THE STRUCTURAL BEHAVIOR OF GLASS PRESSURE HULLS
Report 3863, Naval Ship Research and Development Center, Bethesda, MD, by K. Nishida, June 1972, 111 pages.

A report on glass pressure vessels for deep submergence is presented. Emphasis is on the structural response of spherical and hemispherical glass shells under external hydrostatic and cyclic pressure. Results of earlier programs are reviewed. A computerized analysis trading off the variables in the joint problem is presented. Final joint geometries are discussed and data on chemically strengthened glass hemispherical shells with equatorial joint rings under fatigue conditions are presented. The results indicate relatively efficient (W/D = 0.5), small pressure vessels of chemically strengthened glass are practical for unmanned noncritical applications to 20,000 ft. Nine 10-inch diameter chemically strengthened glass hemispherical shells of PPG 1080 glass with overall weight to displacement ratios of 0.5 survived at least 3000 cycles to 20,000 ft. Each hemisphere was then subjected to a proof test to 30,000 ft. Although this data is encouraging, substantial effort is necessary before glass structures can be applied in critical conditions even on the present small scale.

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