Pressure testing
JFD maintains one of the largest, UKAS approved, hyperbaric test facilities in the UK and provide an impressive range of services for research, development and testing.
Considerable investments in the variety and capacity of test vessels within NHC testing have been made over the past 5 years, making our facilities amongst the largest in the world, capable of simulating depths up to 800bar and altitudes of 55,000ft.
The variety of chambers enable us to pressure test a wide range of equipment of all shapes and sizes such as subsea control modules, umbilicals, valves, actuators, ROV and submersible vehicles, buoyancy control devices and underwater housings.
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At the heart of the National Hyperbaric Centre is the large work chamber capable of simulating pressure depths to 100 bar or altitude of 55,000ft. The 3x8m chamber is ideal for subsea equipment testing and trials, hyperbaric welding and altitude trials.
The work chamber connects above to the transfer under pressure chamber and 16 man saturation system for use during manned trials and hyperbaric welding projects.
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| Work Chamber | Work chamber showing access door | Submarine testing within work chamber | Manned trials | Valve testing within work chamber |
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800 bar chamber
Our 800 bar deep equipment chamber is similar to our other small equipment chambers but has a much higher pressure rating of 800bar.
Ideal for power supplies, cable assemblies, small electrical housings, underwater cameras and lights, this high-pressure chamber can test in a wet, dry or gas filled environment.
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220 bar chamber
With internal access of 860mm wide and 1540mm deep this chamber is ideal for valves, actuators, pumps, flow meters and cable assemblies including connections and penetrators.
The addition of a heating and cooling coil allows us to perform temperature cycles whilst at pressure.
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200 bar chamber
Ideal for power supplies, cable assemblies, small electrical housings, underwater cameras and lights in a wet, dry or gas filled environment.
One of the features of this chamber is its 14 multi-way penetration ports which allow easy access for monitoring equipment testing.
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Viewport test Jig
A viewport jig for high-pressure testing of acrylic viewports used in saturation diving complexes and submarines is available at the NHC.
The use of acrylic plastic viewports has been standard for many years, however the development of polarised light testing has shown that there are various misconceptions about them. Acrylic viewports which are used under pressure are subjected to an increased rate of yield, giving them a slight permanent deformation and inbuilt stress. It is generally agreed that acrylic viewports should be replaced after 10 years of service.
Referring to IMCA guidance D047, viewports should be certified before use:
“Viewports should be proof stress tested and certified before installation.”
“All viewports in a pressure system need to be rated to the design pressure of the system.”
“Viewports which are not marked or properly documented should not be used.”
All viewport tests are independently witnessed by a class society. Successfully tested viewports are marked with indelible ink - date of examination, serial number and NHC identification number.
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