Good Design Australia 2012 - DEEPSEA CHALLENGER

Heavy Machinery

DEEPSEA CHALLENGER

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Acheron Project

Design + Industry

McConaghy Boats

Finite Elements

Designed in

Australia

Description

DEEPSEA CHALLENGER is a single occupant research submersible engineered and built in Australia by director James Cameron and Ron Allum from Acheron Project. The 12 ton sub is designed to access the darkest corners of the ocean where depths exceed 11km straight down, deeper than Mount Everest is high. The challenges faced were comparable to those in space exploration - critical attention was paid to the physics of deep-water pressure, to the requirements of exploring the bottom of the ocean and to the complete safety of the pilot.

Key Features
and/or Benefits

The vertical submersible - one of a kind

Critical to the DEEPSEA CHALLANGER missions is the speed with which it can descend and ascend, while still being able to explore the sea bed and traverse canyon walls. The orientation of the DEEPSEA CHALLANGER was derived to slice through the water vertically. Once at the bottom, the sub is able to manoeuvre in all directions and pivot on its axis using combinations of its 12 thrusters.

Sharing the unseen depths through exploration and scientific research

The DEEPSEA CHALLENGER features 4 external cameras, an IMAX-quality Red Epic camera positioned behind a 300mm thick conical acrylic lens and 2 HD cameras filming the pilot. Lighting for filming is provided by large banks of powerful LEDs.

A manipulator arm, core sampling equipment and a remotely operated vehicle are able to be utilised by the pilot to sample and explore the terrain.

Powering all this is an innovative system of lithium-ion battery cells captured in silicon oil filled enclosures. These enclosures feature a unique bladder system that compensates for the compression of the oil at depth.

The Life Support Sphere is equipped to provide the pilot with oxygen, warmth and protection from deep-sea pressure

The Sphere features a narrow 44cm hatch opening for the pilot to enter and all equipment to be assembled through.

The Sphere's 1.1m diameter was found to be a minimum size for a single pilot with the sub controls and life support either side. The Sphere provides a constant sea level pressure of 1 atmosphere inside while withstanding the 16,500psi pressure outside. The internal air is regulated via 2 oxygen supply and carbon dioxide removal systems, one of which is kept as redundancy and features a full face mask in the event of a fire.

The DEEPSEA CHALLENGER'S size was kept to a minimum to aid transport, launch and recovery

The overall size is dictated by the heaviest component, the Life Support Sphere, made from 6.4cm steel to withstand the crushing pressure during the dive. The surrounding 7.3m foam structure of the Beam was calculated to compensate for the Sphere's weight and keep the sub buoyant.

About 70 percent of the sub's volume is taken up by syntactic foam. Lead engineer Ron Allum spent 18 months designing a patented type of foam, ISOFLOAT™.

An innovative, lightweight carbon composite Shell supports the pilot seating, all life-support equipment and a complex array of control assemblies inside the Sphere

With just enough room for a pilot to sit with his knees bent up the internal layout needed to be meticulously developed for safety and functionally. The Shell features sprung mechanisms designed to compress with the Sphere while maintaining structural integrity.

The Shell protects the pilot and electrical equipment from condensation that forms inside the steel Sphere. Gutters guide the condensation to the base of the Sphere where the pilot is able to safely store the water using a pump.

The Shell also keeps the pilot out of contact with the Sphere surface, which can reach freezing during the dive