Another installment.
The divers live inside the chambers, here there are 4 chambers.
Everything for the chambers is controlled in the Saturation Control Room, everything the divers need whilst in the chambers must be provided for them as they can't leave the large Tin Can they are in.
Food is sent in via the medical lock,
Shower water is pumped in at a pressure above the storage pressure.
Even the toilet is controled from the outside also.
The pressure they live at is relevant to the depth of water diving work is being done at. Here for example, the divers are living at 38 meters of sea water pressure. This happens to be 3.8 bar (55 psi), the sea bed is about 50 meters of water, = to 5 bar pressure. Most of you have about 33 psi in your tyres. This dive system is designed to have divers working to a depth of 300 meters = 30 bar pressure.
Some simple physics for you, every 10 meters of sea water in depth is conveniently 1 bar of pressure.
The food and drinks are sent into the divers via a special lock, called medical lock. A hatch is opened and then the items are placed inside, all bottles must be opened. The hatch is secured and safety devices fitted, the the lock is pressurised to equal the storage depth inside and then the internal hatch can be opened to retrieve the food etc.
Temperature and humidity is if great concern also, as well as removing carbon dioxide (expired gas we breath out). Here special machines are fitted on the deck below the chambers.
These are called regen units, we have 5 of them.
The gas the divers breath is pumped from the chambers where it is passed through a chemical called soda sorb which removed the carbon dioxide, the 2 x pots shown below are pressure vessels which can be opened to access the cannisters which contain this product. When the product is saturated with the CO2, it is replaced. You will notice 2 pots, 1 is on line at all times.
After the pots is the fan which is an electricaly driven blower, the same as an engines super charger but bigger, and this is inside a pressure vessel.
Following this, the divers gas passes through a set of chilled coils which allows the moisture to condense on the coils and be drained away. This is the same as an Air conditioner when you see the water running out the bottom of it.
Now that the divers gas has been chilled, it needs to be heated to the desired room temperature.
At the top part of this blue frame are the 2 devices which alter the temperatures of the gas.
Inside the ring of bolts shown below is the blower and electric motor, an oil indicator can be seen which is for the blower gears.
Everything which happens for the divers is done with the pressure difference in mind. Showers, the water is pumped in, the shower water lies in the bilge and then a series of 3 x valves are opened both inside and out and the chamber pressure then pushes the water out.
Toilet, the same thing goes for this, but with additional safety measures, 1st important 1 (which the ladies will like
) is that nothing can happen until the lid is down. This is so no one is sitting on it when flushed as ...... well, Ummm, it is not nice and death will be the result.
To be continued......
