Abstract
This technical communication describes a method to size the drop weights used by submersibles for diving and surfacing taking into account varying seawater density profiles. The method allows consistent diving and surfacing performance to be achieved for differently sized submersible and target dive depths. The conditions that need to be met for safe operation of a submersible are described in this paper. The equations needed to appropriately ballast a platform and size its diving and surfacing drop weights are derived, highlighting some inherent limitations of using a two drop weight method for certain types of mission. The performance of the proposed approach is demonstrated through numerical simulations for different sized submersibles and target depths. The results show the effects of using different design parameters to illustrate some useful patterns and trends that can assist submersible developers and operators predict the effects of environmental and design uncertainties on important operational parameters such as the time taken for diving and surfacing.
Highlights
T HIS technical communication outlines a simple method to ballast submersibles and appropriately size the drop weights they use for diving and surfacing taking into consideration varying seawater density profiles
The method requires the volumetric displacement of the submersible to be known alongside the vertical seawater density profile and target dive depth, where all of these parameters can be determined with relative ease
The results show that larger values of η result in smaller relative changes in the buoyancy and vertical velocity during diving and surfacing in realistic environments that have depth varying seawater density profiles
Summary
T HIS technical communication outlines a simple method to ballast submersibles and appropriately size the drop weights they use for diving and surfacing taking into consideration varying seawater density profiles. This report is not intended to be a review of diving, surfacing, and ballast control methods, but instead prioritizes simplicity and ease of implementation over rigorous modeling and accurate simulation. The method described uses only straightforward equations with input parameters that are attained. Simulations are performed to identify the effects of sizing decisions on operationally relevant parameters for different sized submersibles. The trends identified can assist submersible developers and operators gauge the impact of submersible ballasting and drop weight sizing decisions on operational safety under expected levels of environment and design uncertainty
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