The importance of materials technology development must be 

 re-emphaiszed. Upon it the economy and effectiveness of undersea 

 activities depends. If the pressure hull cannot provide needed 

 buoyancy, supplemental material must be added, increasing vehicle 

 weight, size and cost and reducing maneuverability and overall ef- 

 fectiveness. It is a program which the Navy must pursue primarily 

 because of its requirements for submarines. 



Auxiliary Systems 



The most obviously deficient areas of ocean technology are 

 the mechanical, electrical, and fluid systems for deep submergence. 

 Vehicle operators are invariably beset with failures and constrained 

 capability in current operations due to inadequacies in these systems. 

 Improvements are needed in seals, bearings, alloys, compensating 

 fluids, electric hull penetrators, cables and connectors, and ma- 

 chinery components. 



High on the list of deficiencies is the matter of reliability and 

 simplicity. High bulk and weight of systems and equipment and 

 slow response of dynamic systems are other principal deficiencies. 



Navy submarines operate at relatively shallow depths with 

 miost machinery systems inside the pressure hull and a minimum 

 of equipment exposed to the ocean environment. However, the 

 small submersible hull generally encloses only the man and the 

 electronic equipment. Also, in unmanned systems, it is desirable 

 to utilize as little heavy pressure- resistant structure as possible. 

 As a result an efficient design requires the use of components and 

 subsystems exposed directly to the ocean environment. The at- 

 tempt to use off-the-shelf or slightly modified equipment in the 

 ocean environment because of cost has in many cases proved un- 

 wise. Few items have worked as planned and modifications are 

 usually extensive. The use of off-the-shelf equipment, in effect, 

 has led to in-situ testing during operations --a costly and 

 wasteful procedure. 



In the area of electric motors, associated controllers, in- 

 verters, and in particular electrical penetrators, cables and con- 

 nectors, we have been, and are, continually plagued with problems. 

 Development and operational failures in these components for the 

 NR-1, Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle, the MK II Deep Dive 

 System, and the SEALAB III Habitat have contributed to program 

 delay and cost problems. Often failures of cables, connectors. 



93 



