Low Cost Hybrid Propulsion Submarine Concept Design

Low Cost Hybrid Propulsion Submarine
Concept Design
Imran Khan 1, a, Simon Harrison 2, b, Daniel Patten 3, c, Asif Raza 4 d
1
Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works Ltd, West Wharf Road, Karachi, 74000, Pakistan
2
Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO), Australia
3
Ministery of Defence (MoD), United Kingdom
4
PN Dockyard, West Wharf Road, Karachi, 74000, Pakistan
a
[email protected], b [email protected]
c
[email protected], d [email protected]
Abstract—Nuclear Submarines (SSNs) and Conventional decades, there has been little induction of nuclear
Submarines (SSKs) have traditionally been approached submarines owing to increasing focus on littoral
with entirely different design philosophies. SSN designs are operations. The modularity, in the context of roles
typically ocean going and offer endurance limited only by performed by a single platform, gives the operator a
stores and crew. SSK designs, whilst traditionally smaller
than SSN designs, are capable of operations in littoral
higher level of capability which is not available in current
waters and deploy low signature propulsion systems designs. Moreover, through life cost and maintainability is
compared to SSN boats. The purpose of this paper is to another key driver in submarine designs under
present the concept design of a low cost hybrid propulsion consideration.
submarine. The design is an amalgam of an ocean going This hybrid submarine concept explores the design
SSN and littoral operating SSK, with long endurance & space between the ocean going SSN and the littoral
high transit speeds of SSNs and quiet & littoral capabilities operating SSK. This is an area of submarine design that
of SSKs. The study will explore tradeoffs between payloads has yet not been explored in detail. There are benefits to
(ammunition) options, sensors and types of propulsion be gained from amalgamation of high transit speeds of the
systems. The task is uphill and the technologies considered
need to be proven at this point in time, however, the results
SSN boats with slow and quiet characteristics of SSK
envisaged are very promising. The selection of technology designs.
and sizing of each element of the nuclear/conventional The submarine is designed around the following
hybrid propulsion system is discussed in detail. The concept benchmarks:
of mission specific ammunition has been applied as a major i. SSN & SSK hybrid propulsion (rechargeable)
strategy for cost reduction. This is materialized through a
Payload Delivery Tube (PDT) covering range of
ii. Rapid re-role capability
ammunition options including UUVs. The propulsion system iii. High overall capability
is fully electric comprising of a compact nuclear power plant iv. Stealth
and an onboard rechargeable AIP (Air Independent v. UXV capability
Propulsion) system. vi. Cost of $1.1Billion (65% Astute Submarine)
The submarine is designed to have following
I. INTRODUCTION capabilities (not all simultaneously):
Traditionally SSN and SSK submarine designs have i. Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW)
remained very separate, as each is suited for different ii. Anti-Surface Ship Warfare (ASuW)
roles. SSN designs are typically ocean going and provide iii. Land Attack
the capability for endurance limited only by stores and by iv. Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR)
crew stamina. SSK designs are traditionally smaller and
II. DEVELOPMENT OF PLATFORM REQUIREMENTS
provide the capability for operations in littoral waters with
low signatures. Following hypothetical operational scenarios have
The end of cold war marked a decline in nuclear force been generated to better understand the roles and
portfolios and reduction in defence budgets. This marked development of platform requirements.
the beginning of a new era in submarine design for future A. Hypothetical Operational Scenario I - Land Strike
roles. In addition, there has been an increasing focus on In the year 2030, International Security Assistance
littoral operations during last decade. There is a need for Force (ISAF) has long withdrawn from Afghanistan
submerged platforms with capabilities of long transit and having disbanded the Terrorists. The Terrorists have
littoral operations. however regrouped and have taken power in
The requirement for modularity has become a driving Afghanistan’s capital Kabul. Intelligence has shown that
factor in submarine design since early 21st century for Terrorists forces are currently constructing military
both operations and build to save costs. Over the past few infrastructure including munitions and training facilities
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Islamabad, Pakistan, 13th – 17th January, 2015
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around Kabul. B. Hypothetical Fictional Scenario II - Low Capability
A United Kingdom Royal Navy hybrid submarine has Ally Assistance
been deployed to the Arabian Sea to conduct a land strike In the year 2030, the Philippines are having territorial
on these strategic military infrastructure targets. The disputes with China in the South China Sea. Chinese have
submarine deploys from Faslane in the UK and transits deployed a naval task force of ships and submarines which
6600NM to the operational area in the Arabian Sea. The has blockaded shipping routes to Philippines. The
scenario has been illustrated in “Fig. 1”. Shortly after Philippines have a relatively small naval force and
arriving in the operational area, the submarine is required requested the assistance of friendly nations.
