Thermoplastics and composites are being used for an increasingly wide range of deep-ocean devices. Their mechanical properties and water absorption characteristics in shallow water with low hydrostatic pressure are well understood.
However, it is essential to understand how these properties are affected by long-term submersion in seawater at depths greater than 1 kilometer with high hydrostatic pressure in order that designers of deep ocean equipment can make informed decisions when specifying materials.
In our Technical Research Report samples of 20 thermoplastics and composites have been immersed in pressurized artificial seawater using laboratory pressure vessels, thus simulating the hydrostatic pressure associated with an ocean depth of 3500 meters.
What you get from the Technical Research Paper: