A number of test deployments were conducted to determine how much acceleration the float experiences upon entry into the water. Initially, dummy floats were fitted with 2-axis shock sensitive clips that are activated if accelerations greater than a specified threshhold are experienced. The dummy float was installed in an early version of the deployment vehicle (ie., ordinary straw was used as packing material) and the package was deployed in Lake Washington (Seattle, Washington) from a small boat moving at 22 knots.
The image below shows the arrangement used for the deployment tests. When the boat was up to speed, the rope holding the package to the frame was removed and the top of the package pushed so that it impacted the water in a horizontal orientation crosswise to the direction of travel. We found that even the most sensitive (10-G) clip was not activated during the deployment.
This test was followed by several more test deployments using fully operational floats. The last test deployment in Lake Washington was done at a speed of 32 knots (the maximum speed of the boat) with a fully operational float in the deployment vehicle shown above. All tests were completely successful; none of the accelerometers were triggered, none of the water soluable links were broken, the package remained fully intact with the float undamaged, and the package eventually opened up on its own and released the float into the water. The image above shows the cord and water soluable link that keeps the package closed during the deployment. The image below shows the package just after deployment in Lake Washington.
On November 16, 1997, two floats were successfully deployed from the 800 feet long container ship Sea-Land Crusader in the Gulf Stream Region of the Atlantic Ocean. The free-board of this ship was about 25 feet and the ship was steaming at 21 knots on its way from Newark, New Jersey to San Juan, Puerto Rico. The first profile from each float was successfully completed on November 26, 1997. The profile data from these floats can viewed on this web site (the float identifiers are 080 and 081).