Pressure testing - Looking for ideas

I have been doing some work recently with a company that specialises in underwater ROVs. Up until now I have been making brackets for electronics and other parts that won’t see pressure. Now we are going to look at what can be put into a pressured environment to help mount cameras or other pieces of equipment.

As part of this the company in question has very kindly offered me the chance to use their pressure testing chamber to test out a number of models so we can see if parts off the form 1+ would be of any use. The chamber in question can be pressured up to 30 bar (435psi) which is equivalent to a depth of 300m in water (give or take). I didn’t see the internal dimensions but based on the exterior and the description of how thick the walls are I would estimate that it would be around 8 inches in diameter and about the same tall.

I would like to open this one up to the community as a whole and in particular the engineers. If you were going to be allowed to carry out this kind of testing, what would you place inside the chamber and why?

Speaking to the guys parts are generally attached to the ROV using bolts and jubilee clips so I will be looking to include these elements in the testing.

Because I am a firm believer in the open source movement I will share results of the testing once carried out, cutting out anything confidential between the company in question and I.

Don’t quote me as I am no specialist but I see no reason why brackets and the like should be affected by the pressure, providing there are no sealed cavities which would see a difference in pressure.

So I would test your normal brackets to see if the material can stand the pressure and maybe try the new Tough Resin.

Ian, I don’t imagine there will be many issues either however I’ve been offered the chance to do it and so I’m only too happy to take it up. Just wanted to open it up in case someone had a bright spark.

OK Good luck I really hope there are no issues, I’m off until next Tuesday so I will catch up then.

You may want to capture the temperature in your testing. It’s surprisingly cold at depth and that may be more of an issue for solid brackets than the pressure.

Good point Fred. I don’t think that the pressure test kit can be cooled at the same time. I might have to throw a few models in the freezer and see what happens to them.

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