Study on the resistance performance for the third generation of manned submersible with full ocean depth "The Deepsea Challenge"

At present,the deep sea manned submersible which can be operated at full ocean depth with maximum depth of 11,000 meters represents the forefront of the international deep-sea technology of manned submersibles.With the increasing diving depth,how to increase significantly the descent and ascent rates to ensure the bottom time of operation has become a key problem.Currently for this purpose there are three types of deep sea manned submersibles are being developed internationally,using different hydrodynamic principles.This article is the first one of authors' research series.The hydrodynamic performance of the submersible DEEPSEA CHALLENGE,which was designed by film director James Cameron and has completed the challenge of the Mariana Trench dive,is studied.By adopting a torpedo shape,the DEEPSEA CHALLENGE has greatly increased its descent and ascent speeds.The effect of shape's traits on main hull resistance of DEEPSEA CHALLENGE is analyzed.Optimal Latin hypercube design method is used to draw up the calculation schemes and an empirical formula for main hull resistance coefficient is presented by way of second-order response surface methodology.The results of present research can provide a reference for designing deep manned submersible later on.