PRESSURE HULL FOR HUMAN OCCUPANCY FOR MANNED SUBMERSIBLES

Abstract

The invention provides a pressure hull for human occupancy for manned submersible vessels, wherein the hull is formed from acrylic, characterised in that the hull has a circular, or near-circular, cross-section across a major axis and has an elongated, non-uniform profile along the major axis. The invention further provides a manned submersible including a pressure hull.

Claims

1. A manned-submersible vessel pressure hull for human occupancy, wherein the hull is formed from acrylic, characterised in that the hull has a circular or near-circular cross-section across a major axis and has an elongated, non-uniform profile along the major axis.

2. The pressure hull according to claim 1, wherein the hull has seating positions for multiple occupants with forward and/or lateral line of sight out of the hull.

3. The pressure hull according to claim 2, wherein the number of possible occupants is at least four.

4. The pressure hull according to claim 1, wherein the hull is spheroidal in shape.

5. The pressure hull according to claim 1, wherein the hull is formed as a single unit.

6. The pressure hull according to claim 1, wherein hull has a central section formed as a single unit and has an end cap at each end of the central section.

7. The pressure hull according to claim 6, wherein the end caps are metal.

8. The pressure hull according to claim 1, wherein the hull has an access hatch positioned on the surface of the hull on an axis that intersects with the central axis.

9. The pressure hull according to claim 8, wherein the access hatch is positioned on the upper surface of the hull.

10. The pressure hull according to claim 1, wherein the hull is formed by slush casting or by thermoforming.

11. A manned-submersible vessel comprising: a pressure hull according to claim 1; ballast tanks; and propulsion means.

12. A submersible vessel according to claim 11, wherein the pressure hull is arranged with the major axis transverse to the normal direction of motion of the vessel to provide occupants of the pressure hull a clear, forward line-of-sight.

13. A submersible vessel according to claim 11, wherein the pressure hull is arranged with the major axis along the normal direction of motion of the vessel to provide occupants of the pressure hull a clear, lateral line-of-sight.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] FIGS. 1A and 1B show length-wise cross-sectional views of different non-limiting embodiments of the invention;

[0020] FIG. 2 shows a cut-away perspective view of one embodiment of the invention, showing a possible seating arrangement for occupants;

[0021] FIG. 3 shows a front, perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the invention; and

[0022] FIGS. 4A and 4B shows perspective views of a manned submersible vessel in accordance with the invention, including a pressure hull and showing examples of alternative seating arrangement for occupants.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0023] FIGS. 1A and 1B show two non-limiting alternative arrangements of a pressure hull in accordance with the invention. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the hull 1 has a major axis 2 that extends along the hull 1 and has an elongated, non-uniform profile 3. The cross-section of the hull 1 across the major axis is circular at each point along the major axis 2.

[0024] The profile 3 is curved and the height of the hull is increased at the centre 4 compared to the ends 5a and 5b.

[0025] Such a shape of hull has many advantages over prior art hulls and has surprisingly been found to comply with the required strength and stress factors for submersible use, despite not comprising the standard geometries that are expected for use in pressure hulls in current submersibles.

[0026] Pressure hulls having a shape in accordance with the invention are extremely efficient from a displacement perspective and allow a greater number of occupants in a pressure vessel having a more compact footprint than has previously been possible. A particular advantage of the pressure hull of the invention is that the hull has a low overall height without requiring the top and/or bottom of the hull to be cut off and it also has a low displacement, and hence weight, which is a critical factor for manned submersible vessels.

[0027] Prior art spherical hulls can be designed by code calculations from, for example, the Mechanical Engineers' Safety Standard for Pressure Vessels for Human Occupancy, referred to above. In contrast, a pressure hull with a non-uniform profile in accordance with the invention must be designed using Finite Element Analysis, which has not previously been needed for spherical acrylic hulls.

[0028] FIG. 1A shows a spheroidal hull, which is particularly advantageous in relation to the displacement for any particular number of occupants. FIG. 1B shows a hull having a longitudinal profile that has a relatively large radius over the central portion 6, with the radius of the profile decreasing towards the ends 5a, 5b of the pressure hull. This arrangement has an advantage in that the usable headroom can be increased along a greater portion of the hull without having to increase the maximum headroom.

[0029] FIG. 2 shows a possible arrangement of seating for nine occupants 7. The occupants 7 can be comfortably seated within the pressure hull 1 with each occupant 7 having a clear and unobstructed forward line-of sight. Optionally, the hull 1 may include an access hatch 8 in the top surface of the hull 1.

[0030] FIG. 3 shows an alternative hull arrangement 11. The hull 11 has an elongated non-uniform profile along the major axis 12 and a circular cross-section 13 across the major axis 12. The ends of the hull 15a,15b are truncated and are sealed with metal plates forming end-caps 16a,16b. The end-caps 16a,16b may be used to provide mounting points for the pressure hull 1 and/or to reduce displacement and overall length while maintaining a usable diameter within the hull 1 interior.

[0031] The seating arrangements for occupants 7 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 can be changed to accommodate different numbers of occupants in various different seating arrangements. Each occupant 7 has an unobstructed line-of-sight, making the hull effective for submersibles to carry several occupants to view underwater sites in a way that is significantly more comfortable and effective than prior art submersibles have been able to achieve.

[0032] FIGS. 4A and 4B show an example of a manned submersible 40 including a pressure hull 1 arranged in a lateral position. The ballast tanks 41, propulsion systems 42 and superstructure 43 of the submersible 40 are arranged to provide optimum viewing from the hull 1 and the seating 44 within the hull 1 is arranged to suit the desired purpose of the use of the submersible, such as viewing underwater wrecks, reefs, marine life, etc, or for use for educational events or social events such as dining. FIG. 4a shows seating 44 including tables 45 or similar. In an alternative arrangement shown in FIG. 4B, the occupants may be seated in comfort to view forward out of the hull 1.

[0033] In other alternative arrangements (not shown) the hull 1 may be arranged in a longitudinal position such that the occupants can view with an unobstructed line-of-sight out of the length of the hull 1, which then forms the sides of the vessel 40 from the occupants' point of view.

[0034] The optimal viewing arrangements can be configured to suit a variety of different dimensions of manned submersible, but a particular advantage is that the number of occupants that can be accommodated can be increased without increasing the overall height of the submersible. This is particularly useful when the submersible needs to fit into a given space such as a garage space on a yacht or underneath a crane hook with limited height.

[0035] Preferences and options for a given aspect, feature or parameter of the invention should, unless the context indicates otherwise, be regarded as having been disclosed in combination with any and all preferences and options of all other aspects, features and parameters of the invention.

[0036] While the embodiments described herein are intended as exemplary, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments illustrated. Those skilled in the art will envision many other possible variations and modifications by means of the skilled person's common knowledge without departing from the scope of the invention, however, such variations and modifications should fall into the scope of this invention.