Russian deep-sea vehicles. Bathyscaphe

Probably, there is no need to list the merits of the MIR deep-sea manned vehicles and one of their creators - scientist and Hero of Russia Anatoly Mikhailovich Sagalevich. This is the largest number of dives to the Titanic in history, and unprecedented scientific discoveries of new species of animals, and dives to Kursk, Komsomolsk, Bismarck, and research on “black smokers”... This list can be continued for a very long time, enough for a whole book of achievements.

It would seem that here it is, a ready reason to be proud of the country’s achievements. Research, discovery - it's wonderful, we must continue to dive in! But some misunderstanding creeps into your head when you find out that for the fifth year now these miracles of technology have been idle. Even more questions arise when you start to learn their real history.

Take a look, for example, at this Chinese machine called Jiaolong. It was built in 2010 and is capable of diving to a depth of 7,000 meters. Doesn't remind you of anything?

GOA "Jiaolong", a deep-sea manned vehicle capable of diving to 7,000 meters - deeper than any other in the world

Indeed, it is incredibly similar to the Russian MIRs. Shape, characteristics and even color. And this is not surprising, because it was their design that was taken as the basis, since it was recognized as one of the most advanced and most successful. The main technical consultant was none other than Anatoly Mikhailovich Sagalevich.

It is interesting that while the unique and unparalleled “tandem” system of “MIRs” in the world has been idle for five years now, Chinese officials have begun to fully realize the importance of deep-sea research, because there, at a depth of many thousands of meters , there are truly countless natural resources. Having built the Jiaolong apparatus, they became the owner of the deepest submersible in the world. Hundreds of millions of dollars are allocated to the research program, and these are public funds. An extensive training program for deep-sea pilots has been launched, the prestige of whose profession is now comparable to that of an astronaut. Every deep sea scientist is the pride of the country, the hero of the country. Once upon a time it was the same in the USSR.

Chinese pilots proudly hold the Chinese flag before the Jiaolong test dive

Against this background, it is worth briefly recalling the history of “MIRs” in modern Russia. Since 1991, not a single large-scale expedition has been organized with government money. None. All research expeditions were organized and financed either by individuals and companies, or by foreign organizations.

Remember even the most famous of them - for example, a series of dives on Lake Baikal in 2008-2010. All three expeditions were organized with the private money of one of the State Duma deputies - he’s just an enthusiast too. With his own (and not state) money, the first person in the state dived into Lake Baikal in 2009.

Vladimir Putin during a dive to Lake Baikal

And it’s worth remembering probably the most famous (and even historical), incredible in its complexity, expedition of “MIRS” to the North Pole - Arctic 2007. During it, for the first time in the history of mankind, it was possible to reach the real point of the North Pole, which is located at a depth of more than 4000 meters. When this point was reached, a small Russian flag was placed at the bottom. Of course, this was not a bid for Russian ownership of the North Pole, as many tried to imagine, it was a purely symbolic act. But still a reason for pride, isn’t it? And indeed, all the country’s media broadcast about this event day and night, fanfare sounded, officials did not leave the screens.

Arthur Chilingarov, Anatoly Sagalevich and Vladimir Gruzdev before the historic dive

Installation of the Russian flag at the geographic North Pole

Now comes the fun part. This expedition of “national pride” was not organized with government money. And not even Russian ones at all. It was funded largely by two foreign nationals - Swedish scientist and philanthropist Frederik Paulsen and Australian researcher Mike McDowell. It's probably as if Yuri Gagarin's flight was paid for by American patrons. Such is the “spiritual bond”.

Swedish citizen Frederik Paulsen, who financed the Russian expedition Arctic 2007

Similarly, with foreign funding, MIRs were able to stay afloat for so long. All this is entirely the personal merit of Anatoly Mikhailovich Sagalevich, whose diplomatic talent helped save and use the MIR devices for 20 years. But its possibilities are not limitless. For several years now, the scientist has been trying to achieve acceptable funding for the deep-sea program. More than once he even addressed the head of state. The answer is only excuses and open-ended promises. But time goes by, opportunities disappear. MIRs must undergo a full technical inspection every 10 years. The last one was held in 2005. In 2015, a new one was needed, but it never took place due to lack of funding - now MIRs may not be released into the ocean.
Pilots are not immortal either. The youngest is currently over 60 (!) years old. But no new ones are expected, because there is nothing to train them on, and for such a “big” salary, which of the young people will agree to devote their lives to science?

