In some underwater applications, the use of divers to conduct inspection, maintenance or repair isn’t possible and the creation of an underwater working environment (habitat/cofferdam) is necessary. 

These types of temporary structures require an engineered sealing solution to ensure the servicemen are able to work in a dry and safe environment. The constructions are often designed to be flexible and modular in design. Reliable engineered sealing technology and water tightness is of great importance here. 

Submerged temporary constructions can be found in various configurations. The configuration depends on the location where the servicemen need to conduct their specific tasks. There are two commonly used configurations. One is the open front structure, where work is being done at the front wall or very close to the wall. Secondly there is the open bottom configuration, where the work is being conducted at the waters’ bed level. Sealing the countersurfaces for these structures are quite challenging:

• The often rough countersurfaces make watertightness challenging and require proper sealing engineering.
• The submerged construction needs to account for the presence of movements due to wave, waterflow or tidal differences.
• The shape of the submerged constructions’ sealing needs adapt to and seal off any complication of the countersurface.