Project Undersea Station Archive - Page 2 of 5

Stowage & Inventory Management

This section discusses design considerations for the layout and design of stowage systems inside an underwater habitat. It also provides the characteristics of a successful onboard inventory management system design. Such a system can track the quantity, location, and status (e.g., remaining useful life) of inventory items. The inventory management function is one of the primary elements of onboard information management.

This chapter is divided into the following sections:

General Considerations
Type & Locations
Nonstandard Stowage
Habitat Resupply
Flexibility
Central Storage vs. Distributed Storage
Operability
Accessibility
Interference
Labelling
Inventory Management

Our extensive analysis and proposals are part of the design manual.

[Image: FORTEPAN / Lissák Tivadar / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]

Note: This article contains adaptations from the NASA Human Integration Handbook (HIDH), NASA/SP-2010-3407. Since supplementary transports are not comparable to spaceflight, many considerations do not apply to underwater operations and therefore had been skipped.

Mooring

A Scour Hole (image from Wikimedia Commons, licence USGS / Public domain)

This chapter collects information on mooring of an underwater station, potential difficulties and solutions. Continue reading “Mooring”

Nutrition

For long-term stays in an underwater station, a plan for ideal nutrition is required, which takes into account the special circumstances such as increased-pressure environments and reduced sunlight. This section will discuss the specific requirements and the resulting dietary recommendations, which include environmental considerations (avoidance of waste…), safety precautions (avoidance of contamination of the habitat atmosphere…) and alternative sources of supply (own production, finished products…). Some considerations will require a certain design of the corresponding habitat sections. Contact us for access to the whole article.

Image from Wikimedia Commons; Obrer / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

Undersea Station: Portholes

(Update 10.04.2023: complete makeover of the article; replaced outdated information; added new aspects from different sources like NASA’s Human Integration Handbook, 2010)

Windows are essential and present the most important reason to operate an underwater habitat. They are necessary for operation, safety and marketing.

This chapter is divided into the following sections:

Traffic
Tasks
Lighting & Glare
Windows Support
Condensation Prevention System (CPS)
Window Replacement
Window Covers

Our extensive analysis and proposals are part of the design manual.

Interior Lighting

(Updated 10.04.2023: complete edit of the article) Lighting in the main habitat will consist of different modes: standby, activity, emergency and disinfection. This section should explain the ideal system of lighting inside the underwater habitat.

This chapter is divided into the following sections:

Lighting Modes: Standby, Activity, Emergency, Disinfection
Virtual Sky
CoeLux – Mimic Natural Refraction Process

Our extensive analysis and proposals are part of the design manual.

Initial & Operational Financing

(Updated 02.04.2023) In this section we defined all potential sectors divided into operations and mission conduction. It contains analysis of similar projects, probabilities, potentials and benefits.

Our extensive analysis and proposals are part of the design manual.

Solar Lily to power undersea station

(Updated 22.06.2022: new structure of whole article) Solar power and an undersea habitat does not seem to fit each other. But in 2012 we had the idea of a device that opens its harvesters only if the conditions are appropriate just like a hibiscus blossom at dawn. We called it a Solar Lily.

This chapter is divided into the following sections:

A Bionic Shape for harvesting solar energy
Controlling
Additional functions

Our extensive analysis and proposals are part of the design manual.

Undersea Station: Water Supply

Water Supply: Image by James Petts from London, England (Stream of water) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons (Updated 04.04.2023: link concerning average need of water for a human being updated) Even though our station is surrounded by water we can not use it for most of our needs. Therefore for some demands we have to establish a sweet water supply. The easiest way is to bring sweet water from the shore and to fill corresponding tanks. Well, what kind of water do we need?

This chapter is divided into the following sections:

Drinking Water Supply for Consumption
Tap Water; rigid and flexible tanks
Raw Water Supply
Pressure Maintenance

Our extensive analysis and proposals are part of the design manual.

Image by James Petts from London, England (Stream of water) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

General Requirements of Human Beings

To build an underwater habitat we have to know the measurements of human abilities, his limiting values and restrictions. In 2010 NASA published the Human Integration Design Handbook which gives answers to most of these questions. Though it is meant for space flight we can easily adapt most of it to an underwater application. The handbook is available as *.pdf on the server of our digital library. Contact Mart for access.

Branch & Bound

(Guest article by user Mike, thanks for contributing) By common definition, Branch & Bound is a mathematical algorithm to solve integer optimization problems. But simplified versions of Branch & Bound are also applied to find best fitting technical solutions manually. It is a useful tool for making fundamental decisions, such as the selection of a synthesis route during the project development of a new chemical factory complex.

In the context of CalamarPark, the design of the underwater habitat is such a fundamental decision: Should it be small or large? To operate at what depth? Ambient or atmospheric pressure? A certain design might be perfect at one location, but only second choice at another. Continue reading “Branch & Bound”