to come to periscope depth (PD) and receive targeting As a close ally of the Philippines, Australia has
information from base. After receiving the targeting deployed its new hybrid submarine to the area as part of
information, the submarine retires to the predetermined an Australian naval task force including ships and
area to conduct the missile launch for land strike. submarines. The Australian submarine has been deployed
Iran has become a close ally of Afghanistan in 2030. from Stirling to provide a deterrent to the Chinese
Immediately following the missile launch, they are blockade. The submarine transits to the area of operation,
detected by an Iranian coastal radar station. In response, shown in “Fig. 2”, along with the naval task force. The
Iran immediately deploys two midget submarines to the boat is initially tasked with providing a deterrent presence
area. The submarine is now required to conduct anti- to the Chinese blockade particularly to Chinese
submarine warfare (ASW) activities against the Iranian submarines in the area. After arriving in the operational
midget submarines. This requires the submarine to detect area, the submarine is required to operate in a quiet patrol
and neutralise the midget submarines whilst remaining state so as to remain undetected by Chinese surface ships
undetected by both the midget submarines and over-watch and submarines.
aircraft in the area. As tensions escalate in the area, a Chinese corvette
After confirming that both midget submarines have sinks a Philippine container ship 5 days after the
been neutralised, the submarine will transit back to its Australian submarine arrives in the operational area. The
base whilst remaining undetected. The total transit hybrid submarine is tasked to perform ASW and ASuW
distance to the area of operation is approximately activities against Chinese submarines and surface ships in
6600NM. The submarine is required to transit to the the area for remaining 55 days of 60 days deployment.
operations area at a speed of 16 knots. This scenario The total transit distance to the operational area is
encompasses a 94 day deployment, 60 days on station and 4000NM. The submarine is required to transit at sufficient
17 days in transit each way. speed to maintain contact with the naval task group i.e.
Figure 1 – Transit path for scenario 1 [23]
approximately 16 knots. The total deployment period is 82 slow speed whilst conducting the intelligence collection.
days with comprises of 60 days on station and 11 days The sensors deployed by the submarine may include a
transit each way. combination of UUV's or remote off board sensors. The
C. Hypothetical Operational Scenario III - Littoral ISR UUV's may be recoverable or one time use.
Operation The hybrid submarine remains on station for a period of
In the year 2045, the United States of America has 60 days. The submarine must be able to spend more than
developed a new class of ultra-quiet submarines. half of the time in close proximity to where the new USA
Operational test and evaluation trials of the new class are submarine trails are being conducted. The submarine may
to begin shortly off the east coast of Georgia. A UK retire to a distance safe while conducting noisy evolutions
hybrid submarine has been deployed on an intelligence during remaining of the times.
mission to gather signatures data on the new class of The total deployment time for this operation is 82 days.
submarine as it undergoes trials. The mission is broken down in 60 days on station and 11
The hybrid submarine is deployed from Faslane and days of transit each way. The total transit distance from
transits across the North Atlantic ocean to Georgia, shown base to the area of operations is 4100NM. The submarine
in “Fig. 3”, where the trials are being conducted. The is required to transit at a speed of not less than 16 knots.
submarine has been loaded with an ISR specific payload. D. Development of Requirements
Upon arrival at the operational area, the submarine will The scenarios in this section are now analysed in terms
deploy a range of off board sensors and retire to safe of the roles/ capabilities required to be fulfilled during the
distance to collect the signatures data. The submarine is operation of each platform. The comparison is shown in
required to operate in an ultra-quiet patrol state at a very Table 1 where a requirement to fulfil a role is indicated by
a shaded cell. This helps determine the core role/capability Table 2 – Payload requirements for operational scenarios
of the platform and roles/ capabilities to be allocated as
Payload Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3
part of the rapid re-role capability. The rapid re-role Requirements
capabilities are not required on every deployment. Weapons Land strike ASW, Nil
Table 1 – Role/ capability requirements for scenarios missile, ASW ASuW
Onboard & Yes Yes Yes
ASW ASuW Land Strike ISR
Offboard Sensors
Scenario 1 Communications Satellite, Naval Task UXV
Scenario 2 Base Force
Scenario 3 Countermeasures Yes Yes Nil
Covert Capability Yes Yes Yes
Long Range Yes Yes Yes
From Table 1, it is evident that ASW is a key role/ Transit
capability across the scenarios set. Due to the fact that
requirements for ASW and ASuW capabilities are very The combat systems and payloads associated with land
similar in terms of payload, these will form the core roles/ attack and ISR roles will be part of re-role capabilities.
capabilities at the stage of concept design. The combat systems and payloads for re-role capabilities
The highlights of requirements for hybrid submarine in will not be available during every deployment.
view of benchmarks, roles/ capabilities and hypothetical The requirements dictate that nuclear power is used
operational scenarios are listed below: only during transit stage of deployment. However, hybrid
i. The hybrid submarine shall be capable of long submarine is to conduct all mission related activities with
range transit i.e. 7000NM and 99 days endurance. AIP system. Hence, systems are selected in accordance
ii. The hybrid submarine shall transit to the with SSK type submarines to keep power requirements to
operational area under power of a nuclear propulsion minimum to reduce design risks. The limitation is that
system, at transit speeds of 16-18kts. combat system elements, sensors etc. are similar to those
iii. The hybrid submarine shall be able to go off on conventional boats. Following payloads are selected
nuclear propulsion in silent mode while on station. The for this concept design:
submarine shall shift on an AIP system during silent A. Torpedoes
mode. The submarine shall be capable of conducting all 21 inch heavy weight torpedoes (HWT) are selected as
mission related activities with AIP system at patrol the main weapon for ASW and ASuW role. This is the
speeds of 2-6kts. most common weapon size in use by nations with
iv. The hybrid submarine shall be capable of submarine capability. Moreover, there exists familiarity
recharging the AIP in submerged condition. The with handling and stowage of HWT. Furthermore, it is a
submarine can go off station during recharge phase in suited payload for target export countries from cost
case of threat or avoid detection. The submarine is to be reduction point of view.
