Handling and Storage 



The cable and its support system must also be handled and stored. 

 CURV systems cable handling in the past has been done manually, includ- 

 ing feedir^ the cable, tying the nylon line to the cable, retrieving it, and 

 storing it. This was possible because the size, weight, and length of 

 cable and time involved was not excessive; however, because of these con- 

 siderations, handling and storage methods may even have to be modified 

 for CURV m operations to 7,000 feet. For CURV IV, as the cable size 

 grows and support systems other than nylon are considered, the handling 

 and storage problems grow. Sophisticated hardware may have to be de- 

 veloped just to maintain deployment and retrieval rates similar to CURV 

 III. And, for a 20,000-foot CURV IV system, these deployment and re- 

 treival rates may not be adequate. In any case, it is probable that some 

 type of semi-automatic or automatic system will have to be employed. 

 The approach NUC is taking now is to develop cable and support line 

 winches, brakes, and storage reels. While some of these items exist in 

 the state-of-the-art, an integrated operational handling system of this 

 type is not available. 



SUPPORT, HANDLING, AND STORAGE APPROACH 



To adequately define the technical barrier and eventually solve it, 

 both support and dynamic studies and handling and storage studies will be 

 conducted. The various means of supporting the cable and possible spe- 

 cialized equipment will be included in the studies. The outcome of the 

 investigation will be tradeoffs in equipment pointed at defining the practical 

 and maximum cable size limit. The cable support, dynamics, and handling 

 and storage requirements for different sizes and weights of cables will be 

 studied, and the cable size and weight tradeoffs will be defined. 



The results will be integrated with the transmission consideration 

 and the technical barrier will be defined. These studies will also help 

 solve the technical barrier by indicating proper approaches, defining 

 equipment capabilities, determining system tradeoffs, and establishing 

 necessary performance criteria. 



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