Compressed Air Tank for Ship Sinking Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Large ships sink due to undivided compartments, water pathways to upper decks, and lack of time for escape, as seen in the MV Sewol incident, leading to rapid loss of balance and insufficient escape time.
Innovation Solution
Combining a compressed air tank, water sensor, air pocket, servo motor, and carbon nanotube to sense flooding and fill the air pocket with compressed air, providing buoyancy to prevent sinking and allowing time for escape.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If ship compartments are undivided and spaces are not separated, then the ship structure is simpler, but the ship loses balance rapidly when flooded and sinks quickly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the ship's internal space into multiple sealed compartments using bulkheads. When one compartment is breached, only that specific compartment floods while others remain dry, preventing rapid loss of stability. This segmentation allows the ship to maintain buoyancy and balance even when part of the structure is compromised.
2Ease of operation
If the ship has pathways connecting spaces, then the ship design is more accessible, but water can flow to upper decks causing rapid sinking
Solution Approach 1:
The bulkheads create sealed compartments that block water pathways between decks and spaces. Access pathways can exist within compartments but are prevented from crossing bulkhead boundaries, containing water to specific zones and preventing cascading flooding to upper decks.
Solution Approach 2:
The bulkheads act as intermediary barriers between different ship compartments. They physically interrupt water flow paths while still allowing controlled access through doors and passages, mediating between the needs of accessibility and waterproofing.
3Device complexity
If the ship lacks emergency buoyancy systems, then the ship structure is simpler, but the ship sinks rapidly when compartments flood
Solution Approach 1:
The air pockets are pre-positioned within the ship structure in strategic locations. When flooding is detected in a compartment, the compressed air is rapidly released into these pre-positioned pockets, instantly creating buoyancy forces that counteract the sinking tendency before the ship can lose stable equilibrium.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the physical state of air from compressed (high pressure) in the tank to expanded (low pressure) in the pockets. This parameter change in volume and pressure creates the buoyancy force needed to counteract flooding, transforming the air's properties to achieve the desired effect.
4Ease of manufacture
If the ship has undivided spaces, then the cargo loading is easier, but the escape time is insufficient when sinking occurs
Solution Approach 1:
By dividing the ship into compartments, the invention creates multiple independent survival zones. When one compartment floods, passengers in other compartments have time to escape, and the segmented structure allows for multiple evacuation routes and assembly points, increasing available escape time compared to undivided spaces where flooding spreads instantly throughout.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively prevents ships from sinking by generating buoyancy through the air pocket, ensuring survival spaces remain afloat even when compartments flood, addressing the rapid tilting and balance issues in undivided ship spaces.
Implementation Method 1
buoyancy is provided to a cabin that is being flooded through the air pocket to prevent a ship from foundering
Data Source
AI summary
A compressed air tank for sinking prevention comprises a compressed air tank having a valve; and an air pocket coupled to the compressed air tank and being filled with air discharged from the compressed air tank when the valve is opened, wherein buoyancy is provided to a cabin that is being flooded through the air pocket to prevent a ship from foundering.