Another aspect of the viewing position in 

 Figure 9.32 is the contact between skull and 

 steel. In Figure 9.8 the observer is wearing a 

 headband consisting of tape and a large 

 piece of foam rubber. The reason for the 

 foam rubber is not immediately obvious, but 

 after a few minutes of viewing, it is natural 

 for the observer to rest his forehead against 

 the viewport rim and his face up against the 

 plastic window. Very shortly his forehead 

 becomes cold and painful. A number of varia- 

 tions of this headband are found on other 

 vehicles. ALVIN's pilots, for example, wore 

 berets which — in addition to providing a dra- 

 matic flair — served the very practical pur- 

 pose of a cushion when pulled down over the 

 forehead. Some designers rimmed the view- 

 port with foam rubber. As long as the foam 

 was changed frequently this solution was 

 acceptable, but if it was not changed, it be- 

 came quite rank with the cumulative sweat 

 of the previous occupant. 



The problems in viewing and comfort could 

 be listed ad infinitum, but they all seem 

 reduceable to a common denominator: Man's 

 anatomy was an afterthought. While great 

 pains have been taken, on the whole, to make 

 it easy for him to operate the vehicle and 

 survive, virtually nothing has been done to 

 make him comfortable at the viewport. 

 Strangely while much thought goes into the 

 best viewport location, it appears that little 

 at all has gone into the process of actually 

 looking out of it. The budding designer would 

 do himself and any prospective users a great 

 service by simulating the position(s) he an- 

 ticipates will be required to view for the 

 same period of time he will be asking of 

 others. Had this been done in the past, sub- 

 mersible designers would have discovered 

 that pain hurts. If this seems facetious, ex- 

 amine the positions the observers must take 

 in Figure 9.33 and then simulate these posi- 

 tions for an hour or two. It will soon become 

 painfully apparent that someone has overes- 

 timated the human's capacity to endure. 



Other than habitability in regards to view- 

 ing, other aspects of human comfort are mi- 

 nute by comparison. Quite naturally, a small 

 sphere or cylinder packed with equipment 

 and people has inherent discomforts, but 

 these are bearable for the short periods in- 

 volved. There are a few aspects, nonetheless. 



that do bear on the occupant's efficiency 

 which are present in the smaller submers- 

 ibles. 



Noise 



The noise level in small submersibles is 

 generally tolerable, but at times it can inter- 

 fere with communications. Pollio (20) reports 

 that in order to understand surface tele- 

 phone transmissions on STAR III, it was 

 sometimes necessary to shut down all mo- 

 tors, the AC-DC converter and the carbon 

 dioxide scrubber. 



Temperature Layering 



While electronics operating within the 

 pressure hull can generate needed heat, this 

 heat may tend to stratify and create uncom- 

 fortable conditions. Pollio (ibid.) reports a 

 ceiling temperature of 90°F versus a floor 

 temperature of 65°F while operating off the 

 Florida Keys. Redirection of the scrubber 

 exhaust was recommended, but small fans 

 blowing against the bottom of the hull would 

 serve as well. In instances where high tem- 

 peratures prevail, a small fan can mean the 

 difference between a tolerable and an incre- 

 dibly difficult environment. During a night 

 dive in PC-3B in the Bahamas, a small circu- 

 lating fan was inoperative; the ambience 

 within was strikingly similar to a sauna 

 bath. But, prior to and following this dive, 

 the fan was operating and the slight breeze 

 it created made conditions quite comfortable. 



Lighting 



While illumination is generally sufficient 

 to monitor gages, instruments, etc., it is gen- 

 erally insufficient for writing and, in combi- 

 nation with the cramped quarters, presents 

 a strong argument for taped records. 



The foregoing discussion on habitability 

 has been, in the main, a criticism rather 

 than a description. More unpardonable, per- 

 haps, is that no practical solutions have been 

 offered. However, considering the wide vari- 

 ety in shape and size of pressure hulls and 

 equipment therein, there is no single across- 

 the-board solution. The intention here is to 

 point out to future designers that human 

 comfort is a sorely needed improvement in 

 manned submersibles, and ignoring this 

 problem can seriously impair what otherwise 

 may be an excellent design. 



462 



