2018-07-06

@ArkadiuszKula @JL2579 @MattyIce4412 @thanr @JamesWorldSpace Good idea

@JL2579 @MattyIce4412 @thanr @JamesWorldSpace Prob wise to add an air tank (butt end fwd to take impacts) in nose of pod & vent valve in rear. Set air tank to slow bleed rate, then no need for SCUBA mouthpiece or regulator. Training unnecessary & less susceptible to panic attack.

@LittleMissFlint You’re welcome. Happy birthday! 🎁🎉🎂

@MattyIce4412 @thanr @JamesWorldSpace Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about in that tweet — double-layer Kevlar pressure pod with Teflon coating. Other approach is a long inflatable air sock. Both worth trying.

@williamwinters @austinhopperrrr @maysacha @thanr @JamesWorldSpace Exactly. You can put socks on your feet the same way. There would be no relative motion between the tube & rock wall.

@jeremysliew It’s open so that others who are closer to the problem can consider this as one possible solution

@siwgrindaker @erikveen Should be possible to increase the air inflow rate above the leak rate, unless there is a very big hole. If oxygen % is dropping, suggests that leak holes are not large.

@erikveen I would def recommend this

@thanr @JamesWorldSpace Building double-layer Kevlar pressure pods with Teflon coating to slip by rocks & front/rear rope tow hitch & lead pockets for neutral buoyancy. ~60 cm oval. Testing this aft in a pool with a subject who has never done SCUBA. Do the divers think something like this might work?

@bonnienorman @TeslaBull @trippedover Interesting

@thanr @JamesWorldSpace Great, thanks

@JamesWorldSpace Inflatable tubes & pods being made out of Kevlar for better abrasion resistance. A SpaceX engineer happens to be in Thailand & is headed there now. Could one of the divers DM me? Need approx contour of most difficult sections for tube fab.

@ladykayaker @JamesWorldSpace So long as air pressure in tube higher than water pressure, air will blow out & water won’t come in

@thanr @JamesWorldSpace Does you know output voltage & amperage of those generator trucks? 3 phase? What frequency? Will need high voltage transformer to carry power over distance or very thick cable. Beyond that, only batteries will work. Will prep Powerwalls in case needed.

@JamesWorldSpace SpaceX & Boring Co engineers headed to Thailand tomorrow to see if we can be helpful to govt. There are probably many complexities that are hard to appreciate without being there in person.

@JamesWorldSpace Looks like 1st bit of water is close enough to entrance to be pumped out. 2nd & 3rd would need battery packs, air pumps & tubes. If depth of 2nd is accurate, would need ~0.5 bar tube pressure. Prob need to enter tube, zip up & then transit.

@chiefpad @JamesWorldSpace So long as air feed rate exceeds leak rate, tube remains inflated. This is how bouncy castles or inflatable mazes work. Needs very little power as the work (physics def of work) done is low. Pumping out water faster than it enters the cave system is prob 10X to 1000X more power.

@chiefpad @JamesWorldSpace Have a small velcro slit entrance & exit in circumferential direction (half stress of longitudinal direction)

@ladykayaker @JamesWorldSpace Walking speed is around 5km/h, but if you’re in an air tube, time doesn’t matter much. If tube diameter was 1.5m, a fast walk of 5km would take 40 mins or so. Just need to duck for the narrow sections.

@JamesWorldSpace Maybe worth trying: insert a 1m diameter nylon tube (or shorter set of tubes for most difficult sections) through cave network & inflate with air like a bouncy castle. Should create an air tunnel underwater against cave roof & auto-conform to odd shapes like the 70cm hole.