Presentation of the Hero of Russia star to Anatoly Sagalevich, 2008

In this situation, all that remains is to sigh sadly and go help where experience and knowledge are in demand. This is why the Jiaolong apparatus is so similar to the MIR - the Chinese incredibly value the experience and help of A. M. Sagalevich in creating the apparatus. The scientist himself regularly visits various shipyards in many countries where new and new devices are being built - the knowledge of a specialist of this class is worth its weight in gold all over the world. Except, however, Russia.

Chinese authorities have realized that the race to explore great depths (the so-called ultra-abyssal) is again gaining momentum. Construction of new devices is planned in the USA, Japan and Great Britain. Therefore, Chinese officials decided not to stop there - with the Jiaolong device - and went further, much further.

At the moment, the Scientific Center for the Study of the Ultra-Abyssal Zone at the Shanghai Oceanographic University is developing an unprecedented deep-sea vehicle called “Caihongyu” - “Guppy” worth 80 million dollars. This is a manned vehicle that will be capable of descending to the bottom of the Mariana Trench - to a depth of more than 11,000 meters.

GOA "Caihunyu" - "Guppy", which will descend to the bottom of the Mariana Trench in 2019

There have been only two such devices in the entire history of mankind - Trieste in 1953 and Dipsy Challenger in 2012. But most importantly, this will not be just a bathyscaphe, capable of only rising and falling, like the two above-mentioned devices, it will be a full-fledged scientific apparatus , designed for a crew of three and capable of performing the entire range of scientific deep-sea research - an analogue of the MIRs. Construction is planned to begin this year, and immersion into the depression is planned for 2019. Construction of a carrier vessel worth $220 million has already begun specifically for the Guppy. It is safe to say that as soon as the Chinese finish the device and put it on the carrier ship, the undisputed palm will go to them.

One of the co-authors of the project is (as you might have guessed) Anatoly Mikhailovich Sagalevich. He is one of the main technical consultants and regularly visits Shanghai. And what’s most interesting in this story is that Anatoly Mikhailovich understands that this device is unique, and owning one gives incredible opportunities. Therefore, even at the very first stages of the creation of “Guppy,” the scientist and Hero of Russia turned to Russian officials with a seemingly more than excellent proposal - to build, together with the Chinese, a second similar device, but from the Russian side. Moreover, the Chinese themselves supported this idea with interest. The result would be a new deep-sea “tandem” - an analogue of the “MIRS” - which would truly have no equal in the world; it would be the pinnacle of technical achievements. And you must agree that exploring the ocean with the “brotherly people of China” is a very good option, especially in the current conditions.

But... (how I wish there was no “but” in this place)

The Russian side refused.

Yuri Gagarin will not fly into space.

The only thing left to add are lines from A. M. Sagalevich’s song “The Ballad of the Institute”:

After all, there used to be times when a rich country
We were allowed to sail to any end of the Earth.
Well, now there is no budget, we are always looking for an answer
“Where should we put the big ships?”

And there is an excellent steamer, even if it runs quietly,
But after filming Titanic, he became popular in the world.
We need to remove the MIRs from it, put it on three-year charter,
So that he can pump us money from tourists.

“Why does a scientist need a salary? He will write a report anyway,
After all, Lomonosov drank only bread kvass.
Reduce staff by half! Turn science into business!” —
An order came from someone's office.

Without looking at this approach, we break into the campaign,
And we conquer both Baikal and the Poles.
Let's make a movie underwater and remember Lyublino
And we continue to firmly believe in miracles.

Anatoly Sagalevich - Ballad about the Institute

Polishchuk Maxim (

will begin on Lake Baikal in the first half of the day on Thursday, Inna Krylova, deputy director of public relations of the Baikal Conservation Assistance Fund, told RIA Novosti.

The deep-sea manned submersibles "Mir-1" and "Mir-2" were built in Finland by Rauma-Repola in 1987. The devices were created under the scientific and technical guidance of scientists and engineers from the P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The creation of the devices began in May 1985 and was completed in November 1987. In December 1987, deep-sea tests of the devices were carried out in the Atlantic at a depth of 6170 meters (Mir-1) and 6120 meters (Mir-2). The devices were installed on the support vessel Akademik Mstislav Keldysh, built in 1981 in Finland and converted in 1987 to carry out work with deep-sea test devices.

