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IFREMER. Actes de Colloques Colloque ISM '90

N° 1 2 - 1 9 9 1 3 - 4 - 5 December 1990

SEA TRIALS AND SUPPORTING TECHNOLOGIES

OF MANNED SUBMERSIBLE "SHINKAI 6500"
Yoshiro IWAI, Toshiyuki NAKANISHI, Kenji TAKAUAS1II
Japan Marine Science and Tecluiology Center (JAMSTEC), JAPAN

Abstract

After the four years of development of the

modern maximum depth submersible ,JAMSTEC has
successfully completed the trainning dives of
"SHINKAI 6500", a new manned submersible whose
maximum operating depth i s 6,500 meters, from
June to October in this year.
"SHINKAI 6500" was constructed by Kobe Ship-
yard and Machinary Works of Mitsubishi Heavy
I n d u s t r i e s Ltd.(Mill) and marked 6,465m and
6,527m dives in the Japan Trench during the sea
t r i a l s with the support vessel "Y0K0SUKA" (built
by Kawasaki Heavy I n d u s t r i e s Ltd.) in August
1989.
This paper presents the r e s u l t s of the sea
t r i a l s , t r a i n n i n g dives and the f e a t u r e s of
"SHINKAI 6500" with her supporting technologies.

1. Sea Tials in 1989

About twelve in August 11th 1989, the newly

b u i l t research submersble "SHINKAI 6500" of
JAMSTEC, grounded on the bottom of the e a s t Photo 1. "SHINKAI 6500" Recovered at Trial Dive.
slope of Japan Trench after about two and a half
hours of decending to the depth.
The depth was 6527 meters which could be
dictated the world record among the l a t e s t sub-
m e r s i b l e s . Up to t h e moment, the scheduled
twenty seven dives were succesfully conducted as
sea t r i a l s . The e x c i t i n g voice from the depth
r e a l l y announced the accomplishment of the
system development of "SHINKAI 6500" and simul-
taneously the beginning of research operation
with the new powerful t o o l . According to the
d e s c r i p t i o n a c o u s t i c a l l y t r a n s f e r e d from the
p i l o t in the spherical h u l l , the world of the
6,500 meters deep was r e l a t i v e l y v i v i d with
several creatures than we had imagined. And his
voice could satisfy a l l engineers, designers and
staffs who attended on the surface.

1.1 Trial dive s i t e s and depth records

The sea trialw were composed of five sessions,

which gradually increasing their depth from 25
meters and 100 meters of i n i t i a l t e s t s , to 6,500
meters of the maxinum depth dive t e s t s . The per-
formace and property tests of several subsystems
which should not depend on the depth pressure
and temperature were planned to be examined in
moderate depth. Their diving s i t e s were careful-
ly selected to be off Pacific coast along Japan
Main Island with consideration of trasportation,
weather and also traffic condition.
The final s i t e of 6500m dives was decieded
to be the east side slope of the Japan Trench Photo 2. Deep sea holothurian Scotoplcmes globos
about 250 kilometers off Kinkazan Coast. at 6.527m deep by TV Camera of "SHINKAI 6500"

161
 The maneuverability test of the small sized Period 51 te Depth
submersible was performed mainly in about 100 1st #1 ?5-500m
meters depth off Kii Strait to the south. 2nd
The acoustical performance tests of communi-
c a t i o n between the s u r f a c e support v e s s e l
3rd n 1250m
2000m
through the underwater telephone and accurate n
subsea locationing by LBL acoustic system were 4 th 14 3000ra
extensively conducted in the bottom of 4,000 15 4000m
meters of Kumano Nada south-east off Kii Penin- #6 5000m
sula. 5th 17 6000m
The s i t e s of these t r i a l dives are mapped in re 5500m
Fig. 1.

