About Deepsearch – Design goals and progress |
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| The Deepsearch submersibles are intended to be full ocean depth capable, carrying two or three people to the deepest parts of the ocean. The Deepsearch objective is to provide scientists with a new platform to explore and study the whole of the oceans. The design goals are to: provide more mission time than transit time, provide a better view for researchers, fit into a standard cargo container for easy transport, and have a GVW of less than 25 metric tons. In order to achieve these design goals the Deepsearch team of engineers has explored innovative use of both new and old materials including carbon fiber, glass, and ceramic. To read more about the Deepsearch project and why it was undertaken, you can download the overview document from the link below.
With the research phase now complete, development and design are underway. Glass is a leading contender for the personnel sphere material. However, this is one aspect where more research is required. In the interim, a test platform is being built which will be like the full ocean depth craft in many ways with the exception of the personnel sphere which will be made of acrylic. The test platform will allow us to conduct proof of concept testing for many elements of the Deepsearch design while we continue forth on glass research. As the DOER team works on Deepsearch we will be sharing working documents on the different design facets and challenges which will also be made available for download here. |