Journal of
eISSN: 2572-8466
Submit manuscript...
Review Article Volume 5 Issue 3
Empirical bubble broadening and effects on decompression schedules
Wienke BR, OLeary TR, Del Cima OM
Program Manager Computational Physics, Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA
Director Technical Diving Operations, NAUI Headquarters, USA
Department of Physics, University of Vicosa, Brazil
Received: May 02, 2018 | Published: June 29, 2018
Citation: Wienke BR, O’Leary TR, Del COM. Empirical bubble broadening and effects on decompression schedules. J Appl Biotechnol Bioeng. 2018;5(3):193-200. DOI: 10.15406/jabb.2018.05.00137
Abstract
The question of bubble broadening (Ostwald ripening) in the diver under compression-decompression is virtually unanswered and untractable. Effects in vivo have not been measured nor quantified to date and remain unlikely in the near future. We take up this question and suggest hypothetical impacts on diver staging using available data and recent experimental results in the laboratory. A well known and safe bubble model, RGBM, provides a framework to estimate hypothetical effects in mixed gas diving on open circuit (OC) and rebreather (RB) systems. These are estimates and are neither verified nor tested in divers. However the projections are conservative, increasing decompression time and shortening no decompression time limits (NDL), so that implementation in diver staging protocols, software, dive computers and dive tables is patently safe and of interest to modelers, table designers, training agencies, dive tenders, engineers, doctors, dive computer vendors and related professionals. Experiments impacting broadening are briefly detailed. Particular are the broadening studies in hydrocarbon and glycerol substrates. Features of bubble models affected by broadening are quantified within the RGBM framework. Comparative results are given with and without broadening. Broadening times can range from hours to days. Corresponding broadening estimates of decreases in NDLs and increases in decompression times range 2% to 8% for nominal (recreational) exposures and 10% to 18% for extreme diving and extended (technical) exposures. Overall effects are small to moderate within existing data and recreational to technical diving protocols but diver staging effects of broadening increase with depth and exposure time. Beyond 8 hrs broadening time scales effects are insignificant.
Keywords: bubble broadening, DCS risk, decompression models, staging procedures, laboratory experiments, ANDI, BM, CCR, CMAS, Critical Radius, DB, USN, ZHL, VPM, RGBM, DOD, DSL
©2018 Wienke, et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially.