Re: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Alternative hull material.

[Coalbunny <coalbunny@vcn.com>]

What I feel is overlooked is that water is worse than air- if there is
ANYWHERE that water *might* go, it'll go there.  Under higher than
normal pressures, such as going under water, it WILL go anywhere it can
fit.  A cloth/kevlar sub hull *might* work for down to 10 or even 15
feet.  And that's it.  It will be nearly impossible, I feel for it to go
any further without a serious risk of implosion/rupture.
My 6,000 rubles worth,
Carl


Tim Reilly wrote:
> 
> I agree with Mike that a kevlar hull would be great, except that kevlar is
> really hard to work with and where ever you cut or grind it needs to be
> sealed very well.  Kevlar likes to leech along the fabric.  You would also
> need to make sure that the resin you use will be compatible with building a
> hull that compresses and expands.  Some resins are to brittle and will
> craze.  This will leave little cracks in the hull and allow water to
> delaminate the material.  Something that might want to be considered is
> alternating different materials with the kevlar to make it easier to work
> with.
> 
> I intend on building my sub out of composite materials.  I also have a lot
> of experience with these materials, the only thing is I don't know any of
> the engineering stats for different kinds of materials to determine hull
> thickness.  I am still researching that.
> 
> Sorry about making this so long, I just finally found something that I can
> talk knowledgeably about.  Hope this helps.  Also realize that composites
> are really easy to work with,  You just have to pay extreme attention to
> what you are doing when you laminate.  NO AIR BUBBLES!
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Tim R.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Michael B Holt [mailto:tlohm@juno.com]
> Sent: Sunday, March 16, 2003 8:52 AM
> To: personal_submersibles@psubs.org
> Subject: [PSUBS-MAILIST] Alternative hull material.
> 
> Consider a fabric hull.
> 
> Build the frames of the proper steel, then cover the frame with kevlar
> cloth.   As long as the cloth is held securely to the frame, it's not
> going
> to rupture.
> 
> No, I'm not going to do this.    But it seems like a reasonable idea, if
> all the problems can be solved.
> 
> Mike H.
> 
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