able to do evasions at 20kts for limited time (2hrs) till There are several variants of the HWT available being
nuclear power can be turned on used by different countries as depicted in Table 3, [9]. The
v. The submarine shall be capable of anti-submarine UK HWT Spearfish shown in “Fig. 4” is chosen for
warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, land attack and inclusion in the payload. A total of 18 torpedoes will be
intelligence, surveillance & reconnaissance activities carried for launch through 4 torpedo tubes. This this HWT
with respective mission specific payloads. variant has the largest volume and the greatest mass,
vi. The hybrid submarine shall have ready rapid re- reference Table 3, thus requires extra trim and
role payload module for flexible re-tasking in a different compensation for weapons stowage.
role.
vii. Defence budget cuts are expected to continue to be
a concern in foreseeable future. The hybrid submarine
shall cost 65% of Astute Submarine i.e. UPC in the
range of $1.1 Billion.
viii. The hybrid submarine is to incorporate readily
available/ used & off-the-shelf systems/ payload to be a Figure 4 – Spearfish Torpedo [25]
competitive low cost export platform. Table 3 - Comparison of heavyweight torpedo sizes [9]
III. PAYLOAD Torpedo Length (m) Diameter (mm) Mass (Ton)

F17 5.4 533 1.36
Based on the scenarios presented in last section, A184 6 533 1.3
analysis to determine the combat systems and payloads for Spearfish 6 533 1.61
each scenario is illustrated in Table 2. This helps TP62-2000 5.99 533 1.3
determine common combat system and payload across Mk 48 5.8 533 1.6
scenarios.
The combat systems and payloads associated with land Air Turbine Pump (ATP) is selected as the method for
attack and ISR roles will be part of re-role capabilities. discharge as it provides flexibility for the discharge of
The combat systems and payloads for re-role capabilities different weapons and offers lower signature
will not be available during every deployment. characteristics as compared to other discharge systems.
Swim out discharge is not selected as currently not all
target navies are using it, however it can be included in
concept design if specifically required.
The selected torpedo handling equipment includes a
centreline lift for loading via a weapons embarkation
hatch whilst alongside jetty. The option of Lightweight
torpedoes was also considered, however same did not
offer any particular advantage over the HWT in this
concept design. Nevertheless Lightweight torpedoes can
be carried in case of requirement by target export
countries.
Figure 7 - Cassette stored countermeasures [31]
The concept of sprit speed will be discussed in section

dedicated to hybrid propulsion system.
The counter measures have been available in ample
quantity, in cassette type stowage in casing area “Fig. 7”,
due reliance on countermeasures only for evasion
purposes. The cassette type stowage arrangement in
casing area allows rapid reloading whilst alongside. The
outboard stowage also saves space inside pressure hull.
Figure 5 – Torpedo loading. Bandfish countermeasures are selected for this concept
B. Tactical Land Attack Missiles (TLAMs) design [9]. The system is UK produced cassette type
expandable countermeasure for use against acoustic
TLAMs are chosen as the weapon for use in land strike torpedoes. It is designed to fit in undercasing space. A
missions. As land attack capability has been designated as total of 40 cartridges will be stored.
part of the rapid re-role mandate, TLAMs will be stored in
the payload delivery tubes in forward section external to IV. SENSORS
pressure hull and launched vertically. This method of One of the major cost contributors of military
launch is similar to one on the United States Navy Ohio platforms are its sensors. In order to keep the cost down
class SSGN submarines. The launch system is proven, and keep all sensors available on AIP power, the
hence selected to reduce design risk. technology and quantity is kept limited. Following are the
major sensors selected for this concept design:
A. Sonar
Sonar systems provide the submarine with the
capability to detect other vessels and the sea bed. The
sonars may be operated passively or actively. The sonar
systems explored in detail were of SSK type systems [9].
The selection includes cylindrical bow and flank array
sonars. Reel-able towed array sonar was considered,
however it was discounted due major littoral requirement
of this concept design. Instead, the capability to have a
clip on towed array has been included for specific
mission requirements only.
