Electric analogue for the dynamics of decompression sickness bubbles: Numerical results

Since the development of the first decompression tables in 1908 by Boycott, Damant and Haldane, considerable research and effort have been expended in the development of safer and more rapid decompression procedures and tables. The models for gas exchange have been principally empirical and provide “safe” decompression only over a limited range of depth and bottom times. In this work a numerical method based on an electrical analogy is used to solve the system of equations simulating the growth and decay dynamics of decompression bubbles. The numerical procedure employed, which satisfies the conservation law for the flux variable and the uniqueness law for voltages, also permits the direct visualisation of the evolution of the local and/or integrated transport variables at any point or section of the medium.