1.2 Verification of Capabilities

In each dive in every session, the submer-
s i b l e could demonstrate the designed function
and performance successfully. Consequently the
s u p e r v i s i e r s from JAMSTEC and the inspectors
from Nippon Kaiji Kyoukai (NK, the c l a s s i f i c a -
tion society of Japan) could clarify the excel-
lent property of the submersible.
Combined with the data of the preceeding
tests on land, in the tank and in the dock, the
following functions and performance of individ-
ual subsystems were systematically examined and
verified.

(1) Propulsion and Maneuverability

-Her tactical (turnning) performance is i l l u s t -
r a t e d in F i g . 2 which s u g g e s t s the enough Fig. 1 Trial Diving sites of "SHINKAI 6500"
moying c a p a b i l i t y to locate and sample any
subsea objects.
- T h e crabwise movement ( t r a v e r s i n g sideways
keeping almost the same heading) in F i g . 3
proved d e l i c a t e a c c e s s b i 1 i t y when p r e c i s e
observation is required.
-The advancing movement with full load thruster
was c l a r i f i e d to be over three knots. A part
of speed mesurement is tabled below.

Revolution of
Main Thruster(RPM) 175 110 60

Speed Planned(kt) 2.75 1.7 0.9

Speed Measured(kt) 3.0 2.0 1.0 0

V (m)

-The operator in the pressure hull could ade- Fig.2 The results of Turning Tests of Steering the
quately monitor these movement with Integrated Main Propeller
Information Display System (1IDS) which d i s -
plays the heading of the submersible and
revolutions of each thruster.
t= 100sec

(2) Ballasting and Trimming Capability

-The enough elevation speed over 44 meters per
Horizon ta
minutes from/to bottom was successfully demon- til ru s 1er
strated which would secure the sufficient time 30kgf
of observation (over three hours at the bot-
tom). The speed enables the crew to travel
between the surface to the bottom in two and
a half hours which considered to be the maxi-
mum one while keeping the good stability.
- T h e submersible consumes up to one ton of
steel ballast plates for decending and ascend- Main thruster 25 kg!
ing elevation to save energy for observation Steering angle 80 cleg.
activity with limited electricity.
-Trimming by shifting mercury between bow and Fig.3 Lateral Movement of "SHINKAI 6500"
stern could control her longitudinal a t t i t u d e by Calculation