B. Masts
Masts were selected based on the operational
Figure 6 - TLAMs stored onboard an OHIO SSGN [21] requirements of each of the scenarios. In this concept
design, there are no hull penetrating masts. Hull
C. Countermeasures
penetrations pose a risk which has been eliminated in this
Countermeasures provide the submarine with the design. Moreover, it will provide flexibility in positioning
capability to evade a torpedo attack. The active of the bridge fin and during general arrangements.
countermeasures guide a torpedo to a false target or away Masts were selected based on SSK designs from UCL
from the targeting submarine. The passive Submarine Design Data Book [9]. This hybrid submarine
countermeasures flood the target area with a large amount will include the following masts:
of noise. The countermeasures are selected in light of a i. High bandwidth communications
low sprint speed of submarine i.e. 18 knots during evasion ii. Radar ESM
from enemy torpedoes. The low sprint speed is result of iii. Communications ESM
requirements to conduct all mission related activities with iv. Optical
AIP system, small size for littoral operations and low cost. v. Navigation radar
C. UUV
Depending on the mission, the submarine will have the
capability to carry and launch small Unmanned
Underwater Vehicles (UUVs), ranging from 200mm to
1000mm in diameter, through the Payload Delivery Tube
(PDT). These vehicles will perform several tasks
including the Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance
(ISR) missions, Mine Counter Measure (MCM) missions
and Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) training.
After being projected out of a PDT, the UUV will
search a pre-programmed area. The UUV will surface
every 9 to 12 hours to get a Global Positioning System Figure 8 – PDT concept [24]
(GPS) satellite location fix and signal back data to
submarine via radio. The UUV can also receive Initially, the tubes were considered in horizontal
instructions from submarine for a change of mission. It arrangement and penetrating pressure hull, similar to
will repeat this process, until its sortie is completed, and conventional torpedo tubes. To preserve pressure hull
then rendezvous with submarine. This will allow the volume, advice from seasoned submarine operators and
submarine to conduct other missions in the meanwhile. unproven nature of horizontal launch technologies: the
The Torpedo Tube Launch and Recovery (TTLR) PDTs were made vertical and non-penetrating. This allow
system, developed by NUWC and being built by Boeing, for a simple and quick reload when alongside via a crane
will be used to recover UUVs in submerged mode. TLLR or similar platform. The entire tube can be removed and a
does not include battery recharge and data transfer new “cartridge” (PDT) containing same/ different
facilities. TLLR deploys an articulated arm and an aft payload e.g. tomahawks, mines, UUVS (ISR & MCM),
facing receiver cone to physically recover an UUV. UUV UAV specific to the required role can be inserted.
takes station parallel to submarine using an acoustic The hybrid submarine is fitted with two payload
homing system. A retractable probe from its nose is delivery tubes (PDTs), external to the pressure hull. This
deployed to drive the UUV into the receiver cone. The eradicates the complexity of large dome openings while
mid-body of the UUV is held, creating a two point four torpedo openings already exist.
connect. The arm pushed the UUV into the PDT and A PDT cross-section with different payload
retracts. The tube doors are closed [26]. The system has configurations/ options is shown in “Fig. 9” and “Fig. 10”
1600 Kg weight for 18m long arm. The characteristics of below:
different UUVs used are tabulated in Table 4:
Table 4 – UUV options [22, 30]
UUV Category Length Diameter Weight Endurance/ Country of Utilization

(mm) (mm) (kg) Range Origin
Bluefine-12 Man portable 3100 533 154 24hr US ISR
Bluefine-21 Large AUV 5800 533 703 20hr US ISR
Hugin-1000 Large AUV 4450 750 850 24hr Norway ISR
Hugin-3000 Large AUV 5500 1000 1400 60hr Norway ISR
K-Ster RCV 1500 400 50 1000m France MCM
Minesniper Mk-II RCV 1900 200 39 1hr / 4000m Norway MCM
V. ACHIEVING RAPID RE-ROLE

Capability to undertake rapid re-tasking/ re-role is the
driving requirement of this hybrid submarine concept
design. The rapid re-role capability is made up of
following elements:
i. A flexible payload delivery tube (PDT)
Figure 9 - Seven 533mm diameter payloads (left); Six 533 mm and
ii. A modular mast set in the bridge fin Seven 200 mm dia payload (right)
iii. Role specific crewing.
These elements of the rapid re-role capability are now
discussed in detail.
A. Payload Delivery Tube (PDT)
The concept of PDT is based on the launching tubes of
converted OHIO Class SSGNs which have a payload
capacity of 7 TLAM with an internal diameter of 1.8m.
Figure 10 - One 1000mm and two 533mm diameter payloads (left) ;
The design data of PDT tubes has been generated based One 1000mm, one750mm and two 533mm diameter payload (middle);
on scaling up torpedo tubes in terms of diameter [9]. Three 750mm and one 533mm payloads (right)
The PDT is fitted for when leaving home port i.e. capability. It would be like having core members of the
nothing can be changed at sea. The detection is crew allocated to submarine operations and other
unavoidable during launch of TLAMs i.e. GPS members allocated as per re-role requirement i.e.
coordinates of launch position. Therefore, escape of air equipment specific crew for different deployments will be
bubbles during firing is not dealt with as an issue. brought into the complement as required. However,
However, an air containments system will be utilized to further investigation of role specific crew is
hold bubbles to remain covert during deployment of recommended.
underwater weapons e.g. torpedoes, UUVs etc. For this
purpose, PDT will be fitted with flooding and air VI. CONCEPT DESIGN & SIZING
extraction system similar to a torpedo tube. Moreover, the A. Payload
payload will not be free flooded for the purpose of The final selection of the nominal payload of concept
preservation of systems/ UUVs/ installations against design is recorded in command and control, armaments
seawater. Table 5 presents some of the payload and variable items groups, [9]. The final volume required
arrangements/ options which may be employed in a PDT: for the payload summed across these three groups is
Table 5 - Payload delivery tube configuration options (per tube) 744m3.
