A submarine hull has two major components, the superstructure and the pressure hull. The superstructure of a submarine is the outer non-watertight hull which provides a hydrodynamically efficient shape. The pressure hull is the inner hull of a submarine that resists sea pressure and maintains the submarine’s structural integrity at operating depth. I propose a double pressure hull design for the International Underwater Station (IUS) while it doesn't need to travel at high speeds. In order to increase the usable space and maintain buoyance, the hulls of the submarine will be made of concrete filled steel structures. Manufacturing big steel structures is a mature technology for ship building. This will allow low-cost building of a big submarine that can operate at considerably high depths. Concrete has a high compressive strength and can be easily used to fill the void between the steel double hull. A special composition of concrete should be used for this purpose. The concrete would also seal the leaks that may occur on the superstructure. With special composition, they would resist the corrosive sea water better than most metals. The additional weight of the concrete would also allow more hollow space inside. Heavy weight and larger dimensions would also increase the stability of the underwater research station.
IUS would have hatches to allow additional submarines to be attached to each other like in ISS. Each IUS section would have emergency rescue spheres that would take the occupants to the surface in case of an emergency. Additionally, any damaged section would be released from the rest to maintain the operation of the IUS.
IUS would accommodate small submarines for humans as well as tethered robots. This would allow detailed inspection of tight spaces. Samples gathered by these inspections would be analyzed at the onboard laboratories.
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