HIFraser was announced as a finalist in the 12th annual Manufacturers’ Monthly Endeavour Awards for their Submarine Escape and Rescue Service Hyperbaric Suite (SERS) containerised engineering solution delivered to the Australian Navy.
The SERS is used to treat the complete crew of a distressed submarine after they have escaped to the surface and will most likely be suffering from decompression sickness (the bends). The SERS is a complex hyperbaric system that can decompress 72 submariners in seven separate chambers in a controlled environment. HIFraser completed a number of upgrades to the SERS as part of the project, the two most significant were the Environmental Control System (ECS) and Low Pressure Air Compressor and Distribution Board (LPAC&DB).
The main challenge of this project was to ensure that the containerised ECS and LPAC systems successfully control the internal habitat in each of the seven (7) individual locks of the two Deck Decompression Chambers (DDC) and the Transfer Under Pressure Chamber (TUP) within strict parameters to ensure the safety of occupants even in extreme environmental conditions. A further layer of complexity was added because the complete SERS system must meet the rigorous DEF(AUST) 9009A air transportability requirements.
The systems were delivered to the Royal Australian Navy in November 2014.
