SUBMARINE DEPTH EXCURSION RECORDING SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

THE PROBLEM ADDRESSED BY THIS PROPOSAL IS THE LACK OF SUBMARINE HULL DEPTH EXCURSION HISTORY NEEDED TO PRODUCE A REALISTIC CYCLIC LOAD SPECTRUM WHICH IS THE BASIS FOR PROJECTION OF FATIGUE LIFE OF HULL STRUCTURES AND HULL STRUCTURE SURVEILLANCE DECISIONS. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSED EFFORT IS THE DEVELOPMENT AND FEASIBILITY DEMONSTRATION OF A SELF-CONTAINED AND AUTOMATED DEPTH EXCURSION RECORDING SYSTEM WHICH WILL PROVIDE THE REQUIRED DEPTH HISTORY. THE TASKS TO BE ACCOMPLISHED BREAKDOWN INTO TWO LOGICAL DIVISIONS OF EFFORT: (1) RECORD SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT; (2) EXTERNAL INTERFACE DEVELOPMENT. EXISTING OFF-THE-SHELF MICROPROCESSOR BASED DIGITAL HARDWARE BOARDS CAN READILY BE FASHIONED INTO A COMPACT, SINGLE UNIT DEVICE WHICH WILL RECORD THE DEPTH HISTORY DATA REQUIRED. TASKS TO BE ACCOMPLISHED INCLUDE SPECIFIC HARDWARE CONFIGURATION, SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT AND PACKAGING. THE OTHER EFFORT TO BE UNDERTAKEN IS THE SHIP SYSTEM TO DEPTH RECORDER INTERFACE DEVELOPMENT. THE DEPTH PARAMETER WHICH MUST BE LOGGED IS AVAILABLE AS EITHER A SYNCHRO SIGNAL OR IN DIGITAL FORMAT. IN ORDER TO ACQUIRE THE PARAMETER, RHODES ENGINEERING, INCORPORATED HAS CHOSEN TO DEVELOP AN INTERFACE FOR THE SYN CHRO SIGNAL WHICH IS COMPATIBLE WITH THE ELECTRICAL AND PACKAGING CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BASIC RECORDER COMPONENTS PROPOSED TO BE USED.