Using the Mir-1 and Mir-2 GOA, 35 expeditions were carried out in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, of which nine expeditions were carried out to eliminate the consequences of the accidents of the nuclear submarines Komsomolets and Kursk. A number of the latest deep-sea technologies and techniques have been developed, which made it possible to carry out long-term radiation monitoring on the Komsomolets nuclear submarine, which is located at the bottom of the Norwegian Sea at a depth of 1,700 meters, and to partially seal the bow of the boat. Russian scientific institutions have developed a methodology that made it possible, using Mir devices, to conduct a detailed examination of the Kursk nuclear submarine, determine the cause of its accident and develop measures to eliminate the consequences of this accident.

In 1991 and 1995, with the help of “Worlds”, studies were carried out on the hull of the Titanic, which lies at a depth of 3800 meters. During the dives, unique filming was carried out, which was used to create feature and popular science films, including Titanica, Titanic, Bismarck, Aliens of the Deep, Ghost of the Abyss.

In January-September 2004, the Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, together with the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Fakel, carried out a major overhaul of the Mir devices, including their complete disassembly, testing the strength of the hulls, partial replacement of elements, components and equipment, subsequent assembly and testing of the newly assembled devices. As a result, “Mir-1” and “Mir-2” received a class certificate from the international register “German Lloyd” until 2014.

On August 2, 2007, as part of the “Arctic-2007” expedition, the world’s first descent of the deep-sea manned vehicles “Mir” was carried out at the point of the geographic North Pole to a depth of 4300 meters. During this unprecedented dive, a titanium Russian flag was planted at the bottom. The achievements of this expedition are included in the Guinness Book of Records.

Currently, the Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences is working on several projects, within the framework of which it is planned to conduct scientific research and underwater technical work using the Mir-1 and Mir-2 GOA. One of the projects is comprehensive research of the ocean during the circumnavigation of the vessel “Akademik Mstislav Keldysh”. During this expedition, it is planned to study hydrothermal fields at the bottom in various areas of the World Ocean and conduct dives on several sunken objects.

In 2008-2009, the scientific research expedition “Worlds” will take place on Lake Baikal.” A comprehensive program for scientific research of Lake Baikal has been prepared by the Russian Academy of Sciences. Most of the research program will be carried out using the Mir deep-sea manned vehicles. The purpose of the expedition is to collect information and use the data obtained in predicting various natural processes, diving to the maximum levels of the bottom of Lake Baikal, studying the outlets of underwater hydrothermal springs and mud volcanoes, studying the bottom of the Barguzin Bay. The expedition's objectives also included studying Baikal's hydrocarbons and determining their reserves, obtaining accurate data on tectonic processes at the bottom of the lake, the state of the coastline, and searching for archaeological artifacts.

Technical characteristics of the manned deep-sea vehicles "Mir":

Working diving depth - 6000 meters

Energy reserve - 100 kW‑hour

Life support capacity - 246 man-hours

Maximum speed - 5 knots

Buoyancy reserve (from the surface) - 290 kilograms

Dry weight - 18.6 tons

Length - 7.8 meters

Width (with side engines) - 3.8 meters

Height - 3 meters

Crew - 3 people

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Research deep-sea manned vehicles (GOV) for oceanographic research and rescue work. The devices have a diving depth of up to 6 kilometers.

Currently, the Mir-1 apparatus is located as an exhibit in the Kaliningrad Museum of the World Ocean, and Mir-2 is based on board the research vessel Akademik Mstislav Keldysh.

Encyclopedic YouTube

1 / 5

✪ To the depths of Baikal. part 1 (of 2)

✪ Mariana Trench. Diving to the “bottom of the Earth”. James Cameron. National geographic 11/21/2016

✪ Secrets of deep-sea worlds. Brainstorm.

✪ Deep-sea vehicles for exploring the bottom of the World Ocean. Sagalevich A.M.

✪ Underwater vehicle

Subtitles

General

The terms of reference for the creation of the vehicles were prepared by the head of the Department of Deep-Sea Manned Vehicles of the USSR Academy of Sciences, project manager I. E. Mikhaltsev. The main ideas for the design of the apparatus, the design of its individual systems, components, elements, and the assembly of scientific and navigation equipment belong to I. E. Mikhaltsev, his deputy A. M. Sagalevich and the chief engineer of the project from the Finnish shipbuilding company Sauli Ruohonen, who led a group of Finnish engineers and technicians who took part in the construction of the devices.
The base ship, research vessel “Akademik Mstislav Keldysh” was built in 1981 at the Finnish shipyard Hollming in the city of Rauma. Since 1982, it was used as a support vessel for the underwater manned vehicles "Pysis-VII" and "Pysis-XI". In August-October 1987, it was converted into a support vessel for two manned underwater vehicles "Mir". Deep-sea vehicles were manufactured in 1987 by a Finnish company Rauma-Repola Oceanics, and the contract for the creation of the devices was signed on May 16, 1985, and the acceptance certificate was signed on December 17, 1987, after successful test dives in the Gulf of Bothnia and the Atlantic Ocean to a maximum depth of 6170 meters (“Mir-1”) and to a depth 6120 meters (“Mir-2”). This is how a unique deep-sea research complex was created, combining a ship and two Mir submersibles, equipped with navigation equipment and scientific instruments for conducting a wide range of oceanological research.
Both the R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh and the underwater vehicles are under control.