B. Initial Sizing & Iterations
PDT Arrangements Payload
Option 1 (ISR) 7 x Bluefin-21 From [10] the initial estimate of the pressure hull
Option 2 (ISR) 3 x Bluefin-21, 1 x Hugin-3000 volume is given by:
Option 3 (ISR) 2 x Bluefin-21, 1 x Hugin-1000,
(1)
1 x Hugin-3000 . . .
Option 4 (ISR) 1 x Bluefin-21, 3 x Hugin-1000 Where is pressure hull volume and p.v.f is the
Option 5 (ISR + MCM) 6 x Bluefin-21, 7 x Minesweeper Mk-II payload volume fraction and assumed to be 0.2, [9, 10].
Option 6 (Land Attack) 7 x TLAM
This gives an initial estimate for the pressure hull volume
of 3718m3. Assuming initial pressure hull diameter of
B. Modular Mast 8m, the displacement was estimated. The calculation
A modular mast design is incorporated as part of the steps for this estimation are contained in chapter 1 of
rapid re-role capability. Unlike typical submarine designs UCL Submarine design procedure [10]. The group wise
there are no hull penetrating masts, thus providing a lot of weight breakdown is presented below:
freedom with the placement of bridge fin and therefore
Table 6 – Group wise weight breakdown
the mast configuration. Moreover, there is no requirement
of the bridge fin structure to be located directly over the Group 1 Hull Structure 1413 Te
command deck as in case of hull penetrating command Group 2 Propulsion 490 Te
periscope. Group 3 Electrical Services 42 Te
The modular mast design allows for the quick addition Group 4 Control & Communications 23 Te
or removal of specific or specialist mast types that are Group 5 Ship Services 178 Te
Group 6 Outfit & Furnishing 86 Te
required for different mission types i.e based on the Group 7 Armament & Pyro 206 Te
requirement of deployments missions. It is expected that Group 8 Ballast 140 Te
an additional mast would be added to achieve the high Group 9 Variable Items 557 Te
bandwidth communications required for land strike Total 3135 Te
activities. Additional masts may be added for ISR related
activities such as additional optical masts or improved
performance RADAR masts.
The concept design includes eight mast bays in the
bridge fin structure where the nominal fit would include
four masts. “Fig. 11” shows the mast bay configuration.
Figure 11 - Mast bay configuration Figure 12 – Group wise weight breakdown
C. Role specific Crew After iterating through the design procedure several
Role specific crew option has been considered by the times the final submerged displacement is of 3200 tonnes
Team as a means of increasing the rapid re-role and a diameter of 9m.
VII. HYBRID PROULSION SYSTEM replacement for an LM2500 gas turbine was selected, [5].
A. Overview A similar concept is also presented by McDonanld for the
powering of submarines [4].
The features of the concept design stipulate that it The HTGCR represented the reactor technology with a
should incorporate a hybrid propulsion system containing slightly lower risk, as gas cooled turbines are well
both a nuclear propulsion and conventional AIP system. understood and employed in several industries. HTGCR
From analysis of scenarios it was determined that a are also being proposed for use in the power industry.
nuclear propulsion system will make the platform ocean The HTGCR presented by Miller, [5], is particularly
going. Therefore the nuclear propulsion will be used for attractive as it is comprises of a single, replaceable, unit
the transit stage of the deployment only and would be with built in shielding. This will eliminate the need for
turned down or turned off during the patrol phase as a shielding incorporated into the bulkheads and decks of
means of managing signatures. reactor compartment, of the platform. Moreover, the
Following different concepts are considered for the power output of the HTGCR proposed by Miller is
propulsion system to obtain a good mix between the 18MW shaft power, which fulfils the concept design
conventional and nuclear systems: requirement.
i. Nuclear + Small high energy density battery C. Nuclear Plant Sizing
ii. Nuclear + Battery and conventional AIP system
iii. Nuclear + Fuel cells The original HTGCR unit presented by Miller, [5],
Why an AIP system has been included and simply the provides 18MW of shaft power. However, for transit
nuclear system is not used for propulsion when on patrol, operation the platform requires a maximum of 4MW
it is due following reasons: power. Hence, the HTGCR is scaled of a 4MW output.
