Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory

Pisces V Specifications

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GENERAL DATA

• Length: 20'
• Width: 10'6"
• Height: 11'
• Weight: 13 tons
• Payload: 600 lbs.
• Crew: 1 Pilot 2 Observers
• Life support: 140 hours for 3 people
• Max. Operating Depth: 6,580 ft
• Power: Two lead-acid battery systems:
  • 120 VDC at 330 Ah capacity
  • 12 - 24 VDC at 220 Ah capacity
• Propulsion: Two side mounted reversible thrusters tiltable through 90 degrees.
• Speed: 2 Kts.
• Duration: 7-10 hours

CONSTRUCTION

• Builder: International Hydrodynamics of Vancouver, British Columbia. Classed by American Bureau of Shipping
• Materials: Personnel sphere, Trim sphere, and Aft sphere: HY 100 steel
• Frame: Welded, oil-filled, pressure compensated tubular steel.
• Viewports: 3 forward-looking acrylic windows, 6" diameter.
• Penetrators: 316 SS inserts to pass electrical, hydraulic air, and oxygen supplies through the hull.

LIFE SUPPORT

• Oxygen and CO2 absorbent for daily use is sufficient for twice normal mission duration.
• Independent emergency supplies available for 120 hours for 3 people.
• Full face air masks available in case of cabin air contamination.

SYSTEMS

Buoyancy Control

• Soft ballast tanks displace a total of 1904 lbs. using H.P. air.
• Dropable descent/ascent weights.
• Hard ballast tanks and hydraulically powered seawater pump give 450 lbs. of trim adjustment.

H.P. Air

• Carried in 8 externally mounted cylinders with a total capacity of 890 scf at 3000 psi. Used for ballast system and emergency breathing apparatus.

Oxygen

• Two 20 Liter cylinders available for daily use.
• Independent emergency supply located in aft sphere has a capacity of 454 cu. ft. at 2640 psi.

Ventilation

• Cabin atmosphere is monitored by oxygen and CO2 analyzers.
• Oxygen level is maintained by constant flow.
• CO2 is removed by electrically powered scrubber unit and granular CO2 absorbent material.

Hydraulic System

Electric pump and solenoids provide 4 gallons per minute at 200 psi to the following equipment:

• HYCO manipulator
• Basket Lift
• Thruster tilt
• Battery box movement
• Two camera pan and tilt systems
• Spares and special equipment
• A separate dedicated hydraulic system operates a Schilling Titan 7F manipulator. This system can be used for utilities hydraulics in the event of an emergency via a manually operated crossover valve.

Controls and Instrumentation

• The pilot has available all controls necessary for the operation of all submersible systems in both normal and emergency situations including thruster controls, buoyancy controls and indicators, battery power instruments, depth and pressure gauges, magnetic compass, life support monitoring instruments and controls, and radio and underwater telephone.

EQUIPMENT

The submersible is equipped with the following items and can be configured as necesary to accomodate a variety of mission requirements:

• Sony digital video camera
• Panasonic 8mm video camera
• One digital and two 8mm video recorders
• Photosea still camera and strobe
• Two hydraulically operated manipulators
• General purpose science basket
• Seabird Electronics Seacat CTD profiler
• Wesmar HD 600 analog high definition sonar
• ORE Trackpoint II ultra-short baseline acoustic tracking system
• External lights
• Externally mounted thermistors-internal meters
• Pinger locating system
• Tritech SeaKing digital high definition sonar
• Sonatech long baseline acoustic tracking system

• Jettison Equipment
  • 1 main dropweight at 400 lbs.
  • 2 fwd dropweights totaling 450 lbs.
  • Manipulator claw at 30 lbs.
  • 2 thrusters totaling 238 lbs.
• Ascent/Descent weight drop cylinders
• Extended life support capacity
• Salt water leak detectors in battery boxes, aft sphere, and all electrical/hydraulic junction boxes.
• Acoustic tracking/locating system.
• Strobe light for locating on surface.
• Smoke flares.
• Emergency breathing system.
• Fairings to prevent fouling of external equipment.

Pisces IV