EP4126653A1 - Pressure hull for human occupancy for manned submersibles - Google Patents
Pressure hull for human occupancy for manned submersiblesInfo
- Publication number
- EP4126653A1 EP4126653A1 EP21732498.7A EP21732498A EP4126653A1 EP 4126653 A1 EP4126653 A1 EP 4126653A1 EP 21732498 A EP21732498 A EP 21732498A EP 4126653 A1 EP4126653 A1 EP 4126653A1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- hull
- pressure
- pressure hull
- occupants
- major axis
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Pending
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
- B63B—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; EQUIPMENT FOR SHIPPING
- B63B3/00—Hulls characterised by their structure or component parts
- B63B3/13—Hulls built to withstand hydrostatic pressure when fully submerged, e.g. submarine hulls
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
- B63B—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; EQUIPMENT FOR SHIPPING
- B63B5/00—Hulls characterised by their construction of non-metallic material
- B63B5/24—Hulls characterised by their construction of non-metallic material made predominantly of plastics
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
- B63G—OFFENSIVE OR DEFENSIVE ARRANGEMENTS ON VESSELS; MINE-LAYING; MINE-SWEEPING; SUBMARINES; AIRCRAFT CARRIERS
- B63G8/00—Underwater vessels, e.g. submarines; Equipment specially adapted therefor
- B63G8/001—Underwater vessels adapted for special purposes, e.g. unmanned underwater vessels; Equipment specially adapted therefor, e.g. docking stations
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
- B63B—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; EQUIPMENT FOR SHIPPING
- B63B2241/00—Design characteristics
- B63B2241/02—Design characterised by particular shapes
- B63B2241/04—Design characterised by particular shapes by particular cross sections
- B63B2241/06—Design characterised by particular shapes by particular cross sections circular
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
- B63B—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; EQUIPMENT FOR SHIPPING
- B63B2241/00—Design characteristics
- B63B2241/02—Design characterised by particular shapes
- B63B2241/10—Design characterised by particular shapes by particular three dimensional shapes
- B63B2241/14—Design characterised by particular shapes by particular three dimensional shapes spherical
Definitions
- the invention relates to manned-submersible vessel pressure hulls for human occupancy.
- Such pressure hulls are also referred to as pressure vessels for human occupancy (PVHO).
- a pressure hull, or pressure vessel, for human occupancy is the hull in which a pilot and any passengers sit in a manned submersible for underwater use.
- These hulls are commonly made of steels, titanium and other metals. Alternatively, they may be made partially or wholly of acrylic.
- a PVHO is defined as a vessel under internal or externa! pressure that is occupied by a human. Any 'one atmosphere' passenger-carrying submersible requires a PVHO for the passengers.
- Spherical acrylic hulls were developed in the 196Q's, with further development through the 1970's and 198G's, and the rules for their manufacture are set out in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers' Safety Standard for Pressure Vessels for Human Occupancy f httos: //www. asme. ora/codes-standards/find-codes-standards/o vho-1 - safetv-standard-Dressure-vessels-human-occupancv).
- a number of different submersibles with spherical hulls are known for shallow and medium depth diving but these have limited occupancy as their size is limited by various constraints such as weight, ease of manufacture and ability to use them on ships, such as yachts, and loading gantries. As such, the maximum practical diameter of spherical pressure hulls is about 2.5m, which limits the comfortable accommodation of occupants to about 6. While some spheres have been proposed with higher occupancy possibilities, these are crowded and have limited visibility for some of the occupants.
- CN11101768A discloses a semi-submersible sight-seeing boat with a transparent cabin body and a connection and installation frame to fix the cabin body on a floating body.
- the invention provides a manned-submersible vessel pressure hull for human occupancy for, 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 vessel comprising ballast tanks, propulsion means and a pressure hull in accordance with the invention.
- the pressure hull may be arranged within the manned submersible vessel such that the major axis of the hull extends laterally across the vessel, to provide a wide forward view for occupants of the vessel.
- the pressure hull may be arranged within the manned submersible vessel such that the major axis of the hull extends longitudinally along the vessel to provide lateral views for the occupants of the vessel.
- Such submersible vessels are suitable for use at shallow and medium depths, and will even be suitable for some deeper uses, if desired.
- the cross-section of the hull through the major axis is circular or near-circular, such that the stresses resulting from external pressure generate a positive compressive stress in the acrylic.
- the cross-section may be slightly oval in shape or have local deviations from circular form. Such deviations may include deviations on the inside face of the hull, such as localized "flattening" of the acrylic to reduce distortion for viewing out of the hull. Additional deviations from circular cross-sections may also include localized thickening of the acrylic in proximity to an access hatch in order to reduce contact stresses in the acrylic-hatch interface. Additional deviations from a circular cross-section may be used to improve ergonomics and passenger space within the hul! compartment. Where the cross-section across the major axis is referred to as "circular" in this specification, this should be understood to encompass references to near-circular, as discussed.
- the diameter of the circular cross- section of the pressure hul! across the major axis is greater at the centre of the hull profile than at the ends.
- the pressure hull has an elongated non-uniform profile extending along the length of the major axis.
- the invention provides an acrylic pressure hul! that is spheroidal in shape.
- the pressure hull has an elliptical cross-section in the longitudinal direction.
- the pressure hull has a longitudinal profile that has a relatively large radius over the central portion, with the radius of the profile decreasing towards the ends of the pressure hull.
- the central portion of the pressure hull has an elongated, non-uniform profile along the major axis and the ends of the hull are truncated and finished with end plates of another materia! such as metal.
- the height of the pressure hull in a central portion of the hull is of a height that is comfortable for occupants to move around the hull and to sit in comfort.
