Performance of Regulators
In Europe, EN250:2000 defines the minimum requirements for breathing performance of regulators.
The original Cousteau twin-hose diving regulators could deliver about 140 litres of air per minute, and that was officially thought to be adequate; but divers sometimes needed a faster rate, and had to learn not to "beat the lung", i.e. to try to breathe faster than the regulator could supply. Between 1948 and 1952 Ted Eldred designed his Porpoise air scuba to supply 300 liters/minute if the diver need to breathe that fast, and that soon became British and Australian naval standard.
In the United States Military, scuba regulators must adhere to performance specifications as outlined by the Mil-R-24169B which was based on equipment performance until recently.
Various breathing machines have been developed and used for assessment of breathing apparatus performance. ANSTI has developed a testing machine that measures the inhalation and exhalation effort in using a regulator; publishing results of the performance of regulators in the ANSTI test machine has resulted in big performance improvements.
Read more about this topic: Diving Regulator
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