Our team aims to design a deep-sea treasure that can withstand the crushing pressures that can be found at 4000 meters water depth, capable of self-righting itself when placed on the seafloor, and harmless to the environment. It is therefore relevant to have an understanding of the most suitable materials and construction methods for our design.
The biggest challenge for an underwater structure is withstanding the constant water pressure. After many researches and experiments found in the internet our team gathered a lot of information to create a design for our entry.
First, we included the shape of the object. According to an underwater experiment, the most efficient shape to withstand equal pressure from all sides is a sphere. The wall tension is dependent on the pressure and the radius of the sphere. With an equal pressure the wall tension will increase when the radius is increased. The advantage of this shape versus another shape is the optimized volume circumference ratio; this means that the heat exchange between the contents of the pressure vessel and the surrounding area is limited to a minimum. This means less energy is needed to keep the contents on a constant temperature, which is often very important for various dangerous gases and liquids.
For the structure, our team decided to use glass materials to create the object. We normally think of glass as a brittle, fragile substance. But in deep sea condition, glass undergoes molecular changes that make it the perfect material for ocean structure – better than steel or titanium. According to our research, glass has a higgledy-piggledy molecular structure bit like a liquid, rather than the ordered lattices often found in other solids. As a result, when glass is evenly squeezed from all sides – as it would be under the ocean – the molecules cram closer together and form a tighter structure.
The type of glass that we want to use for our design is Acrylic glass. Based on a study acrylic glass has a higher transparency than conventional glass which bends the light and can have a green appearance, especially when used as thick windows for a pool or aquarium, while acrylic glass doesn’t absorb any light. Acrylic glass has a warm touch because of its higher insulating value.
For the design, we want to put a tree made from a recycled bottle inside the sphere. The tree will represent the nature which is our real treasure. The spherical glass must be color black so that it will look like a pearl and it cannot be seen easily under the deep ocean. The dark color will also hide the design inside the sphere.
The design that we choose is a message for the people that the real treasures are not just the precious and wonderful things that nature has given to us but the nature itself.
RADIANT SCAC
