Airbags triggered by a ship collision should keep the hull afloat. The idea is worth developing says Professor Jonas Ringenberg at Chalmers.
Samples with inflatable pillows.
idea behind airbags at sea was developed within the EU supported project Susy. In the autumn of 2013 an attempt was made in a medium-sized tanker in the Greek port city of Chalkida.
challenge is to quickly inflate the cushions from small containers . Besides, it has given much thought to where the pads should be placed.
The choice has fallen on the placement in the space between written in double-hull vessels, As in the ballast tanks. The plastic on the pads need to be reinforced with Aramid fibers (Kevlar) to withstand the rigors
For inflation favors the project cartridges with a mixture of potassium nitrate, which used in the powder and epoxy and iron oxide. The heat generated by the chemical reaction may need to be cooled with a spare cartridge containing compressed air, or through the heat exchanger before the gas enters the airbag.
one of the commission’s experts, Egbert Ypma, is hesitant about the placement of the pads. He argues that they become almost impossible to inspect and maintain, making rescue system unreliable.
But the Swedish participant in the project, Professor Jonas Ringenberg at Chalmers, believe that the idea is well worth trying.
– It is a step towards improving safety.
He is backed by Reinhard Ahlers from Bremen, who believes that there is scope for refinements of the technique of inflation and other issues. German rocket technology from Astrium, now Airbus Defence and Space, can help with the exhaust technology and German-British efforts to optimize the material in air bags.
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