- the elongated profile of the hull along the major axis enables the occupants to be positioned within the hull such that each occupant has a clear, unobstructed line-of- sight forwards out of the pressure hul!.
- the major axis of the hull can be aligned within the submersible vessel such that each occupant has a clear, unobstructed !ine-of-sight laterally from the pressure hull.
- the pressure hull of the invention can accommodate several occupants without having to increase the height of the hull or form the hu!l from multiple sections.
- the pressure hull of the invention can be configured with suitable arrangements for any of one or several occupants.
- the pressure hull of the invention is particularly advantageous for increasing the capacity for occupants without significantly increasing the displacement of the hull. However, lower capacity arrangements may also be advantageous if an ultra-low displacement submersible is desirable.
- the pressure hull of the invention is arranged to accommodate four or more occupants.
- the pressure hull of the invention can comfortably accommodate 7, 9 or even more occupants in seating arrangements that allows each occupant to have a clear forward and/or lateral line of sight without having to increase the height of the pressure hul!.
- the pressure hu!l of the invention can accommodate more people than has previously been possible in comfort in a single piece acrylic hull, whilst still having a compact footprint and low displacement and without having to increase the height of the hull. This is particularly advantageous for use on yachts, where the submersible will need to fit into limited storage space, or in dock areas where there may be crane hooks with restricted height.
- the low displacement of the hull keeps the weight of the hull to a minimum for the required occupancy, which is critical for manned submersibles.
- the pressure hull is made as a single piece.
- the pressure hull is made from segments of acrylic that are bonded together.
- the acrylic hull or hull segments are advantageously made by slush casting or thermoforming, which are known methods of forming acrylic shapes. Segments are bonded using known acrylic bonding techniques.
- the pressure hull may be formed as a complete spheroidal or similar profile or may be formed with truncated ends.
- an access hatch is arranged on an axis that intersects the centra! axis.
- the access hatch is arranged on the top surface of the pressure hull for ease of entry and exit of the pressure hull when the submersible vessel is on the surface of the water.
- the seating positions for occupants can be arranged in different formations within the pressure hull. This enables a submersible vessel including a pressure hull of the invention to be used for a variety of different purposes, depending on the requirements of the user.
- Figures 1A and IB show length-wise cross-sectional views of different non-limiting embodiments of the invention
- Figure 2 shows a cut-away perspective view of one embodiment of the invention, showing a possible seating arrangement for occupants
- Figure 3 shows a front, perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the invention
- Figures 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.
- Figures 1A and IB show two non-limiting alternative arrangements of a pressure hull in accordance with the invention.
- 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.
- the profile 3 is curved and the height of the hull is increased at the centre 4 compared to the ends 5a and 5b.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Figure 1A shows a spheroidal hull, which is particularly advantageous in relation to the displacement for any particular number of occupants.
- Figure IB 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.
- Figure 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 !ine-of sight.
- the hull 1 may include an access hatch 8 in the top surface of the hull 1.
- Figure 3 shows an alternative hu!l arrangement 11.
- the hul! 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.
- the seating arrangements for occupants 7 shown in Figures 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 submersibies to carry several occupants to view underwater sites in a way that is significantly more comfortable and effective than prior art submersibies have been able to achieve.
- Figures 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.
- Figure 4a shows seating 44 including tables 45 or similar.
- the occupants may be seated in comfort to view forward out of the hull 1.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 ail preferences and options of all other aspects, features and parameters of the invention. 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.
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
- Ocean & Marine Engineering (AREA)
- Aviation & Aerospace Engineering (AREA)
- Pressure Vessels And Lids Thereof (AREA)
Abstract
Description
Claims
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB2008284.8A GB2595673A (en) | 2020-06-02 | 2020-06-02 | Pressure hull for human occupancy for manned submersibles |
PCT/GB2021/051292 WO2021245377A1 (en) | 2020-06-02 | 2021-05-27 | Pressure hull for human occupancy for manned submersibles |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP4126653A1 true EP4126653A1 (en) | 2023-02-08 |
Family
ID=71526272
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP21732498.7A Pending EP4126653A1 (en) | 2020-06-02 | 2021-05-27 | Pressure hull for human occupancy for manned submersibles |
Country Status (4)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US20230211852A1 (en) |
EP (1) | EP4126653A1 (en) |
GB (1) | GB2595673A (en) |
WO (1) | WO2021245377A1 (en) |
Family Cites Families (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CA2730100C (en) * | 2007-07-06 | 2015-05-12 | Reynolds Marion | General purpose submarine having high speed surface capability |
WO2016149772A1 (en) * | 2015-03-25 | 2016-09-29 | David Dowling | A system, towed submersible and docking station for towed underwater recreational sightseeing |
CN106828837A (en) * | 2016-11-30 | 2017-06-13 | 中国船舶科学研究中心(中国船舶重工集团公司第七0二研究所) | A kind of fully transparent carrying submersible |
CN111017168A (en) * | 2019-11-29 | 2020-04-17 | 浙江横海科技有限公司 | Sightseeing cabin installation connection structure, sightseeing cabin using structure and sightseeing boat |
-
2020
- 2020-06-02 GB GB2008284.8A patent/GB2595673A/en active Pending
-
2021
- 2021-05-27 US US18/007,520 patent/US20230211852A1/en active Pending
- 2021-05-27 EP EP21732498.7A patent/EP4126653A1/en active Pending
- 2021-05-27 WO PCT/GB2021/051292 patent/WO2021245377A1/en active Application Filing
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
GB202008284D0 (en) | 2020-07-15 |
GB2595673A (en) | 2021-12-08 |
WO2021245377A1 (en) | 2021-12-09 |
US20230211852A1 (en) | 2023-07-06 |
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