Stowage & Inventory Management

This section discusses design considerations for the layout and design of stowage systems inside an underwater habitat. It also provides the characteristics of a successful onboard inventory management system design. Such a system can track the quantity, location, and status (e.g., remaining useful life) of inventory items. The inventory management function is one of the primary elements of onboard information management.

This chapter is divided into the following sections:

  • General Considerations
  • Type & Locations
  • Nonstandard Stowage
  • Habitat Resupply
  • Flexibility
  • Central Storage vs. Distributed Storage
  • Operability
  • Accessibility
  • Interference
  • Labelling
  • Inventory Management

Our extensive analysis and proposals are part of the design manual.

[Image: FORTEPAN / Lissák Tivadar / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]


Note: This article contains adaptations from the NASA Human Integration Handbook (HIDH), NASA/SP-2010-3407. Since supplementary transports are not comparable to spaceflight, many considerations do not apply to underwater operations and therefore had been skipped.

Mooring

A Scour Hole (image from Wikimedia Commons, licence USGS / Public domain)

This chapter collects information on mooring of an underwater station, potential difficulties and solutions. Continue reading “Mooring”

Initial & Operational Financing

(Updated 02.04.2023) In this section we defined all potential sectors divided into operations and mission conduction. It contains analysis of similar projects, probabilities, potentials and benefits.

Our extensive analysis and proposals are part of the design manual.

Branch & Bound

(Guest article by user Mike, thanks for contributing) By common definition, Branch & Bound is a mathematical algorithm to solve integer optimization problems. But simplified versions of Branch & Bound are also applied to find best fitting technical solutions manually. It is a useful tool for making fundamental decisions, such as the selection of a synthesis route during the project development of a new chemical factory complex.

In the context of CalamarPark, the design of the underwater habitat is such a fundamental decision: Should it be small or large? To operate at what depth? Ambient or atmospheric pressure? A certain design might be perfect at one location, but only second choice at another. Continue reading “Branch & Bound”

HUNUC

The following article was published by CalamarPark on Wikipedia in German. Feel free to correct grammar mistakes of this translation and publish it on Wikipedia in English. The illustration has also been made available by CalamarPark and is accessible on Wikimedia under the Creative Commons Licence [CC BY-SA 4.0].

HUNUC (abbreviation for Habitat of the University of Natal Underwater Club) was South Africas first underwater laboratory. However, the facility was destroyed shortly after its positioning due to conceptual errors and bad weather conditions. Continue reading “HUNUC”

Breathing Gas Processing: Overview

(Update 11.03.2023: structure renewed) This article is intended to define the concept for ensuring the appropriate habitat atmosphere to be used in the Calamar Park modules.

It is divided into the following sections:

  • Guide Value for Electricity Costs
  • Oxygen
  • Oxygen Demand of a Human Being
  • Oxygen Availability
  • Carbon Dioxide
  • Normoxic Gas Mixtures (Normox)
  • Air Supply from the Surface
  • Carbon Dioxide Scrubbing by Soda Lime
  • Carbon Dioxide Scrubbing by Monoethanolamine (MEA)
  • Carbon Dioxide Scrubbing by Sea Water
  • Photosynthesis
  • Water-Air Membrane
  • Oxygen by Electrolysis

Our extensive analysis and proposals are part of the design manual.

Vent Base Alpha

In 2016 deep sea technology developer Dr. Phil Nuytten had a TEDx speech about his vision of an underwater habitat called Vent Base Alpha. It would generate the necessary energy from the geothermal vent next to its location and would consist of a 1bar environment. (Video length  19:08 min.)

Continue reading “Vent Base Alpha”

Underwater Navigation

The danger of excursion divers getting lost have always been a major concern in underwater habitats. According to their webpage the Dive Tracker consists of a sender and a tracker. From a distance of up to 4000ft (?1300m) divers can easily track the direction of the sender’s signal and return to their safe location. Costs: from 1200USD per set. (Homepage Dive Tracker).

BIOSMHARS

Bacteria isolated in dairy product (representative image)BIOSMHARS was a 2-year (2011-2013) research project co-funded by the European Commission under FP7. It was the first phase of a joint EU-Russia research effort to develop the scientific and technical tools for a comprehensive approach to the challenging issue of biocontamination inside manned spacecrafts. (project page; final report as pdf)