Of great importance for scientific research is the working depth of the “Worlds” - 6000 meters, thanks to which these devices can reach the depths at which 98.5% of the bottom of the World Ocean is located.

Story

The history of “Worlds” dates back to 1970, when Doctor of Technical Sciences I. E. Mikhaltsev formulated the concept of the indispensability of a human researcher in a new unfamiliar environment, in comparison with the operator of any programmable robotic devices. Working as the head of the Department of Deep-Sea Manned Vehicles of the Institute of Oceanology of the USSR Academy of Sciences, he was the author of technical specifications and the head of work on the creation and testing of manned research vehicles "Pysis" with a diving depth of up to 2000 m (1970-1976) and manned vehicles "Mir" - up to 6000 m (1979-1987), convincing the leadership of the Academy of Sciences of the need to allocate funds for the construction of one deep-sea vehicle.

The first attempts to order underwater vehicles were unsuccessful: joint work with a Canadian company in 1980 encountered a number of technical problems - it was not possible to create a chamber for the crew that could withstand 600 bar made of titanium, and above all political obstacles: the United States saw in such an order a violation of the COCOM treaty ban on the export of advanced technologies to the USSR. In 1982, the USSR Academy of Sciences offered an order to three other possible manufacturers. When Swedish and French companies refused the offer, the company remained Rauma-Repola with its subsidiary Rauma-Repola Oceanics - Finland did not sign an agreement banning the export of advanced technologies to the USSR. The peace treaty prohibited the ownership and construction of submarines, but this paragraph concerned only military equipment, and the ordered devices were scientific research ones. According to Pekka Laksella, the then head of the Finnish company, permission to export to the USSR was obtained only because COCOM officials did not believe that anything would come of such an undertaking. When it became clear that the engineering problems had been solved, there was an uproar about how such technology could be sold to the USSR and Laxella had to visit the Pentagon several times.

Diplomatic crisis involving the United States

The US General Embassy in Helsinki was aware of the progress of work on the deep-sea chambers at Rauma Repola from the very beginning. “They still had a technically illiterate group that could not evaluate the project correctly. The project was allowed to continue - the Americans were absolutely sure that casting a sphere from steel would not be possible. All previous spheres were welded from titanium,” said the former CEO in 2003 Rauma-Repola Tauno Matomäki. "We created an enterprise Rauma-Repola Oceanics , - said Tauno Matomäki at the same time, - only to sacrifice this subsidiary, and not to put the entire company at risk if things go badly.” And so it happened. The subsidiary was created in 1983, and dissolved shortly after the creation of Worlds in 1987. Having gained wide popularity, the company Rauma-Repola did not receive the expected orders. The entrance fee to the new area turned out to be too expensive - the CIA and the Pentagon insisted that all enterprises that did not adhere to American recommendations were subject to bankruptcy, without exception.

The United States tried to secretly prevent the export of ready-made devices to the USSR. The CIA suspected that the devices could be used in US territorial waters for reconnaissance.

Design and manufacturing

The main and problematic place in the bathyscaphe is the gondola attached to the float. Unlike a balloon, it can be lighter than water, but in practice, deep-sea vehicles must have very thick walls, and not a single bathyscaphe can do without a float. Trieste has a huge float, filled with gasoline, which can leak. The Mirs have a float of only 8 cubic meters, it is solid and forms a streamlined body that cannot be “lost.”
The production of apparatus spheres that can withstand high pressure was the merit of the company's engineers Repola and application of new technology. This was possible thanks to the hard work of the entire design team and the high level of metallurgy. The firm signed the contract before the final technology was known and took on the risk from both a technical and commercial point of view. A German patent has been applied for, but not yet approved, for the processing technology.

