Diving Science

Dr. Hasrizal Shaari

28 October 2014

Characteristics
Ch
t i ti off Air
Ai and
d Water.
W t
Buoyancy.
What is Pressure?
Your Body.
Body
The Anatomy of Your Lungs.
Indirect Effects of Pressure.
Thermal Effects of Diving.
Diving

The Air You Breathe

Air is a mixture of gases.
gases
The gases in air are colorless,
odorless and tasteless.

Air is
Ai
i composed
d off approximately
i t l 20.9%
20 9%
oxygen, 78% nitrogen and 1.1%
miscellaneous gases.
The most important component of air is
oxygen.
Nitrogen
Ni
i metabolically
is
b li ll inert.
i

Water

Water is 775 times more dense than air

The main p
physical
y
stress of the underwater
The effect of hydrostatic pressure

Seawater is slightly dense than freshwater

The fraction of seawater concentration

therefore 96.5% H2O and 3.5% salts.

This characteristic Buoyancy

In the Water
Water affects our vision, hearing, ability to
retain heat and how we move through it
it.
i
i.

Vission
- Objects appear 1/3 closer and larger under
water.
ii. Colors
- Colors look much different under water
water.
iii. Heat loss
- nearly 25 times faster than by air
iv. Drag
- The water resists your movement
movement. This
resistance is called drag.

The p
principle
p of buoyancy
y
y

In science, buoyancy is an upward force exerted by a fluid that

opposes
pp
the weight
g of an immersed object.
j
In a column of fluid,
pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the
overlying fluid.

Archimedes principle, physical law of buoyancy,

Anyy object,
j , whollyy or ppartiallyy immersed in a fluid,, is buoyed
y up
p byy a
force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object.

Buoyancy = weight of displaced fluid.

When object immersed in a fluid = buoyant
force equal to the weight

States of Buoyancy
y
y

Positive buoyancy If an object floats, it means the object

displaces
p
an amount of water that weighs
g more than the
object does

Neutral buoyancy If an object hovers, it means the object

displaces an amount of water that weighs same as the object
does.

Negative
buoyancy If an
object sinks, it means
the object displaces
an amount of water
that weighs less than
the
h object
bj
d
does.

Factors Affecting Buoyancy

Weight

includes the weight of

your body and gear you wear.

Volumedepends

on your body size,

size
thickness of your suit, and your gear.

Human body like bag of water reffered to

liquid-solid compartment of body.

How diver control buoyancy???

BCD ((Buoyancy
y y Control Device))
Lead Weight
Lung
L
volume
l

Forces in Diving

The density of the water in which you dive

also affects your buoyancy.
If you are weighted to be neutral in salt water and you
dive in fresh water with the same amount of weight, you
will sink.
sink

Neutral
N
t l buoyancy
b
beneath
b
th th
the surface:
f
It is important to help protect marine life.

Diving without buoyancy control:

Is tiring, hazardous, and a sign of an unskilled, unthinking,
and uncaring diver.

What is Pressure?

This force is called pressure and is measured

pounds p
per square
q
inch (p
(psi))
in bar or p
If you weighed a column of air that extended all
the way to the edge of the atmosphere:
1 inch by 1 inch = 14.7 psi
g
1 centimeter byy 1 centimeter = 1 kilogram
This constant pressure is called 1 atmosphere
of pressure.
As long as the pressure in a bodys air spaces
matches the surrounding atmospheric pressure,
the pressure is equalized and you do not feel any
effects from your surrounding atmospheric
pressure.
pressure

How Pressure Affects Volume

To understand the direct effects of pressure,
pressure
consider the effects of pressure on an open and
closed system.
y

The pressure surrounding

the bucket increases and
compresses the air in the
bucket.

The inverse relationship

between
pressure
and
volume is known as Boyles
Law

How Pressure Affects Volume

The effects of pressure on a closed system can be much
more dramatic.

The bag becomes smaller and smaller as the air

compresses and the volume decreases.

You must NEVER hold your breath when breathing

compressed air under water.

Pressure versus Depth

When you descend in water, the force from the

weight
i
off the air
i and the water above affects
ff
you.

