Syntactic foam buoyancy systems for manned & unmanned submersibles

This paper reviews engineering data gathered through thirty years of experience in the design, manufacture and use of syntactic foam buoyancy systems for manned and unmanned submersibles. Performance parameters are outlined and the latest developments in materials technology are detailed. Test methods are discussed along with the all important question of safety. Existing MIL-spec standards are compared to newer specifications. The relevance of these documents to modern, state-of-the-art subsea vehicles is debated, and a logical procedure is developed by which the submersible designer can safely select and specify appropriate syntactic foam buoyancy materials.