162
 with c o n s i d e r a b l e i n c l i n a t i o n (up to
degrees) in s u i t a b l e response.
(3) Navigation and Telemetry Ability
- T h e navigation instrumentations such as acous-
t i c p o s i t i o n i n g , a c o u s t i c underwater t e l e -
phone, a l t i t u d e sonar, o b s e r v a t i o n sonar and
c u r r e n t m e t e r as a speed log could compose
t h e i r human control link with expected accura-
cy. The e x c e l l e n t man-machine i n t e r f a c e with
p i l o t could be attained.
- T h e s e a - b e d a c o u s t i c p o s i t i o n i n g l i n k with
t r a n s p o n d e r n e t w o r k ( L B L ) , which i s to be
c a l i b r a t e d to global s a t t e l i t e network, could
be r e a l i z e d with i t s e x c e l l e n t accuracy. Being
compared with the r e s u l t of the a c o u s t i c posi-
tioning by the the support v e s s e l , the accura-
cy of these measurements are almost coincident.
- A c o u s t i c communication with the support vessel
"YOKOSUKA" was proved to be of good s e n s i -
t i v i t y and q u a l i t y . While r u n n i n g in 1 ~ 2
k n o t s , the s u b m e r s i b l e could keep c l e a r com-
munication with the vessel within the range of
9.000 m e t e r s . T h i s owes t r u l y to the n o i s e
control e f f o r t s payed in both submersible and
the surface vessel.
- A newly developed a c o u s t i c imaging sonar was
equipped with the s u b m e r s i b l e to a t t a i n not
only a b i l i t y of o b s t a c l e avoidance but a l s o
long d i s t a n c e o b s e r v a t i o n of seabed p r o f i l e .
The o p e r a t o r compose the t h r e e d i m e n s i o n a l
c o n f i g u r a t i o n of t h e f o r w a r d w o r l d w i t h
v e r t i c a l and h o r i z o n t a l t o p o g r a p h i c images.
The conventional a c o u s t i c PPI mode survey was
e i t h e r performed with t h i s instrument. In the
recovery s i m u l a t i o n p r a c t i c e d on the way back
to her mother p o r t a f t e r f i n a l t r i a l , the
observation sonar could locate and capture the
small t r a n s p o n d e r with the diameter of about
200mm in t h e r a n g e of 8 0 ~ 2 0 0 m e t e r s . The
transponder had been l e f t on the bottom in the
former dive because of the malfunction of the
releasing mechanisum.
(4) Observation and Sampling Status
-Many kinds of improvement in o p t i c a l observa-
tion c a p a b i l i t y were e s t a b l i s h e d based on the
experiences with "SIIINKAI 2000".
- T h e three view p o r t s are so c a r e f u l l y arranged
as to s e c u r e enough s i g h t angle forward and
below t h e s u b m e r s i b l e f o r t h r e e c u r i o u s
occupants.
- T w o c o l o r TV cameras w i t h high r e s o l u t i o n
record wide and zoomed bottom images of high
quality for reseachers' l a t e r reference.
- T h e dual m a n i p u l a t o r s with m u l t i - d e g r e e - o f -
freedom (seven and f i v e D.0.F i n d i v i d u a l l y )
a r e i n s t a l l e d j u s t l i k e human a r m s . And
m a s t e r - s l a v e - c o n t r o l mechanisms with f o r c e
feedback of her r i g h t hand could e q u i p the
soft sampling c a p a b i l i t y to keep the sample's
quality.
During the sea t r i a l s by the b u i l d e r , the
every s u b s y s t e m s and s o f t w a r e a r e t h o r o u g h l y
examined and a d j u s t e d to perform the designed
q u a l i t y and q u a n t i t y . And a l s o t h e i r o p e r a t i o n a l
manuals were carefully reviewed.
10 2. Trainning Dives
A c c e p t i n g t h e d e l i v e r y of t h e v e r i f i e d
"SIIINKAI 6500" s y s t e m , JAMSTEC has conducted
t r a i n i n g d i v e s by t h e i r r e g u l a r o p e r a t o r s and
crew who have w e l l - e s t a b l i s h e d experience with
"SIIINKAI 2000". T o t a l l y t h i r t y s i x d i v e s were
performed around Japan from June to October 1990
w h i l e s e v e r a l d i v e s were i n t e r r u p t e d by some
s e a s o n a l typhoons swept around Japan. Conse-
q u e n t l y t h e o p e r a t o r s , crew and even s t a f f s
could recognize the v e r s a t i l i t y and a v a i l a b i l i t y
of t h i s newly i n i t i a t e d submersible system.
The d e t a i l s of t h i s t r a i n n i n g d i v e s a r e
l i s t e d below.
Depth r a t e No.of dives period
1000 meters 15 6/ 5 ~ 7/10
2600 meters 9 8/ 7 ~ 8/29
3000 meters 5 9/25—10/ 5
6500 meters 4 10/13—10/18
1700 meters 3 10/23—10/25
Although t r a i n i n g , t h e s e d i v e s g r a d u a l l y
r e v e a l e d the s t r a n g e world of the deepsea with
her t h r e e s p e c t a c l e s and two TV cameras. The
s u b m e r s i b l e l o c a t e d the l i v i n g o r g a n i s m s not
only f i s h or sea cucumbers ( h o l o t h u r i a n ) but
also the p o s s i b i l i t y of micro b i o - s t r u c t u r e s .
All through t h i s t r a i n i n g period, the opera-
l i o n p r o c e d u r e s and manuals a r e reviewed p r e -
cisely from the aspect of safety and efficiency.
3. Background of The Development
In 1969, r e f l e c t i n g the u p r i s i n g world trend
to ocean develoment, an a d v i s e r y board for the
prime m i n i s t e r of Japan submitted the r e p o r t on
t h e g e n e r a l p o l i c y and p r o g r a m s of o c e a n
development in Japan. In the r e p o r t the n e c e s -
s i t y of development of a 6000 meter c l a s s manned
deep r e s e a r c h submersible as a most useful tool
for ocean development was i n s i s t e d as a most
c r i t i c a l i s s u e . T h i s a c t u a l l y i n i t i a t e d the
development of the manned research submersibles
in Japan.
Since then the r e s e a r c h and development on
the a s s o c i a t e d key t e c h n o g i e s were s t a r t e d in
g o v e r n m e n t a l r e s e a r c h o r g a n i z a t i o n and some
p r i v a t e companies with the support of some funds
of such as Japan Marine Machinary Development
Association(JAMDA), M i n i s t r y of T r a n s p o r t and
a l s o S c i e n c e and Technology Agency of Japan
(STA). Those key t e c h n o l o g i e s i n c l u d e s t h e
s t r u c t u r e and m a t e r i a l of p r e s s u r e h u l l s ,
bouyancy m a t e r i a l , high energy density b a t t e r i e s
and acoustic navigation systems.
JAMSTEC was e s t a b l i s h e d in 1971 w i t h the
mission of ocean development under s u p e r v i s o r y
of the STA of Japan, and i t s t a r t e d the develop-
ment and v e r i f i c a t i o n of the 6,000m c l a s s r e -
