Accelerated Decompression Using Oxygen for Submarine Rescue - Summary Report and Operational Guidance
Abstract
In certain situations, a disabled submarine could become internally pressurized due to flooding, leakage of compressed gas supplies, or use of auxiliary breathing systems. This could result in the survivors being saturated with nitrogen at elevated pressures. Efficient submarine rescue requires that pressurized crew members be decompressed more rapidly than current procedures on air allow. NEDU has investigated the ability of oxygen to accelerate decompression following saturation with nitrogen-oxygen. Initial attempts resulted in an unexpectedly high incidence of severe decompression sickness. Subsequent decompression schedules including a period of isobaric oxygen breathing (pre-breathing) with a shorter total ascent time were significantly better than staged decompression of comparable length. Pre- breathing oxygen, or nitrogen-oxygen mixtures, is an effective decompression strategy. This report summarizes the experiments and presents decompression procedures for emergency use in submarine rescue.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA389255
Entities
People
- Edward T. Flynn
- Edward Thalmann
- Gary Latson
- Wayne Gerth
Organizations
- United States Navy Experimental Diving Unit