Boyles Law

How Pressure Affects Density

y
You use your air faster when you dive deeper.

As the pressure , the air compresses to

a smaller volume.
As the air compresses, it becomes denser.

Pressure and Air Consumption

p
The rate at which you consume the air in your cylinder is
directly proportional to the depth you dive.

Air consumption factors:

Your activity level during your dive
Your mental state.
Your body size.
Th warmth
The
th off your di
diving
i suit.
it
Your level of physical fitness.

effect
Physical activity has the greatest effect.
You can use up 4x air
resting.

as much as air exerting than when

Develop a slow and relaxed breathing pattern as well as a

slow rate of breathing.
Larger people
L
l have
h
larger
l
lungs
l
and
d use more air
i than
th
smaller people

Your Body
When y
you dive, the pressure
p
of the water
effects your air spaces as well as your breathing.

Squeezes:
Whenever the pressure outside an air space
is greater than the pressure inside an air
space.
Thi type off injury
i j
i called
ll d barotrauma
b
This
is
(pressure injury).
Blocks:
A reverse block is the opposite of a
squeeze
squeeze.

lungs

sinuses

middle ears

The Middle Ear

You must be able to equalize the pressure inside your ears to

comfortably and safely dive.

Anatomy of the ear:

i. Outer ear
Th outer ear iis the
The
h ear canall
ii. Middle ear
Contains a series of three small bones that transmit sound
Contains the airway link called the eustachian tube.
iii. Inner ear
Contains the balance mechanism.

Middle Ear Squeezes

Occurs when the air or water pressure

in your outer ear is greater than the air
pressure in your middle ear.
ear

Equalizing your middle ear:

Before you feel the slightest pressure in

your ears, you need to equalize.

Middle Ear Squeezes

Never force equalizing your ears.You

could cause serious damage to your ears.
The key
y to successful ear equalization:
q
equalize early and often
If problems occur:
Ascend a few feet to reduce the pressure, and
tt
t tto equalize
li again.
i
attempt
If you have a head cold, you must not
attempt to equalize by any method.

Middle Ear Blocks

If you begin to ascend and

your ear hurts and feels
full
full , stop your ascent and
descend until the feeling
goes away.
away
If the block does not
li
equalize:
If you must surface, close your
nose and mouth and breathe in.

Sinuses

Your sinuses are air cavities lined with

mucous membranes and surrounded by
the bones of your head.
head

Sinus squeeze and blockage:

Never dive when you have
a cold or sinus congestion.

Decongestant drugs:

Other Air Spaces

Stomach and intestines:
Teeth:
Mask space:
Dry suit:

The Anatomy of Your Lungs

Your lungs consist of millions of tiny
air sacs, called alveoli.
Lung over-expansion injuries:
Rapid ascent with holding breathe

Breathing
g and Circulation

Transporting oxygen through your body

is a vital function of the circulatory
system.

Carbon dioxide controls your breathing.

How to breathe under water.
water
Shallow breathing:
shallowly you do
If you breathe too shallowly,
not exchange enough air with each
breath.

Hyperventilation:
Deliberately breathing deeply and rapidly

Breathing and Circulation

Skip
p breathing:
g
When a diver slip breathes, they hold each breath for an
extended period of time rather than breathing normally.
Two dangers,
dangers lung over-expansion
over expansion injury and build up of
carbon dioxide in the body.

Air Starvation:
Ai
S
i
Regulators have a limit as to how much air they can give you.
If you feel starved for air, and you feel that your regulator is
not supplying you with the amount of air you need:
Stop what you are doing, rest, and breathe slowly and
deeply until you recover, being sure to exhale fully with
eachh breath.
b th

Indirect Effects of Pressure

Ingassing and offgassing:
78% of the air we breathe is N.
N is an inert gas, but is absorbed and
dissolved in the bloodstream and
tissues.
pressure of N is balanced
The p
between the air and your body. This
state is called equilibrium.
pressure the air
Under increased pressure,
you breathe is denser and than the
partial pressure N you inhale with
each breath is increased.
With changes in the ambient
pressure your body ingasses or
offgasses until the N is balanced
between air and your body.

