Field Evaluation of Topside Decompression Monitor (TDM) During Operational Diving

• Main Authors: Roy, L. A., Lewis, M. J., Gault, K. A.
• Other Authors: NAVY EXPERIMENTAL DIVING UNIT PANAMA CITY FL
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: Life Support Systems; *OXYGEN; *DECOMPRESSION; DIVING; NAVAL OPERATIONS; FIELD TESTS; MONITORING; TDM(TOPSIDE DECOMPRESSION MONITOR); ORCA(OXYGEN REGULATING CONTROL ASSEMBLY); Orca
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA493364; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA493364

The TDM was used to record depth-time profiles of dives performed by three Navy diving units during surface-supplied harbor cleanup dives; VVAL-16M decompression tables were used to determine decompression times. The decompression times required by the tables were compared against decompression times prescribed by the TDM running the VVAL-18M real-time algorithm. For 309 dives conducted, there were matching written and uncorrupted TDM records for 17 in-water decompression dives and 142 surface decompression dives. The primary reasons for TDM records being unavailable were failure to charge the batteries and cable connection problems. Decompression required by the TDM would have been a mean of 7.9 min shorter for in-water decompression and a mean of 9.5 minutes shorter for surface decompression dives than the limits required by the tables - reductions of 69% and 26%, respectively. For these near square profiles, the time savings are small for each dive, but over the course of several dives they would have allowed time to dive additional teams each day. Real-time decompression calculations afford operationally relevant savings in decompression times for surface-supplied diving.