Submerged floating tunnel

Submerged floating tunnels can be anchored to the seafloor (left) or suspended from a pontoon (right)

A submerged floating tunnel (SFT), also known as submerged floating tube bridge (SFTB), suspended tunnel, or Archimedes bridge, is a proposed design for a tunnel that floats in water, supported by its buoyancy (specifically, by employing the hydrostatic thrust, or Archimedes' principle).[1]

The tube would be placed underwater, deep enough to avoid water traffic and weather, but not so deep that high water pressure needs to be dealt with; usually a depth of 20 to 50 m (66 to 164 ft) is sufficient. Cables either anchored to the seabed[1] or to pontoons on the surface[2] would prevent it from floating to the surface or submerging, respectively.

  1. ^ a b Zanchi, Flores (July 2002). "Archimedes Bridge". Floornature. Archived from the original on 2008-01-11. Retrieved 2007-02-11.
  2. ^ "Italian bridges cultures". Beijing Official Web Portal. Archived from the original on 2008-01-11. Retrieved 2007-09-13.