal Engineers units but as technology has progressed, especially with highly efficient filtration membranes a number of systems are now available that push the ability to generate potable water down to sub unit and individual level.

A couple of interesting systems are worth highlighting.

The Seldon Waterbox (available in the UK from BCB International)

The British company Lifesaver Systems have developed a number of interesting and innovative systems. The basic concept of the Lifesaver Bottle (in service) has been extended to fit in a Jerry Can sized system and a man portable system designed to be integrated with existing load carrying backpacks.

There are a number of videos here but I like this TED Talk from the company founder Michael Pritchard.

LIFESAVER Systems C.E.O. Michael Pritchard talks to Oxford about the LIFESAVER Bottle – 2009

A Lifesaver Jerrycan can hold 18.5 litres and is good for 20,000 litres before being unusable, read the manual here

Reports from DSEi: Clean Water for the British Army

Using the same filtration technology, the Hydrocarry is designed to integrate with a standard daysack and a neat trick is that the delivery tube has a nozzle that can also produce a fine mist for cooling.

The principle behind the Lifesaver concept is that water is carried dirty and topped up little and often with purification taking place on demand to avoid recontamination and shelf life issues. It also dramatically reduces resupply transportation needs because an infantry patrol for example, would top up from any convenient river, canal or irrigation ditch. At a small unit level, the Lifesaver systems have a potential transformative impact, saving significant quantities of fuel and reducing the security and logistic overhead associated with water supply.

View this document on Scribd

Another great British manufacturer

Date: 2016-04-22; view: 905