search submersible system succeeding the former
projects.
After deep c o n s i d e r a t i o n of the s l a t e - o f - a r t
t e c h n o l o g i e s to r e a l i z e the development, the
a d v i s o r y board of STA and JAMSTEC d e c i d e d to
develop a 2,000m manned submersible as an impor-
t a n t i n t e r i m to the f i n a l goal of the 6,000m
c l a s s manned s u b m e r s i b l e . Thus the 2,000m deep
manned r e s e a r c h s u b m e r s i b l e "SIIINKAI 2000" and
63
 its support vessel "NATSUSHIMA" were constructed
in 1981 to verify key specific technologies and
to accumulate operation experiences. Inviting
many researchers not only around Japan but also
foreign countries, JAMSTEC has operated t h i s
"SHINKAI 2000" system almost for ten years
totally to make about 500 dives.
While constructing "SHINKAI 2000" system
JAMSTEC and the ship building company were s t i l l
running the development program of such key
technologies as titanium alloy pressure hull and
bouyancy material with high strength and low
density to realize a deeper manned submersible.
Suramerizing all of the research and develop-
ment r e s u l t s , JAMSTEC has evaluated the possi-
b i l i t y of development and research operation of
the new submersible. The result was most promis-
ing applying the design requirement or the
maximum depth capability of 6500 meters which
reflected most of the scientists' needs.
The preliminary design of the new submersi-
ble s t a r t e d in 1985. Simultaneously to the
design work the following verification programs
were implemented intensively.
-Arrangement verification with mock-ups:
The wooden full-size models of spherical pres-
sure hull and whole structure were assembled
and simulated.
-Strength verification of pressure hull:
A scaled model of the titanium pressure hull
was manufactured to be pressurized to collaps-
ing a f t e r c y c l i c a l l y pressure loading. The
model stood against over l,370kgf/cui2 pressure
before i t s collapse just expected in design,
which demonstrated sufficient strength.
In 1987 the construction of "SHINKAI 6500"
was started and it was launched on January 1989.
In last summer, the sea t r i a l s with her support
vessel were successfully conducted as described
previously.
4 . Supporting Technologies
The required properties of "SHINKAI 6500" is
pressure resisting and rapid ascending/descend-
ing performaces. Although the system of t h i s
submersible is r e l a t i v e l y small, the assigned
f u n c t i o n s and performance in the deep sea
environment are necessarily to be supported by
several advanced technologies.
The principal mission objectives required to
the submersible could be described as follows:
(1) To keep enough observation duration of at
least three hours at the maximum operation
depth.
(2) To keep enough observation c a p a b i l i t y to
fulfill uprising research demand.
(3) To secure the saTty operation
4.1 Reduction oT weight for fast elevation
To stay in almost the same weight as "SHIN-
KAI 2000", the following measures and technolo-
gies are inevitably required to be developed and
applied in design and construction.
(1) Adoption of the high strength-weight ratio
materials for pressure resistant structures
164
(2) Imoprovement of f a b r i c a t i o n and assembly
procedures and technologies for the new and
high performance materials to a t t a i n high
accuracy reducing the redandant scantling.
For the weight saving, based on the labori-
ous research and development, the pressure hull
of titanium 6A1-4V alloy was adopted instead of
the conventional ultra-high tensile s t e e l . The
design procedure of the titanium alloy h u l l s
were verified through the series of model tests
on the creep property, cyclic pressurising and
collapse strength. At the same time the fabri-
cation and assembly procedure of titanium alloy
hulls were established through the clarification
with t r i a l production of the proto type model.
In such manner the procedures such as hot-press
forming of the titanium hemispheres, electron
beam welding for thick titanium s e c t i o n s and
precise three dimensional machining to improve
the sphericity were systematically developed and
applied.
(3) Development of the advanced bouyancy mate-
r i a l with high pessure r e s i s t a n t property
and low density.
The property of the bouyancy materials in-
s t a l l e d has a great effect on the weight and
size of the submersible. The syntactic foam with
binary mixture composition of glass microbal-
loons was succeesfully developed and applied.
This unique structure of binary mixture enables
almost saturated packing which r e s u l t s in low
density. The specific gravity of the new buoy-
ancy m a t e r i a l was reduced to 0.54, which is
nearly the same as that of "SHINKAI 2000" in
s p i t e of the nearly doubled higher c o l l a p s e
strength.
(4) From pressure r e s i s t a n t vessels to o i l -
immersed pressure compensated vessels.
"SHINKAI 6500" has inverters to change the
direct current of the b a t t e r i e s to the useful
a l t e r n a t i v e one as "SHINKAI 2000" has. Whole
parts of inverters of "SHINKAI 2000" were accom-
modated in the pressure vessels because of the
fragile e l e c t r i c components. The weight of the
p r e s s u r e v e s s e l s could a p p a r e n t l y i n c r e a s e
enoumously as the operating depth comes to 6,500
m because of the required scantling. To avoid
this, the new inverters with electric components
operable in high p r e s s u r e environment were
developed. The main c i r c u i t s of the inverters,
c o n s i s t i n g of power t r a n s i s t o r s , c a p a c i t o r s ,
reactors were put into the oil to consist the
pressure compensated structures. It could save
the weight by about three tons including the
buoyancy material supposed to compensate the
weight in water.
4.2 Strengthen Observation Capability
To integrate the observation capability, the
following tactics are considered to be useful.
(1) Integrated Acoustic Instrumentation and
Noise Control
In u t i l i z i n g the acoustic instruments, to
 Emitting ttansducer anny
improve s e n s i t i v i t y and accuracy i s one of the
most c r i t i c a l i s s u e in submersible system deve-
l o p m e n t . The f o l l o w i n g i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n was
e x t e n s i v e l y implemented to r e a l i z e an u l t r a s o n i c
systems on the submersible.