i. Life of the reactor – It is expected that that by 4000
sizing the reactor for operation at transit speed and not
Shaft Power (kW)
3500
utilizing it for through life deployment, life of the 3000
reactor could potentially be increased so as to not to 2500
refuel during platform life. 2000
ii. Novel design – The combination of nuclear 1500
system and fuel cells is an area that has not been 1000
explored by current submarine designs. Moreover, 500
recharging of AIP at sea is a novel idea. This all 0
provides option for a better design. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
B. Selection of Nuclear Powering Technology Speed (knots)
Traditional SSN designs utilize a pressurized water
reactor (PWR) which is the driver for pressure hull Figure 13 - Shaft power vs speed
diameter (typically ≈ 10m). The PWR also requires
cooling pumps and circulation of cooling water The HTGC reactor was scaled based on the volume
constantly even at low load. This is unacceptable for the of the core. It was assumed that output power of the unit
concept design as the platform shall have the capability to would scale linearly with the volume of the core,
achieve an ultra-quiet patrol state. Additionally, to keep however the length-diameter ratio of the core (a cylinder)
the displacement of concept design low, PWR would not was maintained. The shielding plating of the pressure
be a choice. Furthermore a larger diameter and vessel “Fig. 12” was scaled based on surface area whilst
displacement would limit the operating capability in maintaining the mass per unit area of shielding. This
littoral waters. allowed for the calculation of the size of the pressure
Reactor technology from the space industry and from vessel based on the new output shaft power of 4 MW.
the domestic power industry was researched as an The mass and volume of the heat exchanger assembly
alternative for the PWR. Several technologies were was scaled based on the mass and volume per unit of
established as being viable for the concept design power from the original unit. Turbo machinery was sized
including: based on an average of aircraft turbo prop data taken
i. Solid core heat pipe reactors, [3] from a range of sources. Auxiliary systems were scaled
ii. High temperature gas cooled reactors , [4,5] directly from the mass and volume per unit power of the
iii. Free piston Stirling engine systems , [7] original reactor unit design.
iv. Stirling radioisotope generator, [6] However, it is unsure that how life of the reactor would
The details of each of these technologies are beyond scale in response to the reduced size of the unit, this is an
the scope of this study. Finally the high temperature gas area that will require further investigation. The racking
cooled reactor (HTGCR) presented by Miller [5], as a for the system was assumed to be once half of the unit
concept for the powering of a cargo liner as a mass.
Figure 14 - High temperature gas cooled reactor presented in Miller, [5]
D. Battery System Selection & Sizing A quick analysis of utilizing batteries instead of AIP
The battery of concept design is a small high energy was also conducted which proved AIP to be low on cost
density battery. It will be used during evasion activities and space budget. Therefore, AIP will be providing the
from enemy submarines or to avoid collision. The battery main power for the mission time i.e max 9 days while the
will be sized to allow for sprint speed of 18 knots for 2 battery will remain on float. So the battery design has
hours. This endurance is selected to be sufficient to bring been done for 2 hours of 18kts sprint speed (7500 kWh)
the nuclear system up from sleep condition to rated power i.e the time required to bring the nuclear power online.
output, to take over from the battery for propulsion power 30 120
requirement. During the patrol state battery will remain in Endurance
(hours)
25 100
Endurance (hours)
a float state to supply power if speeds greater than the Range (nm)
maximum AIP speed are required i.e above 6 knots.
Range (nm)
20 80
Five type of batteries are considered for use: 15 60
i. Lead Acid
10 40
ii. Lithium Titanate
iii. Zebra 5 20
iv. Lithium Polymer 0 0
v. Lithium Ion. 0 5 10 15
Speed (knots)
20 25
A weight, volume and cost analysis is shown below:
Figure 15 - Battery range and endurance
Table 7 - Comparison of battery types
Lead Acid Li-Ti Zebra Li-Poly Li-Ion

Energy wt 40 90 103 200 250
density
Energy vol 75 285 144 300 360
density
Volume 100 26.3 52 25 20.8
Total Weight 187.5 83.3 72.5 37.5 30
Advantages Low tech risk Quickest Charging, Better capacity than Better capacity than Best Wt &Vol Efcy
Safer than Li-Ion lead acid zebra, Safer than Li-Ion and energy density
Dis-Advantages Heavy & bulky Low energy density High Operating Temp Expensive than Li-Ion Expensive
for new tech
The above analysis shows Li-Ion to be the best option E. AIP Selection
for a futuristic submarine, as they are the cheapest option
As rechargeable AIP constitutes the basic features of
and create least constraint on weight and volume budget
the concept design, Hydrogen fuel cells are considered as
of design. Thus enabling this design to achieve a balance
the most viable AIP technology. The chemical reaction
between an SSK and SSN. To achieve the requirement of
occurring in the fuel cell is:
7500 kWh the required number of battery cells is 460.
Traditionally lead acid batteries have been used and are 2H2 + O2 = 2H2O (2)
considered safe and help with keeping the VCG down, The waste water can be collected (which solves the
thus using a lighter battery might create issues in respect problem of compensating for the weight of the used AIP
of achieving stability. Utilization of Li-Ion has already fuels) and the fuel cell may be run in reverse to
been experimented on US Nuclear Submarines. electrolyze the water and produce oxygen and hydrogen.
The power required for this process will be provided by F. Selection of AIP fuel regeneration technology
the nuclear system. The concept of a rechargeable hydrogen/oxygen PEM
fuel cell is workable for liquid hydrogen and oxygen
only, as gaseous storage would require enormous space.
This would require liquefaction of oxygen and hydrogen,
which is technically and realistically possible only
through the use of a cryocooler. This would lower the
temperature and increases the pressure to change the state
of the hydrogen and oxygen into their liquid forms.
