About Us - Ocean Test Equipment - Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

HAPS

The HAPS frame supported corer is highly suitable for taking well defined, virtually undisturbed seafloor samples of soft and hard sediments. The corer may be adapted to all types of sediments while providing accurate sampling. It has high stability and it is easy to maintain and to operate. Using its large supportive base, the HAPS finds itself a stable sampling position even in the most adverse conditions - such as operating in swell seas or on a sloping seabed. The HAPS may be customized for various sampling conditions simply by adding or removing lead weights at specific points along the frame. For hard sediments sampling, extra lead weights are required to be mounted at the top of the steering bar (up to 9 weights of 4.40 pounds each). To increase the HAPS stability, pairs of 22 pounds lead weights can be mounted on the lower section of the frame. For overall weight increases (up to 1`4 lead weights of 11.0 pounds each) may be added at the middle of the frame on top of the tube holder.

MULTI CORER

Design:

The multiple sediment corers are hydraulically damped enabling the sample tubes to be lowered with minimal disturbance of the surface sediment. The sampling tubes enter the sediment at approximately 5 cm per second. No acoustic or electronic controls are required for operation, leading to minimal operator handling and simple winch deployment. Each core tube is held in a separate detachable holder, enabling the sealed samples to be removed from the corer. The head of the larger corers is made on a modular basis so that the number of holders is carried by the Midi and Maxi can be increased at a later date.

Operation:

Corer deployment rates are in the region of 1 metre per second on the descent, and at any speed on retrieval as the samples are positively sealed. On retrieval, the top cap seals the tube before withdrawal, and the base catcher operates immediately the sediment is cleared. This procedure includes some supernatant water in the core preserving sediment/water interface, and producing samples of a high quality.