- A c o u s t i c Subsea Localioning
It was s u c c e s s f u l l y proved t h a t the a c o u s t i c
subsea link with LBL l o c a t i n g a l g o r i s m s could
be the most p r e c i s e u n d e r w a t e r measurement
p r o c e d u r e where no e l e c t r o m a g n e t i c wave or
l i g h t could t r a n s m i t in some r e a s o n a b l e d i s -
t a n c e . The manned s u b m e r s i b l e which could
independently sense her own t r a j e c t o r y would
p o s s i b l y expand the range of her a c t i v i t y and
improve the a c c u r a c y of l o c a t i o n i n g . Being
free from the conventional a c o u s t i c p o s i t i o n -
ing l i n k from s u r f a c e t o t h e b o t t o m , the
support ship could conduct her own survey, for
i n s t a n c e bathymetry survey with m u l t i - n a r r o w
beam p r o f i l i n g , w h i l e t h e s u b m e r s i b l e i s
Fig. 4. Principle of the Acoustic Imaging Sonar
making contact survey at the bottom.

-Observation Sonar
The newly developed o b s e r v a t i o n sonar i s com-
posed of a c o u s t i c t r a n s m i t t e r s and r e c e i v e r s
arranged v e r t i c a l l y and h o r i z o n t a l l y i n d i v i d -
u a l l y . The t r a n s m i t t i n g a r r a y s in v e r t i c a l
line generate a h o r i z o n t a l thin fan beam while
the r e c e i v i n g a r r a y in h o r i z o n t a l a v e r t i c a l
t h i n r e c e i v i n g beam. R e s u l t a n t l y the narrow
p e n c i l s c a n n i n g beam is formed j u s t l i k e TV
frame. The range (the d i s t a n c e ) to the object
is r e s o l v e d by r e f e r r i n g the time lag of the
r e f l e c t i n g a c o u s t i c pulse. Consequently three Photo 3. Display of the Acoustic Imaging Sonar
d i m e n s i o n a l hologram as phase and a m p l i t u d e
d i s t r i b u t i o n i s to be c o n s t r u c t e d t h r o u g h wmtwmmm&S~~"' \
adequate s i g n a l processing. This procedure of
s e c t o r - c r o s s - f a n beam scanning with high speed
s i g n a l p r o c e s s i n g e n a b l e s t h e s i z e of the
system to be p r a c t i c a l for i n s t a l l a t i o n .
This a c o u s t i c imaging instrument s u p p l i e s an
e x c e l l e n t means to figure out and observe o b s t a -
c l e s in r a t h e r long d i s t a n c e beyond the range of
l i g h t transmission. The several sensing modes of
t h i s acoustic procedure are i l l u s t r e t e d in Fig.4.

