Leeway of Submarine Escape Rafts and Submarine Emergency Positioning Beacons

The leeway behavior of Submarine Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (SEPIRBs) and Mark-10 Submarine Escape and Immersion Equipment (SEIE) life rafts was measured for use in search and rescue planning. SEIE and SEPIRB drift targets were outfitted with position tracking equipment, and one raf...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Turner, Chris, Waddington, Thomas, Morris, John, Osychny, Vladimir, Luey, Pamela
Other Authors: COAST GUARD RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER GROTON CT
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 2006
Subjects:
Submarine Engineering
Escape
Rescue and Survival
*SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR
*PLANNING
*LIFE RAFTS
*WIND VELOCITY
*SEARCH AND RESCUE
*BEACONS
ENVIRONMENTS
EMERGENCIES
POSITION FINDING
BUOYS
SUBMARINES
IMMERSION
INSTRUMENTATION
INTERPOLATION
METEOROLOGICAL DATA
TARGETS
COMPATIBILITY
LEEWAY
SUBMARINE RESCUE
SLDMB(SELF-LOCATING DATUM MARKER BUOYS)
Canada
Newfoundland
Online Access:http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA457525
http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA457525
Description
Summary:The leeway behavior of Submarine Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (SEPIRBs) and Mark-10 Submarine Escape and Immersion Equipment (SEIE) life rafts was measured for use in search and rescue planning. SEIE and SEPIRB drift targets were outfitted with position tracking equipment, and one raft was also equipped with a current profiler. The targets were deployed and tracked along with Self-Locating Datum Marker Buoys (SLDMBs) under generally heavy wind and sea conditions during fall 2005 on the Atlantic Ocean off St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. The duration of each test ranged from 24 hours to approximately 60 hours. Maximum wind speeds (5-minute averages) ranged from just under 20 knots to nearly 40 knots, with gust speeds to 43 knots. SEIE and SEPIRB leeway speeds were determined either directly from the current profiler data or indirectly using the SLDMB data. Leeway coefficients for SAR planning use were calculated using the concurrent wind data. The leeway speed of the undrogued raft was greater than that of the drogued raft. The data indicate that SEPIRB leeway is zero. The study recommends that these coefficients be incorporated into submarine survivor search planning guidance. Problems with raft performance were encountered that were attributed to the installed instrument package, instrument mounting materials incompatibility and the absence of a human passenger in the high wind and wave environment. Issues with SEPIRB operation and performance are also noted. Prepared in cooperation with Science Applications International Corp., Mystic, CT. The original document contains color images.

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