This work will continue over the summer, with the goal of a pilotless flight by Christmas. These compartments are strategically filled or emptied to provide ballast, but are forgotten by most crew members, except the Sailors who regularly inspect these giant containers. For example, if the void for a catapult fails, the effectiveness of the vessel is greatly reduced. Unfortunately, not much information on tanks and voids has been generally available, making maintenance on them complex and difficult. The inspection of tanks is not too expensive, however, repairs are costly because a hole has to be cut into the ship.
Corroded tanks have to be sandblasted and recoated.
Cutting a hole is the only way to do it. Thornell adds that there is a general lack of information on the inspection and repairs of tanks and voids. We need to know exactly which tanks should be inspected or repaired and when. To remedy this, Thornell has picked up where other NPS students left off. He's helping to develop a tank and void database, to document repairs and inspections aboard ships.