Submarines (History of Development, Construction, Working, and Uses)
- Introduction
- History of Development
- Pressure Applied by water
- Working of the Device
Engine & Powerhouse
Ballast Tank (Upward and Downward Movement)
Fins (Left Side and Right Side Movement)
- Usage of Submarines
Introduction:
A Submarine is a device that can move in Underwater (Region below the surface of the water)
Submarine Engines are More Powerful, Certain design features are very difficult. as the submarines want to withstand 9Remain Undamaged) the force applied by water around its body and move forward by opposing the wave current (Movement of water Under Sea)
The Submarines are used for Undersea Research, Tourism, and Military purposes.
History of Development:
In 1578, the English mathematician William bourne recorded in his book "Inventions of Devices" one of the first plans for an underwater navigation vehicle A few years later the Scottish mathematician John Napier wrote in his secret Inventions (1956) about a Device that can be made to move in Underwater with some maths calculations.
The first Submarines was Designed and Built in 1620 by, Dutchman Cornelis Drebbel, it was Propelled by Oars.
Oars
History of Development - Turtle
The First military submarine (Just to keep a naval mine) was the Turtle (1775), a hand-powered (Assisted by hand-cranked propellers) acorn-shaped device, designed by the American David Bushnell to accommodate a single person. It was the first verified submarine capable of independent underwater operation and Movement, Vessel contained enough air for about 30 min and had a speed in calm water of about 3 mph,
The First Submarine not relying on human power for propulsion was the French Plongeur (Diver), launched in 16 April 1863, submarine used a compressed-air engine, propelled by stored compressed air.
Pressure Applied by Water:
In fact at 10m depth, the water has twice the pressure it has at the surface, At 20m depth, there is 3 times the surface pressure, at 30m 4 times and so on, Pressure is measured in a unit known as 'bar'.
1 Bar is the pressure that surround us (Environment)
We can't feel it because; the fluids in our body are pushing outward with the same force (Pressure),
The water bottle was Crushed at a depth of 22 meters (75 feet), a pressure of nearly 3 bar of pressure.
There is a Tendency to Escape or relief; from the force(Pressure,) if the state of the elements (Gases) is Compressible
But if the Force applied by pressure is by an incompressible state of Element (Liquid) there is no tendency of escape or relief.
Please note: The Gases can be Compressible to great extent.
Liquids are Incompressible (Can't be compressed).
Working of the Device:
Submarine Hull - Light Hull & Pressure Hull
Engine & Power House
Ballast Tank (Upward and Downward Movement)
Fins (Left Side and Right Side Movement)
A Submarine hull has two major components, the light hull, and the pressure hull
The light hull (outer Hull), and pressure Hull (Inner Hull) are made up of thick high-strength steel with a complex structure.
Submarine hull -Light Hull & Pressure Hull:
To withstand high pressure the material should satisfy certain criteria and they are
1. Tensile Strength
2. Compressible Strength
3. Toughness
Tensile Strength:
The Resistance of a material to withstand Maximum Tensile load,
Compressible Strength:
The Resistance offered by Material to withstand the maximum compressible load.
Toughness:
The ability of Material to withstand the sudden high load applied to it.
Tensile Load:
The Tensile Load applied by a testing machine on the Material,
Toughness:
The ability to withstand a sudden applied high load.
Compressible Strength:
Certain materials can withstand the sudden load (toughness) Eg. 25N certain materials can't.
The Material which undergoes a compressible Load test:
The various materials are heated and then combined to obtain certain material properties (Tensile Strength, compressible strength, and toughness), which are used for the construction of submarines, The thick High Strength Steel is used to withstand high pressure created by water.
Example:
The Engine is made up of steel Aluminum Alloy, which is formed by combining steel and aluminum, in order to withstand the temperature and the stress produced, (Tensile Load, Compressible Load, and Impact Load).
Deepsea Challenger:
The construction of the submersible was headed by Australian Engineer Ron Allum.
Allum created new materials including a specialized structural syntactic foam called Isofoat, Capable of withstanding the huge compressive forces (Nearly 1000 Bar) at the 11- kilometer (11,000 Meters).
Engine & Power House:
As fast as the water is pushed backward, as fast the submarines move forward, to do this a Powerful Electrical Motor which runs for a longer time is used with specially designed multiple blades (Curved Blades to push the larger quantity of water backward) attached at the end of the shaft of the Motor.
The Powerful Electrical Motor is powered by the Generator which is run by Diesel Engine, High capacity Batteries, and Nuclear Reactors.
Engine & Power House - Air Dependent Propulsion:
The Engine needs Air for its working. (As the mixture of oxygen and fuel will only produce ignition) for this purpose the submarine should be surfaced for taking adequate air for its running (Engine), Recharge Batteries and vent the exhaust smoke caused due to the running of the Engine.
The Submarine will take air from the atmosphere through the submarine snorkel, which was shown in the picture, this kind of propulsion is known as Air dependent propulsion.
Engine & Power House - Air Independent Propulsion
In the case of the Air Independent Propulsion, the powerful electrical motor is powered by Fuel Cells (The Battery with High Capacity and long-lasting) or by Nuclear Reactor.
As the fuel cell does not require Air from the atmosphere for its working, the submarine will remain submerged in the sea for a long time until, there is power in the fuel cell,
A nuclear Reactor is also used to produce the electricity which will be supplied to the big powerful electrical motor, As the Nuclear reactor does not require any air from the atmosphere the submarines which use the nuclear reactor will be submerged for a longer time.
Ballast Tank (Upward and Downward movement)
If an object weighs more than the weight of the water it displaces, it will sink. If the object weighs less, than the weight of the water it displaces, the object will float.
Submarine (Cross Section)
The picture clearly shows how the Ballast tank work, if the value is opened and the water is let into the ballast tank the weight of the object (Submarine) is more than the water displaced hence the submarine sinks and if the pressurized air is let into the ballast tank it will displace the water in the ballast tank, now the ballast tank is filled with air Hence the weight of the object (Submarine) decreases than the weight of the displaced object, hence the object (Submarine) float.
Left Side and Right Side Movement
The submarine fins at the end nearer to the propeller will be used to control the movement on the left and right sides, If the volume (Quantity) of the water which hits the left side of the fins is more than the quantity of water that hits the right side of fins, the force will be created and is enough to turn the submarine in the left side direction. and visa versa.,
The fins are also situated in the body of the submarine to provide the support (Stability) for the submarine.
Uses of Submarines:
1. Used as an Army vessel, to attack warships and other submarines with torpedoes,
A torpedo is a self-propelled weapon with an explosive warhead, launched from above the surface of the water by ship or aircraft and from below the water surface by submarines, to hit a target under water, which may be a bottom of a ship or submarines,
2. Used to explore and inspect oil and gas platform.
3. Used for the purpose of tourism also, but it is very rare.
4. Used for undersea research
The Major purpose of the Submarines is military use, it is used as an effective weapon to destroy warships, cargo ships and enemies submarines.