and submarine construction. One such application, now underway, is 

 the development of a 20.000-foot-depth hull for the USN deep isubmersi- 

 ble vehicle SeacUff. 



In addition to materials research, the USN ocean-engineering 

 program focuses on the development of new equipment for undersea 

 operation. A major effort of this type is the Remote Unmanned Work 

 System (RUWS) project. 



RUWS is an unmanned, cable-tethered work system designed to per- 

 form a variety of engineering and scientific tasks at ocean depths ex- 

 tending to 20.000 feet. When operational. RUWS will be capable of in- 

 strument and equipment inspection, recovery, repair, and emplantment. 

 as well as data gathering functions for over 98 percent of the ocean floor. 

 RUWS will be able to maneuver with 4° of freedom, operating in cur- 

 rents of up to 1 knot. 



Designed to be air transportable, and operable from ships of oppor- 

 tunity, the RUWS will be used either alone or in conjunction with the 

 operations of any USN deep-ocean vehicle. Components can be adapted 

 to the basic RUWS configuration for all aspects of deep-ocean salvage. 

 RUWS includes advanced technology for high-accuracy deep-ocean 

 navigation and local-area bottom search. The navigation system will, for 

 the first time, provide coordinated navigational information to the 

 RUWS operators and the support ship's bridge. The bridge display will 

 indicate the ship's safe maneuvering area, and other displays and record- 

 ers will provide precise bottom mapping data. 



The RUWS design emphasizes the extension of man's senses to the 

 seafloor site. The simulation of man's presence is accomplished pri- 

 marily through the use of head-coupled television, force feedback from 

 the RUWS manipulator, and the use of integrated displays and controls. 

 RUWS is presently undergoing at-sea testing, evaluation and further 

 development. 



A recently initiated USN project is directed to the development of a 

 closed cycle internal combustion engine. The goal of the project is to 

 produce a closed system using propane fuel and a Wankel engine for 

 operations requiring more horsepower than is practical with silver zinc 

 batteries but less than the amounts generally obtained from 

 nuclear/steam plants. A bench version of the closed internal combustion 

 engine and a demonstration model have been built. This model is suit- 

 case portable and demonstrates the basic operating principles of the full- 

 scale system. 



Experimental data to confirm the theoretical analyses were obtained 

 in the USN's SEACON II project. The project represents a milestone in 

 the USN effort to design and construct large and complex underwater 

 cable structures. SEACON II is a three-legged, experimental cable struc- 

 ture installed off the coast of southern California. SEACON II was con- 



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