Design of a Variable Ballast System on Manned Submersible 'Harmony'

摘要

Variable ballast system is necessary for the manned submersible to adjust the weight while at depth. In this paper, the design of a variable ballast system on manned submersible "Harmony" is described. The variable ballast system is a super high pressure seawater hydraulic system. A super high pressure seawater pump and a deep-sea brushiess DC motor are used to pump seawater into or from the variable ballast tank, to increase or decrease the weight of the manned submersible. A magnetostrictive linear displacement transducer can detect the seawater level in the variable ballast tank. Some seawater valves are used to control the pumping direction and on-off, design and test of the valves are described. Finally, the future development of the variable ballast system and seawater hydraulic system is proposed.