USA As Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Peyton W Hall

Charles M Ringer

Earl E Floren

A self-destructive aquatic device for use in a water environment is formed with a body having a metallic portion and a covering preventing exposure of the metallic portion of the body from the water environment. A gap in the covering is used to expose the metallic portion of the body to the water environment. The covering has a cathodic property with respect to the metallic portion of the body, so that the gap and the covering establishing a cathodic-anodic ratio of areas exposed to the water environment to promote erosion of the metallic portion of the body in the water environment. This, in turn, results in controlled break-up of the aquatic device.

Use of cathodic coatings to cause selective, rapid decay of substrate metals

A self-scuttling device can include a pressure hull that can define an internal void having an internal pressure P. The device can be disposed in an underwater environment having a pressure Pthat is greater than P. The pressure hull can be formed with a fill port, which can be selectively opened to flood the void. A reactive agent can be disposed within the void. The reactive agent can be chosen to mix with seawater and establish a solution that corrodes the pressure hull when the reactive agent is exposed to seawater by flooding the void. The reactive agent can be disposed within a watertight container, which maintains watertight integrity at P, but loses watertight integrity at the greater P. When this occurs, the reactive agent becomes exposed to seawater to establish the solution within the void that corrodes the pressure hull.

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San Diego, CA, United States of America

Peyton W Hall