- N o i s e Reduction and Control

To a s s u r e t h e p e r f o r m a n c e of t h e a c o u s t i c
instruments, any possible noise from niacin nary Fig.5. The Integrated Display of Navigation Data
components has been c o n t r o l l e d to a l l o w a b l e
l e v e l s i n c e t h e very e a r l y s t a g e of p a r t s
assembly through i t s f i n a l s t a g e of her sea Seq. Item to be Buoyancy Trim
t r i a l . The e m i s s i o n of the n o i s e from main Remark
Na Jettisoned Obtained by Stern
motors and pumps were s t r i c t l y measured and
e v a l u a t e d not to d i s t u r b performance of the Ballast Weight for Neutral
1 458kgf 0°
a c o u s t i c equipments. The t a r g e t noise level of decending buoyancy
under -8d 13 for LBL p o s i t i o n n i n g r e c e i v e r and
Ballast Weight tor
2dB for underwater telephone were s a t i s f i e d in 2 608 appr. 1°
almost a l l o p e r a t i o n a l condition. Conventional ascending
n o i s e c o n t r o l measures were a p p l i e d to the Sample basket or 167
3 (Includes appr. 11°
f u l l e x t e n t not only for the s u b m e r s i b l e but Payload rack I20kgf Payload)
also for the support vessel.
4 Manipulator 72 appr. 18"
- I n t e g r a t i o n of Data Acqusition and Infomation
Display 5 Grabber 55 appr. 23°
As s u b m e r s i b l e Alvin oT Woods hole Océano-
graphie I n s t i t u t i o n adopts the new data a c q u i -
s i t i o n s y s t e m , an e f f i c i e n t u p - s l r e a m m i n g Table 1. Sequence of Emergency Jettlsonning
system of observed d a t a from the submersible for "SHINKAI 6500"