The two-meter spheres of the crew for deep-sea vehicles must be as light as possible so that the density of the entire device is close to unity - the density of water. Then the device can be controlled autonomously at any depth. In practice, this means that the sphere must be made of a particularly strong and light metal. Titanium is good for its low density, but its fracture toughness is still less than that of steel. Therefore, titanium walls must be twice as thick as steel ones. Titanium also cannot be cast in large enough pieces to assemble a sphere without welding.

Rauma-Repola immediately followed the path of creating a steel sphere - the company had suitable foundry equipment at the Lokomo enterprise. The material chosen was maragen steel (Maragen), developed in the 1960s by the US Navy, whose strength/density ratio is 10% better than titanium. The alloy contains almost a third of cobalt, the addition of nickel, chromium and titanium. The titanium proportion has a decisive influence on impact strength. This type of steel is commonly used to create vehicle shafts.

In 2004, both devices underwent a complete overhaul and testing of the deep sphere (the main part of the “Worlds”).

Deal

The Worlds project, costing 200 million Finnish marks, was a good deal for both the manufacturer and the customer, and was more successful than anyone could have imagined. The project did not attract the attention of the media and was practically kept secret until the finished devices were delivered to the customer. Only after that Rauma-Repola released technical data. The company's reputation as a manufacturer of "Worlds" is still at its best. According to Tauno Matomäki, international concerns are interested in deep-sea vehicles capable of diving to 12,000 meters. It is technically possible to build such an apparatus, but politically it is not. It can be bought, but it is problematic to sell - the United States, after the mistake with the Mirs, is carefully monitoring this area and all American deep-sea vehicles belong to the military department.
This prediction was partially destroyed by James Cameron, who built the first private bathyscaphe, Deepsea Challenger, in 2012, although he carried out the work in secret in Australia.

Design

Frame

The spherical nacelle of the devices is made of martensitic, highly alloyed steel, with 18% nickel. The alloy has a yield strength of 150 kg per mm² (for titanium it is about 79 kg/mm²). Manufacturer: Finnish company Lokomo, part of the Rauma Repola concern.

Power point

Nickel-cadmium batteries 100 kWh.

Crew accommodation

The crew of the GOA "Mir" consists of three people: a pilot, an engineer and a scientist-observer. The observer and engineer lie on side banquettes, the pilot sits or kneels in a niche in front of the instrument panel.

Rescue system

The vehicle's unique emergency rescue system consists of a syntactic buoy released by the crew, with a 7,000 m long Kevlar cable attached to it, along which half of the coupling is lowered (about the same as a railway automatic coupler). It reaches the device, then automatic coupling occurs and the device is lifted on a long power cable 6500 m long with a breaking force of about ten tons.

Comparative assessment

Use in cinema

The devices were used in the filming of James Cameron's films "Titanic", "Ghosts of the Abyss: Titanic" in 1997 and the Bismarck Expedition in 2002. Participation in the filming of director James Cameron's film "Titanic", which premiered in 1997, brought "Worlds" wide fame. Subsequently, with the help of the Mir deep-sea submersibles, several more feature and popular science films were created, thanks to which people saw the life of the ocean depths.

Diving to sunken submarines

"Mirs" examined the sunken submarine "Komsomolets". In the area of the sinking of the Komsomolets nuclear submarine in the Norwegian Sea, seven expeditions were carried out in the period 1989-1998, during which the Mirs made 70 dives to a depth of 1,700 m. Annual work made it possible to assess the general situation and make a decision to preserve the bow of the boat. Komsomolets" using the latest deep-sea technologies that have never been used before.

At the end of September 2000, the devices were used to inspect the Kursk nuclear submarine. As a result of the Mirov dives, the cause of the death of the nuclear submarine cruiser was established, a set of measures was developed to eliminate the consequences of the accident, and a decision was made to raise the vessel.

Ocean exploration

According to the designer and commanders of the Mir-1 and Mir-2 satellites I.E. Mikhaltsev, A.M. Sagalevich and E.S. Chernyaev, the Mir spacecraft with a working diving depth of 6000 m cover 98.5% World ocean. With their help, on the ocean floor you can explore hydrotherms (or “black smokers” - hot springs on the ocean floor, located mainly in the areas of mid-ocean ridges, at a depth of 2-4 km), look for minerals and rare earth elements.

With the use of GOA "Mir-1" and "Mir-2" in the period up to 1991, 35 expeditions were carried out in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans.

Using the Mir submersibles, hydrothermal vents were explored in the areas of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. On August 2, 2007, for the first time in the world, these devices reached the bottom of the Arctic Ocean at the North Pole, where the Russian flag and a capsule with a message to future generations were placed. The devices withstood a pressure of 430 atmospheres.

