Mechanical BC's - is it possible?

[dive_lover88]

it's possible...but is it fesible and cost effective?

 

[Thalassamania]

It's possible, I think it's feasible, I think it could be cost effective ... except for the product liability insurance.

 

[Walter]

Actually, such a device was developed, but never gained popularity. It did work by adding air, unlike your concept, but it was rigid and did not compress at depth.

I think a few folks misunderstood the concept. As one descends and the wet suit is compressed, the cylinder is lengthened, thereby increasing volume and buoyancy to compensate for wet suit compression.

Also, there's one other misunderstanding. When breathing compressed air, you body does not change buoyancy with depth, it remains constant. If diving without an exposure suit, a diver only needs to compensate for air used during the dive. If diving a hooka rig, that's not even an issue.

The bottom line is the device you propose is not needed. Current BCs work quite well for adjusting our buoyancy. Some have flawed designs, but the air bladder concept is an excellent one.

 

[anzac65]

The bottom line is the device you propose is not needed. Current BCs work quite well for adjusting our buoyancy. Some have flawed designs, but the air bladder concept is an excellent one.

I'm a mechanical design engineer and actually quite enjoyed thinking about your idea for a few minutes. I was thinking about how to write an answer that's short and sweet, but then...... Walter went and did it for me just about perfectly.

 

[fisherdvm]

It is just an idea. I can not control your lung volume, and the expansion of your neoprene wetsuit.

But if we keep the BC buoyancy constant regardless of depth, that would mean a more controlled overall buoyancy. You are right, MikeFerrera. I'd figure an engineer would have some wise input.

The seal would be difficult to produce. And the mechanical movement required for buoyancy control would be difficult to manufacture. But as Thalassamia said, it sounds like some kind of device like I am thinking of is already in use in ROVs.

 

[fisherdvm]

Thanks Walter. The system that you talked about would work much better. Probably a one way bleed valve that maintain constant pressure greater than water pressure will be needed. Then we would not have to worry about the seal as much.

But obviously, the BC is nothing more than an inexpensive air mattress or a blow up toy, with a bicycle valve. Can't make things simpler than this.

 

[Teamcasa]

A sensor could be designed to simply add or remove air from your BC automatically. But where is the fun in that?

Dave

 

[fisherdvm]

A sensor could be designed to simply add or remove air from your BC automatically. But where is the fun in that?

Dave

Its not about the fun... It is about the idea .... Always good to think outside of the box.

 

[fweber]

You could do away with the mechanical seal issues by adopting a very simple liquid system like those used on the ocean gliders.

In such a system you have a vessel filled with liquid and a small pump. Liquid can then be pumped to fill external, otherwise collapsed, tubing. Thereby, increasing or decreasing the mass of the vessel. It could be powered and controlled either manually or electronically.

Could be a very entertaining project to work on in your spare time. Please, keep us informed of your progress.

 

[lmorin]

This discussion raises the question of how swim bladders work in fish. What do they do to avoid bursting when swimming up the water column and how do they get new gas in the bladder? Anybody know?