Recent marinisation of an existing cryocooler has been
on board Nimitz class aircraft carrier (USS Gerald R
Ford) for medical and possibly superconductivity
purposes. It was the QDrive 2S362K which is claimed to
be the most powerful cryocooler at this time and is able to
Figure 16 – AIP patrol & recharging concept produce 22 liters of liquid hydrogen/oxygen per hour, [8].
Battery was considered however, the endurance The required capability to fully replenish the tanks is
required for the patrol state was not possible. shown in Table 8 and Table 9.
The Siemens reversible fuel cell was selected as the Table 8: Cryogenic capability requirement for O2
most risk free technology to be used in the concept
Total volume of O2 required 24.34 m3
design, [27]. Storage of Hydrogen and Oxygen for use in
Cryocooler LO2 production per hour 22.00 lt/hr
the system presented a design challenge. Cryocooler LO2 production per day 0.53 m3/Day
Weight of Cryocooler unit 0.59 Te
Volume of Cryocooler unit 1.00 m3
Power required per unit 20.00 kW
Number of cryocooler units 16.00 qty
Total weight 9.44 Te
Total volume 16.00 m3
Days required 2.88 days
Total power required 320.00 kW
Table 9: Cryogenic capability requirement for H2
Figure 17 – Siemens PEM fuel cell, [28] Total volume of H2 required 50.96 m3
Initially storage of hydrogen was considered as metal Cryocooler LH2 production per hour 22.00 lt/hr
hydride or in methanol alongwith a reformer, [11]. But Cryocooler LH2 production per day 0.53 m3/Day
Weight of Cryocooler unit 0.59 Te
finally it was decided to generate both hydrogen and Volume of Cryocooler unit 1.00 m3
oxygen on-board. Power required per unit 20.00 kW
The hotel load estimate based on formula given in Number of cryocooler units 34.00 qty
Burcher and Rydil, [1], is 270 kW which is viewed as a Total weight 20.06 Te
conservative estimate in the context of installed power Total volume 34.00 m3
Days required 2.84 days
requirement. Four Siemens PEM fuel cells are selected Total power required 680.00 kW
bringing the installed power of the AIP system to
480kWe. It is calculated that the recharging of selected The storage of liquid oxygen and in particular liquid
AIP would require a little less than 3 days for a full hydrogen is a very significant safety concerns as both can
recharge, off-patrol area. cause extreme fire and explosion. To mitigate this risk to
The calculation for the endurance and LOX and H2 an acceptable level the Hydrogen has been stored
requirement of the AIP system is done utilizing values externally to the pressure hull, so as to limit the impact of
from Carlberg, [2]. explosion and catastrophic failure of the pressure hull.
However, liquid oxygen is stored internally, providing
12 1200 physically separation of hydrogen and oxygen, thus
minimizing possible mixture explosion risk. Moreover,
Endurance (Days)
10 1000
internal storage of LOX has been demonstrated onboard
Range (nm)
8 800
6 600 German 214 SSK submarine, [29].
4 Endurance (days)
400
The enhanced fire risk in the compartment will be
Range (nm) mitigated through enhanced fire protection in terms of
2 200
containment and firefighting capability.
0 0
2 3 4 5 6 7 VIII. RIM DRIVE PROPULSOR
Speed (knots)
The propulsion technology has been selected to be a
Figure 18 - AIP range and endurance rim drive propulsor as it offers significant benefits over a
traditional hub driven propulsor [12], along with the General Dynamics Electric Boat (EB) have developed
benefit of an all-electric boat. a military Rim Drive concept RIMJET which is currently
The main benefits of a rim drive system are: being investigated on the ONR SEAJET test bed under
i. No pressure hull shaft penetration the banner of applications to surface ship technology,
ii. Lower advance speed for given thrust [15]. This can be helpful to submarine design future
iii. Greater diameter achievable application
iv. Consistent with pump-jet design style
v. Reduced cavitation IX. ELECTICAL SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
vi. Smaller internal machinery compartment There are three power sources, and the whole
vii. Ultra quiet operation owing to lower tip speed submarine has been divided into three electrical zones.
viii. Freedom of arrangement However, there exist four compartments, based on
ix. Improved system efficiency bulkhead division i.e 02 reactor containment bulkheads
x. Allows more than 1 prime mover to propel the and 01 AIP containment bulkhead. Therefore, zone 2
submarine, due gear box free operation covers two compartment. Below is the schematic of
Through estimation of resistance 5 MW is required to electrical system onboard the concept design submarine.
drive the submarine at top speed of 20 knots and 2.7MW
at cruise speed of 16 knots. To best solve this problem a
system of two contra rotating propellers with
corresponding stators of 2MW and 3MW is adopted, as
seen in “Fig. 19” below:
Figure 20 - Electrical system schematic

Figure 19 - Contra rotating rim-drive “Fig. 21” shows the electrical system for ultra quiet
The rim drive selection is based on design which had a patrol state:
similar 5 MW IFEP propulsion solution, [13]. This power
requirement is directly comparable with the follwing
outline design in PhD Thesis of Øystein KrØvel’s, [14].
