“Because DSEND maintains one consistent pressure atmosphere, the diver is never exposed to the negative physiological effects associated with deep diving, such as decompression sickness, cold and wet exposure,” said Paul McMurtrie, NAVSEA diving systems program manager. The diver can work at great depths for many hours and ascend without the drawn-out process of decompression. Equipped with a self-contained life support system, the DSEND suit encloses a diver in a stabilized pressure cocoon during the entire dive.

Although the time-consuming ascent safeguards divers, it limits the amount of hours they can spend at a site.ĭSEND’s one-atmosphere environment presents a solution to this challenge. This is a potentially lethal condition in which the inert gas dissolved in the blood and tissues by high pressure forms bubbles as pressure decreases. The drawback is that, when returning to the surface, divers must ascend slowly and stop at intervals so they don’t suffer decompression sickness.

In deep-water situations, Navy divers use a saturation system, or diving bell, that is pressurized with gas so the pressure inside the bell matches outside pressure. The deeper divers descend, however, the greater the danger from increasing water pressure. Navy diving missions include deep ocean salvage of vessels and aircraft, underwater rescues, explosive ordnance disposal, ship hull maintenance and recovery of sunken equipment. “It increases diver safety, allows them to expand the operational envelope and would eliminate lengthy decompression times.” Sandra Chapman, a program officer in ONR’s Warfighter Performance Department.

“DSEND is truly a game-changer because it’s a self-contained environment that keeps internal pressure steady, as a diver descends to depths with increasing external pressure,” said Dr. Sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) - in partnership with Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) and Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Panama City - DSEND recently underwent demonstrations at NSWC Carderock Division in Maryland and at the Navy Experimental Diving Unit in Florida. The exercise was part of a simulated crash recovery mission to test the capabilities of the Deep Sea Expeditionary with No Decompression (DSEND) system, which includes a hardened yet lightweight atmospheric dive suit featuring rotating, detachable joints allowing for greater dexterity, flexibility and maneuverability. Wearing a special diving suit designed to protect against the crushing pressure of ocean depths, the diver found her target - a mannequin representing a human body.

In deeper waters lukens