Baikal exploration

Since July 2008, both devices worked for two years on Lake Baikal. On this lake they conducted their first deep-sea dives in fresh water. On July 30, 2008, the Mir-2 spacecraft collided with a floating platform and sustained damage to the left propeller. In 2008, 53 dives were carried out in the middle and southern basins of the lake, in which 72 hydronauts took part. The nature of the appearance of oil spills on the surface of the lake, as well as the fauna of Baikal, were investigated. Four levels of ancient “beaches” have been discovered, meaning that Baikal was filled gradually. At a depth of 800 meters, three boxes of ammunition from the Civil War were found, 7 cartridges were recovered. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin dived to the bottom of Lake Baikal on the Mir deep-sea submersible on August 1, 2009.

Current state

Notable commanders

In culture

The Mir devices are the subjects of James Cameron's documentary "Strangers from the Abyss" 2005.

Story

For research purposes, about one and a half dozen similar devices were built around the world. But they all had one significant drawback - being tied to a support ship did not allow autonomous research.

Therefore, the world began to build mini-submarines for research purposes. One of the first to build such a “diving saucer” was Zh.I. Cousteau in 1957. Then other designers followed his example. In particular, employees of the Leningrad Institute of Giprorybflot created in the 60s of the 20th century for the Pacific Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography the 305-ton submarine “TINRO-1”, capable of “diving” to 300 m and swimming there in any direction at a speed of 9 knots , hover over the ground and land on it.

While the first-born of the Leningraders was getting used to the elements, engineers were working on the second device for the Far Easterners. And so on November 12, 1974, Captain Mikhail Gire battened down the entrance hatch cover to TINRO-2. This mini-submarine was approximately six times shorter than its predecessor, twice as narrow and weighed only 10 tons, while operating freely at a depth of 400 meters.

In August of the following year, testing of the experimental underwater vehicle OSA-3-600, created this time in the Moscow branch of Giprorybflot, began in the Baltic. Its spherical steel body with four winged propellers resembled Cousteau’s “diving saucer.” But the wasp’s maneuverability was excellent, and its working depth reached 600 m.

In short, each new device invariably improves certain characteristics and, of course, increases the depth of immersion. However, only bathyscaphes (translated from Greek as deep-sea vessels) can overcome the kilometers separating the ocean surface from the bottom.

In 1959, the Leningrad branch of the Giprorybflot created the bathyscaphes “B-5” and “B-11”. The number in the name indicated the maximum diving depth in kilometers. According to the developers, each of them was to be equipped with a mechanical manipulator arm, a trap for sea animals. Moreover, the team consisted of three people and could conduct scientific research.

Six years later, the Leningraders formalized the DSB-11 project - a bathyscaphe, with the help of which it was supposed to study tectonic processes on the ocean floor.

Similar developments were carried out abroad. In particular, in the 70s, American researchers received at their disposal the deep-sea vehicle Alvin, known, for example, for discovering “black smokers” at the bottom of the Gulf of California in November 1979 - underwater geysers that emit superheated and saturated minerals. substances water. Moreover, around each “smoker” previously unknown life forms were discovered.

And in 1986, “Alvin” sank to the bottom in the area where the famous “Titanic” sank.

The pride of the French, in particular, is the deep-sea vehicle Nautil, capable of operating at depths of up to 6 km. The titanium body allows a team of three people to feel quite comfortable at a depth of many kilometers.

“Nautil” usually works in tandem with the underwater robot “Robin”, which is located in the bow of the device when diving. When the working depth is reached, the robot begins to act independently, moving away from the device by the length of the connecting cable (about 60 m).

The deep-sea underwater vehicles of the P.P. Institute of Oceanology stand somewhat apart. Shirshov, based on the science ship "Akademik Mstislav Keldysh".

The Mir devices were built in 1987 in Finland under a joint project of the USSR Academy of Sciences and the Finnish concern Rauma-Repola. “Worlds” are designed for a maximum diving depth of 6000 m. This makes 99% of the waters and bottom of the World Ocean accessible to them - with the exception of the deepest depressions.

To withstand pressure of 600 atmospheres, the compartments of the durable body are assembled from hemispheres cast from high-alloy nickel steel, which turned out to be twice as strong as even titanium alloy. In terms of underwater speed, vertical maneuverability, power supply and duration of stay under water, the Miras have no equal. This is primarily ensured by iron-nickel batteries with a capacity of about 100 kWh, which is twice as much as that of analogues.