Decompression Sickness (DCS)

"bends"
bends or having been "bent
bent. because N
bubbles blocking circulation in the small veins of
jjoints ((elbows, knees, shoulders)) cause p
pain that a
diver may seek to relieve by bending those joints.

Even very experienced divers can get bent, so do

take this very, very seriously.

It takes time for N to enter and to leave the body.

When you ascend your body begins to eliminate N.
If too much is still present after you surface, the
excess N forms bubbles in your body.

When bubbles form in your blood, they can create

microscopic clots that impair your
o r circulation.
circ lation
Symptoms of DCS can range from skin rash, extreme
fatigue coughing and painful joints to paralysis and
fatigue,
unconsciousness.

Prevention:
Dive tables and DiveComp
Ascent Rate

DCS Types
yp

Type I DCS the non-neuralgic type - is

less severe and may manifest itself as
rashes on the skin or joint pain,
pain plus
sometimes fatigue and vertigo.

Type II DCS more serious neuralgic

DCS caused by larger bubbles that block
DCS,
blood flow can result in weakness,
paralysis
paralysis,
nausea
nausea,
vomiting
vomiting,
tingling
sensations, personality change and
worse.
worse

Treatment:

First aid in mild cases is 100% oxygen,

drinking lots of fluid,
fluid aspirin as a blood
thinner, and plenty of rest.

Type II DCS requires recompression in a hyperbaric

chamber, and the faster the better. That way, the bubbles
dissolve again
and are pproperly
g
p y and slowlyy eliminated
through slow recompression.

Precaution of DCS

Ascend slowly to allow plenty of time for the

N to out-gas
o t as
Make a one minute stop at half your
maximum
i
di
dive depth
d
h
Make a 3-5 minute safety stop at 15 feet
Always do the deepest dive first
Never dive dehydrated
Allow extra surface interval time between
dives
Allow 12 to 24 hours before you fly in an
airplane
i l
after
ft diving
di i

Carbon Monoxide Toxicity

y

CO is an odorless,, tasteless g
gas coming
g from the
combustion of organic matter.

It combines with blood, hemoglobin really, much

more easily than oxygen, some 200x more readily in
fact.

CO poisoning can happen if a faulty or poorly

maintained air compressor adds CO into the tank
or if it sucks
k in
i already
l
d contaminated
t i t d air.
i

Smokers
S
k
already
l
d inhale
i h l CO and
d at greater risk
i k for
f
hypoxicity (being low on O2).

Carbon Monoxide Toxicity

Signs of CO poisoning are flushed lips and cheeks.

cheeks

At depth,
depth while the partial pCO remains the same,
same
the diver inhales many more CO molecules,
enough
g for p
poisoning
g symptons
y p
such as headaches,,
confusion, tunnel vision and worse.

Treatment pure O2 and fresh air.

Serious cases recompression in a chamber with

100% O2 may bee necessary to reduce, or
eliminate, longterm damage.

Nitrogen
g Narcosis

Narcosis also known as:

i
i.
Nitrogen narcosis
ii. Inert gas narcosis
iii. Raptures
p
of the deep
p
iv. Martini effect
Reversible alteration in consciousness that occurs
while
hil diving
di i at depth.
d
h

Altered state of mind caused by breathing N at a high

partial pressure.

The deeper a diver descends, the higher the partial

pressure of N and other gasses in his air will be. For this
reason, nitrogen narcosis is usually thought of as a
function of depth. The deeper a diver goes, the greater
the narcosis.

Thermal Effects of Diving

Water conducts heat away from you body rapidly.

rapidly
Breathing cold compressed air from a cylinder.
Humidity and temperature:
If the air containing the water vapor is cooled, the water
vapor condenses.
condenses
When water condenses on the lens of a mask, it forms
beads of water. (fogging)
Having to humidify the air we breathe causes dehydration.
Dehydration decreases your ability to exercise at full
capacity and makes you more susceptible to DCS.
You must drink pplentyy of fluids before,, between,, and after
dives.

Thank You