Bathyscaphe - what is it? Design

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:42

If you have ever watched the famous films of the Cousteau team about the underwater world, then you could not help but remember the amazing spaceship-like underwater vehicles - bathyscaphes. So what is interesting about the bathyscaphe, what can be explored with it? With the help of these vessels, a person can dive into the depths of the ocean for scientific observations and knowledge of the mysterious depths of the oceans.

Etymology of the name

The bathyscaphe owes its name to Auguste Piccard, the inventor who invented this apparatus. The word is derived from a pair of Greek words that mean "vessel" and "deep". The "deep-sea vessel" will celebrate its 80th anniversary in 2018.

Invention of the bathyscaphe

Piccard invented the deep submersible soon after the end of World War II, in 1948. The predecessors of bathyscaphes were bathyspheres - deep-sea vehicles in the form of a ball. The first such ship was invented in America in the 30s of the twentieth century and skillfully dive to depths of up to 1000 meters.

The difference between a bathyscaphe and a bathysphere is that the former are able to move independently inthicker than water. Although the speed of movement is small and amounts to 1-3 knots, but this is enough to fulfill the scientific and technical tasks assigned to the device.

Before the war, the Swiss worked on a stratospheric balloon, and he got the idea to make an underwater vessel similar in principle to such aircraft as an airship and a balloon. Only at the bathyscaphe, instead of a balloon balloon, which is filled with gas, the balloon must be filled with some substance having a density less than that of water. Thus, the principle of operation of the bathyscaphe resembles a float.

Bathyscaphe device

How does a bathyscaphe work, what is a gondola and a float? The design of various bathyscaphe models is similar to each other and includes two parts:

• light body, or as it is also called - float;
• durable hull, or the so-called gondola.

The main purpose of the float is to keep the bathyscaphe at the required depth. To do this, several compartments are equipped in a light body, filled with a substance that has a density lower than that of s alt water. The first bathyscaphes were filled with gasoline, while modern ones use other fillers - various composite materials.

Scientific equipment, various control and support systems, the crew of the bathyscaphe are placed inside a strong hull. Spherical nacelles were originally made of steel.

Modern submarines have a robust hull made of titanium, aluminum alloys or composite materials. They are notare susceptible to corrosion and meet the strength requirements.

How risky is diving in a bathyscaphe?

The main problem of all deep submersibles and submarines is the huge water pressure that increases with depth. The hull squeezes harder and harder, and the bathyscaphe locator evenly sinks down.

Insufficiently strong hull of an underwater vessel can be deformed or destroyed, which will lead to the sinking of the vessel and the loss of expensive research equipment and loss of life. Insufficiently designed life support systems, batteries, a large amount of complex electronics, chemicals and materials from hull compression at great depths increase the likelihood of fire and accidents.

Besides, the limited possibilities in the review of the space around the device carry the threat of the bathyscaphe colliding with rocks or other obstacles. The locator of a bathyscaphe, evenly plunging vertically into the water column, cannot always detect them due to the peculiarities of the propagation of acoustic waves in the aquatic environment.

So the dive of this ship is a complex and responsible operation that requires careful and advance preparation.

Next, let's talk about the first bathyscaphe, what kind of apparatus it is, its technical characteristics and interesting facts.

The first bathyscaphes

The first bathyscaphe, invented by O. Piccard, hadnamed "FNRS-2", served in the French Navy for 5 years and was put out of action in 1953. As a filler in this apparatus, gasoline was used, which has a density 1.5 times lower than that of water.

The bathyscaphe cabin, as in aeronautics, called a gondola, had a spherical shape and a wall thickness of 90 mm. Two people could easily fit in it.

The main drawback of the FNRS-2 was the location of the hatch to enter the bathyscaphe. He was in the underwater part of the apparatus. It was possible to enter and leave the bathyscaphe gondola only if the device was on the carrier vessel.

The second model of the bathyscaphe was the FNRS-3. This apparatus began to be used for deep-sea research from 1953 until the 70s of the twentieth century. This ship has become a museum. Currently, FNRS-3 is located in France, in Toulon.

According to engineering calculations, the device, like its predecessor, could dive to depths of up to 4 kilometers. The vessel had the same gondola design as the FNTS-2, but the rest of the model was significantly improved.

Specifications

Bathyscaphes of different generations can be compared using their technical characteristics.

	FNRS-2	FNRS-3	"Trieste" (modernized)	"Archimedes"	"Jiaolong"	Deepsea Chalanger
Starting year	1948	1953	1953	1961	2010	2012
Country	France	France	France	Italy, Germany, then USA	China	Australian private company
Gondola diameter (external/internal), mm.	2180/2000	2180/2000	2180/1940	2100/1940
Gondola wall thickness, mm	90	90	120	150
Dry weight, t	10	10	30	60	22	12
Used float fluid	gasoline	gasoline	gasoline	gasoline		syntactic foam
Volume of liquid in the float, l	32000	78000	86000	170000
Crew, people	2	2	2	2	3	1
Depth of immersion, m	4000	4000	11000	11000	7000	11000

Bathyscaphe "Trieste"

What is this bathyscaphe famous for, what kind of ship is this can be understood in more detail further? At the beginning of 1960, Trieste made the first dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean. This operation, codenamed "Project Nekton", was carried out by the US Navy in collaboration with the son of the inventor of the bathyscaphe, Jacques Picard.

Despite the stormy weather on January 26, the first dive in the history of mankind to 10,900 meters took place. The main discovery made by researchers that day is that there is life at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Batyscaphe Deepsea Chalanger

This submersible, named after the deep-sea trench, is famous for being used by James Cameron in March 2012. The famous filmmaker reached the bottom of the Challenger Deep, another name for the Mariana Trench, on March 26.

It was the fourth descent into the deepest point of the ocean in the history of mankind, notable for being the longest in time and made by one person. The locator of the bathyscaphe, evenly plunging vertically into the abyss, examined the bottom, and the director gained inspiration to create a continuation of the fantastic film Avatar.

Bathyscaphe locator

Hydroacoustic station is a bathyscaphe locator that evenly surveys the water column and detects rocks, bottom and other obstacles. This is perhaps the only means that allows you to "see", or rather "hear" under water. The locator of the bathyscaphe, which is evenly plunging to the depth, is, in fact, the ears of the apparatus.

Bathyscaphe incidents

In August 2005, off the coast of Kamchatka, a bathyscaphe of the Russian Navy sank. A deep-sea submersible with a crew of seven became entangled in fishing nets at a depth of about 200 meters.

Rescue ships arrived at the scene and tried to move the bathyscaphe to shallower depths, in order to then carry out a rescue operation with the help of divers. After unsuccessful attempts, the Russian sailors turned to their British colleagues.

The joint Russian-British rescue operation using a deep-sea robot was successful, the entire crew was rescued, and the bathyscaphe was raised to the surface.