LONG ENDURANCE SMALL DISPLACEMENT MARITIME SUBMERSIBLE PROPULSION SYSTEM

Abstract

A watercraft (101), such as a submersible or submarine, is provided which includes a hull; a propulsion system (121) for propelling the hull through water; and a power plant which powers the propulsion system, the power plant including a heat engine (103) and a thermal energy source. The thermal energy source includes at least one material selected from the group consisting of nuclear isomers and radioisotopes.

Claims

1. A watercraft, comprising: a hull; a propulsion system for propelling the hull through water; and a power plant which powers the propulsion system, the power plant including a heat engine and a thermal energy source; wherein the thermal energy source includes at least one material selected from the group consisting of nuclear isomers and radioisotopes; and wherein the watercraft is selected from the group consisting of submersibles and submarines.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the hull includes a forward end and an aft end.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the heat source includes .sup.242Am.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the heat source includes .sup.178m2Am.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the heat source includes .sup.93Mo.

6. The submersible of claim 1, wherein the submersible includes at least one generator which powers said propulsion system.

7. The submersible of claim 6, wherein the at least one generator includes an alternator.

8. The submersible of claim 1, wherein said propulsion system includes at least one Tesla bladeless turbine.

9. The submersible of claim 2, wherein said turbine intakes water through a first opening in said hull and ejects water from a second opening in said hull, and wherein said first and second openings in said hull are in fluidic communication with each other by way of a conduit.

10. The submersible of claim 9, wherein said conduit is equipped with a plurality of vanes along an interior surface thereof, and wherein said plurality of vanes are configured to induce vortexual fluid flow to the water ejected from the second opening in said hull.

11. The submersible of claim 10, further comprising: an articulated, quasi-conical housing which terminates in a tapered end.

12. The submersible of claim 11, wherein said tapered end of said housing extends beyond said second opening of said conduit.

13. The submersible of claim 12, wherein the flow of water through said housing suppresses cavitation through the entrainment of ambient fluid.

14. The submersible of claim 12, wherein said housing is maneuverable to deflect the flow of water from said second end of said conduit toward the forward end of said hull.

15. The submersible of claim 1, wherein said heat engine is selected from the group consisting of Stirling Cycle engines and Ericsson Cycle engines.

16. The submersible of claim 1, further comprising: at least one battery which powers said submersible.

17. The submersible of claim 1, further comprising: at least one ultracapacitor which powers said submersible.

18. The submersible of claim 1, further comprising a water jet eductor system.

19. The submersible of claim 1, wherein the propulsion system includes a water jet eductor propulsion system.

20. The submersible of claim 1, wherein the propulsion system includes a bladeless turbine.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] FIG. 1 is a particular, non-limiting embodiment of a submersible which may be equipped with a propulsion system of the type disclosed herein. A portion of the outer hull of the submersible has been removed to show the details of the propulsion system thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0009] It has now been found that the aforementioned problems of combustion (as a heat source) and the sound generated by cavitation may be overcome with the systems and methodologies disclosed herein. In a preferred embodiment, a propulsion system for a long endurance submersible is provided that is equipped with a heat engine (such as, for example, a Stirling Cycle engine, Ericsson Cycle engine or equivalent engine design) which utilizes nuclear isomers for the heat source. Nuclear isomers have been shown to generate thermal energy through decay sufficient to power a Stirling engine in excess of 10,000 hours operation. The heat engine, drawing thermal energy from the nuclear isomer, may turn a generator to provide all the electrical power needed for the submersible to conduct military or scientific operations.

[0010] FIG. 1 depicts a first particular, non-limiting embodiment of a small displacement submersible 101 which may be equipped with a water jet eductor propulsion system 121 of the type disclosed herein. As seen therein, the propulsion system 121 includes a heat engine 103 which is preferably a Stirling Cycle engine, a generator or alternator 105, an electrically driven Tesla bladeless turbine 107, conduit piping 109, and bucket thruster system 111. The propulsion system operates to intake sea water into a first end of conduit 109 and to eject the water through a second end of the conduit 109. The conduit 109 is preferably equipped with internal vanes disposed at an approximately 37° twist from the parallel of the longitudinal axis of the conduit 109.

[0011] The outflow end of the conduit is equipped with a nozzle 113 and a quasi-conical housing 111. This housing 111 is preferably open to the sea at both ends, and acts to entrain sea water as the vortexual fluid flow exits the nozzle 109 to suppress cavitation. For reverse thrust of the system, the quasi-conical housing will maneuver to divert the flow from the nozzle 109 in a manner similar to the reverse thrust system on aviation jet aircraft engines commonly known as “bucket thrusters.” With the exception of operation in the reverse thrust mode, systems of this type may be configured to be exceptionally quiet, since there are no vibrations from reciprocating pumps or cavitation from propeller blades.

[0012] The propulsion system 121 is powered by a power plant that includes the heat engine 103 and a thermal energy source. The thermal energy source preferably comprises one or more nuclear isomer isotopes. Suitable isotopes for this purpose may include Americium (242Am), which has a half-life of 141 years and produces 49 keV; Hafnium (178m2Hf), which has a half-life of 31 years and can produce 2.4 MeV; and Molybdenum (93Mo). The use of these isotopes is advantageous in that they emit relatively small amounts of ionizing radiation. Rather, the decay energy is mostly in the thermal side of the equation, with only small amounts of beta particles emitted. To protect personnel in the submersible, the nuclear isomer pile may be coated with boron glass or obsidian glass ceramics.

[0013] The use of the foregoing types of isotopes as the fuel in a heat engine overcomes the limitations and hazards attendant to the use in submersibles of lithium or lead-acid batteries. Moreover, the endurance of the submersible may thus be based solely upon the human limitations of the operators.

[0014] Navigation and depth soundings may be augmented with blue lasers, depending on water clarity, as well as conventional systems of depth soundings and Inertial Navigation Systems. Since Stirling engines are scalable, the teachings disclosed herein may be applied to submersibles of any size, from ROVs to a submersible with more than a dozen occupants.

[0015] The above description of the present invention is illustrative and is not intended to be limiting. It will thus be appreciated that various additions, substitutions and modifications may be made to the above described embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be construed in reference to the appended claims.