With a special fairing, the speed of the device reaches 5 knots. Usually, for research work, 3 nodes are enough.

The pride of the designers is the ballasting system, similar to that adopted on submarines: immersion and ascent are carried out by filling the ballast tanks with water and draining them. Other devices, as a rule, float by dropping ballast - large steel shot.

“Mirs” are equipped with all the necessary instruments for oceanological measurements, photographic and video equipment. Power drives and a microprocessor control system for outboard manipulators make it possible to lift objects weighing up to 80 kg and handle biological objects very delicately: during tests, the operator transferred a raw chicken egg without damaging it.

Communication with the surface is maintained using hydroacoustic equipment, which ensures maximum mobility of mini-submarines. In special cases, a fiber-optic cable can be attached to the device to conduct a “live” broadcast from the seabed.

The supply of oxygen and carbon dioxide absorber is designed for 10 hours of work for a crew of three, plus a reserve for three days for an emergency.

The deep-sea manned vehicle Mir-1 made its first dive to maximum depth on December 13, 1987. The crew consisting of Professor I.E. Mikhaltsev, head of the laboratory for the scientific operation of deep-sea manned vehicles at the Institute of Oceanology, Doctor of Technical Sciences A.M. Sagalevich and the Finnish pilot P. Laakso sank to the very bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, to a depth of 6170 m. The next day, the same crew, who transferred to Mir-2, once again sank to the bottom of the Atlantic, reaching a depth of 6120 m.

In 1994, the American World Technology Evaluation Center (a center that registers the latest technologies) called “Worlds” “... the best deep-sea manned vehicles ever built in the world.”

By 2007, both devices had made more than 300 dives as part of 35 scientific expeditions in three oceans. They participated in a wide variety of work - from studying the mysterious “black smokers” to sealing the hull of the sunken nuclear submarine “Komsomolets”, lying at a depth of 1700 m. And the devices gained worldwide popularity from filming on the sunken “Titanic” commissioned by American filmmakers.

To prove that the territory of the Arctic seabed is geologically part of the Siberian continental platform, in September 2007, Mir-1 and Mir-2 dived to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean at the geographic North Pole.

Design

Bathyscaphe FNRS-3 design Very promising for use as a float filler lithium- a metal with a density almost half that of water (more precisely 534 kg/m3), this means that one cubic meter of lithium can keep afloat almost 170 kg more than one cubic meter of gasoline. However, lithium is an alkaline metal that actively reacts with water; these substances must somehow be reliably separated and not allowed to come into contact. Mechanical properties of some structural materials

The bathyscaphe receives power from batteries. The insulating liquid surrounds the battery banks and electrolyte, and seawater pressure is transmitted to it through a membrane. Batteries are not destroyed at great depths.

The bathyscaphe is driven by electric motors, the propellers being propellers. Electric motors are protected in the same way as batteries. If the bathyscaphe does not have a ship's rudder, then the turn was made by turning on only one engine, and the turn almost on the spot was done by turning the engines in different directions.

The speed of descent and ascent of the bathyscaphe to the surface is regulated by dropping the main ballast in the form of steel or cast iron shot, located in funnel-shaped bunkers. At the narrowest point of the funnel there are electromagnets; when an electric current flows under the influence of a magnetic field, the shot seems to “solidify”; when the current is turned off, it spills out.

A bathyscaphe with a lithium-filled float would have an interesting feature. Since lithium is practically incompressible, when diving, the relative buoyancy of the bathyscaphe will increase (at depth the density of sea water increases), and the bathyscaphe will “freeze.” The bathyscaphe must have a compensating compartment with gasoline; in order to continue the descent, it is necessary to release some of the gasoline, thereby reducing buoyancy.

The emergency ascent system consists of emergency ballast suspended by drop-down locks. The locks are kept from opening by electromagnets; to reset it is enough to turn off the electric current. Batteries and a hydraulic rope have a similar fastening - a long, unbraided, freely hanging steel rope or anchor chain. The hydraulic drop is designed to reduce the speed of descent (up to a complete stop) directly at the seabed. If the batteries are discharged, the ballast, batteries and hydraulic drop are automatically discharged, and the bathyscaphe begins to rise to the surface.

Diving and surfacing of bathyscaphes

The bathyscaphe is held on the surface due to compartments filled with gasoline and due to the fact that the water ballast tanks, the shaft for landing the crew in the gondola and the free space in the bunkers with shot are filled with air.
After the water ballast tanks, the shaft for landing the crew in the gondola and the free space in the bunkers with shot are filled with water, the dive begins. These volumes maintain a constant connection with the outboard space to equalize hydrostatic pressure and avoid hull deformation.
Since gasoline (at high pressure) compresses more than water, the buoyancy force decreases, the speed of the bathyscaphe's descent increases, and the crew must constantly dump ballast (steel shot).

