A U.S. Navy scuba diver (center) evaluates the Office of Naval Research-sponsored Deep Sea Expeditionary with No Decompression (DSEND) system at the Navy Experimental Diving Unit in Florida. DSEND includes a hardened yet lightweight atmospheric dive suit featuring turning, detachable joints enabling for greater flexibility, maneuverability and dexterity. Credit: U.S. Navy image by Ronnie Newsome
The U.S. Navy has actually evaluated an advanced dive suit system, the Deep Sea Expeditionary without any Decompression (DSEND), which provides boosted flexibility and security for deep sea scuba divers. The DSEND match keeps constant internal pressure, removing the danger of decompression illness and enabling divers to work for extended periods at excellent depths. The suits design assists in natural movement, reducing scuba diver tiredness, and its future advancement includes at-sea testing in reasonable environments.
The lights above the waters surface area cast a ghostly radiance on the bottom of the sprawling tank, as a U.S. Navy diver deftly swam through a sunken airplane fuselage.
Wearing a special diving suit designed to protect against the crushing pressure of ocean depths, the scuba diver found her target– a mannequin representing a human body. The exercise became part of a simulated crash recovery objective to evaluate the abilities of the Deep Sea Expeditionary without any Decompression (DSEND) system, which includes a solidified yet light-weight atmospheric dive match including rotating, detachable joints permitting higher maneuverability, dexterity and versatility.
Sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR)– in collaboration with Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) and Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Panama City– DSEND recently went through demonstrations at NSWC Carderock Division in Maryland and at the Navy Experimental Diving Unit in Florida.
” DSEND is truly a game-changer since its a self-contained environment that keeps internal pressure steady, as a diver descends to depths with increasing external pressure,” said Dr. Sandra Chapman, a program officer in ONRs Warfighter Performance Department. “It increases scuba diver security, enables them to broaden the functional envelope and would remove lengthy decompression times.”
Navy diving missions include deep ocean salvage of vessels and airplane, underwater rescues, explosive ordnance disposal, ship hull maintenance and healing of sunken equipment.
The deeper scuba divers come down, however, the greater the risk from increasing water pressure. In deep-water situations, Navy divers utilize a saturation system, or diving bell, that is pressurized with gas so the pressure inside the bell matches outdoors pressure.
The disadvantage is that, when returning to the surface, scuba divers must ascend slowly and stop at intervals so they do not suffer decompression illness. This is a possibly deadly condition in which the inert gas liquified in the blood and tissues by high pressure kinds bubbles as pressure declines. The time-consuming ascent safeguards scuba divers, it restricts the quantity of hours they can spend at a site.
DSENDs one-atmosphere environment presents a service to this challenge. Equipped with a self-contained life support system, the DSEND match confines a diver in a supported pressure cocoon throughout the entire dive. The diver can work at terrific depths for lots of hours and ascend without the drawn-out procedure of decompression.
” Because DSEND maintains one constant pressure atmosphere, the diver is never ever exposed to the unfavorable physiological results connected with deep diving, such as decompression illness, wet and cold direct exposure,” stated Paul McMurtrie, NAVSEA diving systems program supervisor. “A scuba diver can work for extended periods of time in deep water and quickly go back to the surface.”
Constructed from difficult, resilient material, DSEND is light-weight and makes it possible for users to walk and swim on the bottom quickly. This improves on atmospheric diving matches traditionally used by the Navy in the past, which were more stiff and powered by attached thrusters, making it hard to move.
The suit likewise is simpler to eliminate and don, and can be adapted to scuba diver size. In addition, DSEND functions joints, grippers and hand accessories made from novel products that are strong, lightweight and mirror the natural movements of human joints, minimizing scuba diver fatigue.
” DSEND will enable scuba divers to carry out harder objectives by going deeper, executing faster and running longer,” stated Tom Hansen, a research study engineer at NUWC Division Newport, “all while being secured by a sensorized match of armor. It feels like were establishing the futuristic smart armor you see in motion pictures.”
Throughout the Maryland and Florida demos, DSEND divers finished numerous workouts, consisting of pulling a mannequin from an airplane fuselage, rigging a piece of wreckage for salvage and traversing makeshift tunnels representing sunken vessels.
Within the next year, Chapman hopes to see DSEND undergo extra development, consisting of at-sea demos in reasonable operating environments.
Navy Master Chief Jericho Diego, a master diver and the senior enlisted leader at NUWC Division Keyport, stated, “This system has the potential to be extremely beneficial to Navy divers. Removing the need for decompression increases security, and the more flexible arm accessories allow us to retrieve targets and do our tasks more successfully.”
A U.S. Navy scuba diver (center) checks the Office of Naval Research-sponsored Deep Sea Expeditionary with No Decompression (DSEND) system at the Navy Experimental Diving Unit in Florida. The U.S. Navy has checked a revolutionary dive suit system, the Deep Sea Expeditionary with No Decompression (DSEND), which offers boosted versatility and safety for deep sea scuba divers. The DSEND fit maintains consistent internal pressure, eliminating the risk of decompression sickness and enabling divers to work for extended durations at fantastic depths. The matchs style assists in natural motion, lowering diver tiredness, and its future advancement consists of at-sea screening in realistic environments.
Geared up with a self-contained life support system, the DSEND suit encloses a scuba diver in a stabilized pressure cocoon during the entire dive.