Cybersuit -- Submersible or Not?

[Tallor]

I was flipping through GURPS Ultra-Tech for inspiration on marine vehicles and suits, and I noticed something--the TL11 Cybersuit, although very cool, is kind of paradoxical. It has DR 40*, which is flexible--this makes sense since it's described as a tight-fitting suit, like many other ultratech vacuum suits. However... it also has a Pressure Support of 30 atmospheres! Is pressure support actually possible with flexible armor?

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Tallor

I was flipping through GURPS Ultra-Tech for inspiration on marine vehicles and suits, and I noticed something--the TL11 Cybersuit, although very cool, is kind of paradoxical. It has DR 40*, which is flexible--this makes sense since it's described as a tight-fitting suit, like many other ultratech vacuum suits. However... it also has a Pressure Support of 30 atmospheres! Is pressure support actually possible with flexible armor?

It could adapt to gradual changes in pressure but too slowly to prevent blunt trauma.

[Ulzgoroth]

It does seem a bit tricky to explain how it's capable of resisting that much external pressure but not of presenting a rigid surface. (Or, indeed, how it could resist that much pressure without necessarily presenting a rigid surface.)

[Anaraxes]

At TL11, it also might be smart enough to stiffen enough to resist overall ambient pressure, yet still yield to localized forces or internal ones such as those when you bend a body part.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

At TL11, it also might be smart enough to stiffen enough to resist overall ambient pressure, yet still yield to localized forces or internal ones such as those when you bend a body part.

Yielding to external blows is a drawback, not a desirable feature.

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

Yielding to external blows is a drawback, not a desirable feature.

The word "blows" entails certain assumptions about the nature and purpose of an external force. Not all external forces are undesirable. That's also not a requirement in the OP, so not really relevant to the response. Finally, you'll also notice the word "internal" in the text you quoted.

Rates of change are also important -- and in fact inability to cope with high rates of change may be why such a suit would be considered flexible rather than rigid.

But the post isn't meant to be a complete design for a TL 11 device, about which tech we know next to nothing. It's an answer to the OP -- how might you envision a suit that's "flexible", yet can resist high ambient pressures from deep submersion? One TL;DR version -- imagine compensating just for that environmental pressure and subtracting it out, yet allowing other pressure to deform the material.

[Donny Brook]

Originally Posted by Tallor

I was flipping through GURPS Ultra-Tech for inspiration on marine vehicles and suits, and I noticed something--the TL11 Cybersuit, although very cool, is kind of paradoxical. It has DR 40*, which is flexible--this makes sense since it's described as a tight-fitting suit, like many other ultratech vacuum suits. However... it also has a Pressure Support of 30 atmospheres! Is pressure support actually possible with flexible armor?

Old diving suits were flexible (though not the helmet) and sealed. Counterpressure kept the diver moving.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by Donny Brook

Old diving suits were flexible (though not the helmet) and sealed. Counterpressure kept the diver moving.

Diving suits don't normally provide pressure support. Humans don't need it under most diving conditions. We can live (at least temporarily) at substantially elevated pressures.

And external pressure doesn't interfere with movement at all.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

It does seem a bit tricky to explain how it's capable of resisting that much external pressure but not of presenting a rigid surface. (Or, indeed, how it could resist that much pressure without necessarily presenting a rigid surface.)

Eggs (both unboiled with a shell and boiled and stripped of its shell) seem to support a fair amount of uniform pressure just fine, but are very vulnerable to sudden pressure applied to single point. Perhaps the analogy is imperfect, but it's a start.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by vicky_molokh

Eggs (both unboiled with a shell and boiled and stripped of its shell) seem to support a fair amount of uniform pressure just fine, but are very vulnerable to sudden pressure applied to single point. Perhaps the analogy is imperfect, but it's a start.

Having pressure support but not much DR is quite different from having pressure support but (lots of) flexible DR.


...I'm somewhat curious about the proposition that boiled, de-shelled eggs resist pressure, though.