165
 Rescue L I H Bouy
to the surface research equipments is one of / (Syntactic For»)

the very important issues to e s t a b l i s h an

efficient research system. At the same time,
while diving, it is quite demanding for the
operator to be able to monitor the operational
condition of the major equipments and environ-
ment of the submersible. To a t t a i n this ob-
j e c t i v e , the submersible equips Integrated
Information Display System (IIDS) as an ad-
vanced human i n t e r f a c e . Every two seconds
observation data such as CTDV and the position
of the submersible are automatically recorded
for the future reference by s c i e n t i s t s . And
the operator would be continuously acknowleged
with operational condition with this alarming-
installed system for the safe and efficient
o p e r a t i o n . An example of the d i s p l a y for
navigation mode is illustrated in Fig. 5. Jettisonning Cylinder

5. Safty Features
Fig. 6. Rescue Buoy System
To prevent an unexpected c r i t i c a l situation,
represented by entanglement at the bottom, the the submersible should release the rescue
submersible is designed and constructed in the buoy from the depth for the final rescue by
following concept and principle. entanglement and l i f t by remotely operated
v e h i c l e or so. The f i n a l rescue buoy is
(1) Based on the systematic r e l i a b i l i t y analysis illustrated in Fig.6.
p r o c e d u r e s such a s "FTA". "FMEA" an<l
"Boundary Analysis", the integrated design
and construction were carried out since the 6. Conclusion
very e a r l y stage of i t s planning. "FTA"
stands for Fault Tree Analysis and "FMEA" JAMSTEC has completed "SIIINKA1 6500" system,
for Failure Mode and Effect Analysis. And consisting of a fully developed submersible and
"Boundary Analysis" procedure is used to be i t s support v e s s e l , and a l s o completed the
applied in safety evaluation in the fields preparation to make research dives from coming
of nuclear power system. 1991.
(2) The important subsystems s t r i c t l y concern It is, however, s t i l l an important issue for
her safety are to i n s t a l l the following us to achieve more e f f e c t i v e and b e n e f i c i a l
adequate redundancies with consideration of exploration of prosperous deep oceans, taking
fail-safe and back-up concept. advantage of these excellent technologies and
-The submersible has a pair of main b a t t e r i e s systems. Now the f r u i t f u l accomplishment of
parallely lined to the load so as to be opera- studies and researches in the field of biology,
ted with either battery in case of trouble of geology, geophsics, marine mineral resouces are
the other. And to supply the power to emer- highly expected.
gency operation, a minimumly required emer-
gency battery is i n s t a l l e d in the pressure
hull in case of emergency.
-Powerful l i f e support system which supplies
oxygen and absorbs carbon-dioxide is prepared
for three men in the hull.
-As for ballasting four sets of steel plate are
to be r e l e a s e d / j e t t i s o n e d by t r i p p l e proce-
dures and mechanisms, which suggests hydrau-
lically releasing mechanism as normal opera-
tion, i n f l a t i o n a r y - g a s a c t u a t e d r e l e a s i n g
mechanism coping with the hydraulic or mechan-
ical troubles and electromagnetic release in
valves when electric power would be failed.
—Two sets of the same UQC underwater telephone
systems are installed in double.
(3) The selected heavy Mttings like manipula-
tors, sample basket/pay load instrumentations
and also ballasting weight system could be
jettisoned with possible electricity sources.
The sequence and the weight of t h i s emer-
gency jettisoning are summarized in Table 1
as self-contained escape measures.
( 4 ) ' I f the submersible would not be able to
ascend despite of a l l efforts such as r e -
leasing heavy components mentioned above,