Pressure hull design and construction of the manned submersible Ictineu 3

• Autores: Alex Alcocer, Pere Forès, Gian Piero Giuffré, Carme Parareda, Adriá Roca, Josep Roca Cladera
• Localización: Instrumentation ViewPoint, ISSN-e 1886-4864, Nº. 8, 2009, 36 págs.
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This paper describes the design and construction of the pressure hull of Ictineu 3, a manned submersible with a maximum operative depth of 1200m. The design and manufacturing process of a pressure hull is a cumbersome engineering challenge because of the extreme pressure conditions and extremely low tolerances required by the certification agency. The pressure hull has been calculated and designed under the ASME PVHO-1-2007 and Germanischer Lloyd rules, and Finite Element Method (FEM) simulations have been performed. It will be tested in an autoclave at a test pressure corresponding to 1440m. The pressure hull is composed of an stainless steel body with two acrylic spherical sectors, one is the top hatch and the other is a large front window that will provide the crew an exceptional wide field of view. The steel has been spefically selected due to its excellent mechanical properties and its high corrosion resistance.