Some approaches to the problem of current interruption in deep-submergence applications

A problem in the development of deep-diving vehicles under the Navy\´s Deep Ocean Technology (DOT) program is that of circuit interruption. Devices used for on-off switching and for circuit protection are, when possible, mounted outside the pressure hull of a vessel for optimum weight and space saving. Protection from the surrounding sea environment is readily obtained by immersion in a dielectric fluid inside a thinwalled enclosure called a pressure compensating chamber, which is flexible to allow for fluid compression at great depths. The initial use of switches in pressure-compensating chambers showed frequent failure by the build-up of solid material, referred to as "clinkers", on switch contacts. At the Naval Ship Research and Development Laboratory in Annapolis, it was decided to take a closer look at the contact failure problem and attempt to provide technology for the design of circuit-interrupting devices applicable to future deep-ocean vehicle systems.