Let us determine the mass of a hollow ball: G = 1 6 π (D 3 − d 3) γ m (\displaystyle G=(\frac (1)(6))\pi (D^(3)-d^(3))\gamma _(m) )

Let us determine the mass of water displaced by the ball (when it is completely immersed): V = 1 6 π D 3 γ v (\displaystyle V=(\frac (1)(6))\pi D^(3)\gamma _(v)), Where

D (\displaystyle D)- outer diameter of the bathysphere;

D (\displaystyle d)- internal diameter of the bathysphere;

- specific gravity of the material from which the body of the bathysphere is made;

γ v (\displaystyle \gamma _(v))- specific gravity of sea water;

π (\displaystyle \pi )- Pi" .

We are interested in the thickness of the wall of the bathysphere, at which swimming in the water column is possible: S = D − d 2 (\displaystyle S=(\frac (D-d)(2)))

Therefore, we equate both equations (since V = G (\displaystyle V=G)) :

1 6 π (D 3 − d 3) γ m = 1 6 π D 3 γ v (\displaystyle (\frac (1)(6))\pi (D^(3)-d^(3))\gamma _(m)=(\frac (1)(6))\pi D^(3)\gamma _(v))

Now let's divide both parts into the product 1 6 π D 3 (\displaystyle (\frac (1)(6))\pi D^(3)), after which we get: (γ m − d 3 D 3) γ m = γ v (\displaystyle (\gamma _(m)-(\frac (d^(3))(D^(3))))\gamma _(m) =\gamma_(v))

Now let's define the relation d D (\displaystyle (\frac (d)(D))), dividing the previous equality by γ m (\displaystyle \gamma _(m)), we get d D = 1 − γ v γ m 3 (\displaystyle (\frac (d)(D))=(\sqrt[(3)](1-(\frac (\gamma _(v))(\gamma _ (m))))))

Let's take: specific gravity of sea water γ v = 1, 025 (\displaystyle \gamma _(v)=1,025), specific gravity of steel γ m = 7, 85 (\displaystyle \gamma _(m)=7,85), Then d D = 0 , 9544 (\displaystyle (\frac (d)(D))=0.9544), from here S = D − d 2 = D 1 − 0 , 9544 2 = 0 , 0229 D (\displaystyle S=(\frac (D-d)(2))=D(\frac ((1)-(0.9544)) (2))=0.0229D)

Thus, in order for a hollow steel sphere to float in the water column, its wall thickness must be 0.0225 (\displaystyle 0.0225) outer diameter. If the wall is thicker, the bathysphere will sink (fall to the bottom); if it is thinner, it will float to the surface.

Now let's calculate at what pressure P (\displaystyle \mathrm (P) ) the bathysphere will be crushed. Suppose the shipbuilders used fairly strong steel with a permissible stress of 5,000 kg/cm 2 (denoted σ (\displaystyle \sigma )):

σ = P D 4 S (\displaystyle \sigma =(\frac (\mathrm (P) D)(4S)))- elementary formula for the strength of a ball experiencing compression under water pressure,

from here P = σ 4 S D = 5000 × 4 × 0, 0229 = 458 k g / c m 2 (\displaystyle \mathrm (P) =(\frac (\sigma 4S)(D))=5000\times 4\times 0.0229 =458~kg/cm^(2)). This pressure corresponds to a diving depth of 4,500 meters.

If shipbuilders take an aluminum alloy with a specific gravity γ m = 2, 8 (\displaystyle \gamma _(m)=2,8) And σ = 6000 (\displaystyle \sigma =6000) kg/cm 2, then 1 − 1 , 025 2 , 8 3 = 0 , 86 (\displaystyle (\sqrt[(3)](1-(\frac (1.025)(2.8))))=0.86), A S = 1 − 0 , 86 2 = 0 , 0705 (\displaystyle S=(\frac ((1)-(0.86))(2))=0.0705), Then P = σ 4 S D = 6000 × 4 × 0, 0705 = 1692 k g / c m 2 (\displaystyle \mathrm (P) =(\frac (\sigma 4S)(D))=6000\times 4\times 0.0705 =1692~kg/cm^(2)). This pressure corresponds to a diving depth of 16,000 meters, this will be enough to conquer "