ベローズを用いた体積変化型浮力調整装置の開発

抄録

Currently, many ships and underwater vehicles use ballasts to control their buoyancy, although it is harmful to the environment. We are developing a volume variable buoyancy control device using the volume change induced by phase transition of material. In our previous study, we developed two-step piston mechanism to increase volume change. However, the mechanism had a drawback that the piston could not return to the initial volume after increasing the volume. We, then, come up with a new idea of volume change mechanism which combines a two-step piston and a metal bellows. We manufactured a device and conducted some experiments on its specification. As a result, we confirmed that the device can change its buoyancy.