Table 10 - Motor parameters [14]
Motor Parameter Value Unit

Power level 2.5 MW
Nominal speed 220 rpm
Propeller diameter 3 m
Max length 0.6 m
Max thickness 0.165 m
Figure 21 - Electrical system diagram for ultra-quiet patrol state
From a powering aspect this basic design is acceptable,
The electrical system for evasion during a ultra-quiet
however 220 RPM would imply a TPK of approximately
patrol state is shown in “Fig. 22”:
11 which is too high from a signatures viewpoint.
Increasing the diameter to approximately 4m, would
increase the torque sufficiently to bring the TPK (turns
per knot) into acceptable levels. Because there is no shaft
torque limit affecting the maximum diameter of the drive
its diameter can be increased until it reaches the
hydrodynamic efficiency limit (0.6 to 0.7 D) or the
platform weight limit. Increasing the drive diameter by
this factor would drop TPK to less than 2, yielding
significant signature benefits. This would provide an
excess power margin within the drives to be used for
redundancy or overdrive in conjunction with a battery
boost facility. Figure 22 - Electrical system description for stage 1 evasion
X. STRUCTURAL DESIGN For the pressure hull plate thickness, in order to
The pressure hull for the concept design is calculated minimise cost only standard plate thickness were
through the use of structure tool, [16]. A variety of considered. Therefore, the plate thickness considered
standard stiffeners were considered but they worked out were 30 mm, 40 mm, 45 mm and 50mm. For the dome
to be large and heavy. However the use of custom made structures, the plate thickness was iteratively increased in
thick and small stiffeners worked well. steps of 5mm until the required strength to meet the deep
A. Pressure Hull diving depth was achieved.
The minimum space between frames was initially
For initial estimates structural weights were made from considered to be 0.5m however later it was finalized to be
extrapolation of data from [9]. Finally the pressure hull 0.7m taking into account the ease of fabrication.
for concept design was calculated through the use of Following failure load factors are used for analysis:
structure tool, [16]. Custom made thick and small
Table 13 - Load factors in failure [17]
stiffeners were selected for the concept design.
Following type of pressure hull materials were evaluated: Failure mechanism Load factor on failure
Interframe collapse 1.5
Table 11 - Pressure Hull Material Properties [17]
Overall collapse 1.8
Type of Alloy ρ (ton/m3) σy(MPa) E (GPa) γ Torispherical dome collapse 2.3
Q1-N (HY 80) 7,85 600 207 0,3
Q2-N (HY 100) 7,85 770 207 0,3 To keep the cost & construction time low, the main
pressure hull has is a constant diameter cylindrical. It
For the final structural calculations the UCL Subsea consists of an internally stiffened cylindrical body in the
Structures Sizing Spreadsheet, [17], was used in order to middle and the unstiffened torispherical domes at the
evaluate the hull material necessary to meet the deep ends. The torispherical dome ends are chosen as they
diving depth requirement. The concept design has a offer lower stress concentrations at transitions to the
pressure hull diameter of 9.0 m and a deep diving depth cylinder and better utilization of internal volume.
(DDD) of 370m. The following scantlings were finally selected for a
Few deep diving depths were studied and are presented deep diving depth of 370m:
as follows:
a. Hull Plating = 40mm
i. Collins Class - 200m+
b. Stiffener = 225 (40t) x 275 (60t)
ii. Dolphin Class - 350m
c. Dome thickness = 80mm
iii. HDW Class - 250m
d. Material = HY-100
iv. Oberon Class - 200m
e. Pressure collapse depth = 370m
f. Bulkhead/Deep stiffener spacing = 10m
g. Pressure hull length = 40m
h. Type of domes = Torospherical
j. Pressure hull diameter = 9m
Following are a few screen shots of Structural
calculation tool [17]:
Figure 23 - Frame Geometry
An iterative process was adopted to choose the suitable

stiffeners; spacing and plating thickness for the pressure
hull and domes, and several combinations were tested.
The following standard geometries of the stiffeners were
initially iterated against:
Table 12 - Standard stiffeners dimensions [16]
Frame Depth Width Web Flange Frame Area

Type (mm) (mm) Thickness thickness (mm2)
(mm) (mm) Figure 24 - PH structural input parameters [17]
1 75 53 5,64 8,46 8,19E+02
2 100 70 7,52 11,28 1,46E+03
3 125 88 9,40 14,10 2,28E+03
4 150 105 11,28 16,92 3,28E+03
5 175 123 13,16 19,74 4,46E+03
6 200 140 15,04 22,56 5,83E+03
7 225 158 16,92 25,38 7,37E+03
8 250 175 18,80 28,20 9,10E+03
9 300 210 22,56 33,83 1,31E+04
10 350 245 26,32 39,47 1,78E+04
11 400 280 30,08 45,11 2,33E+04
12 450 315 33,83 50,75 2,95E+04
13 500 350 37,59 56,39 3,64E+04 Figure 25 - Pressure hull weight and buoyancy data [17]
B. Casing c) Cold and cooled stores consumption: 0.009
The submarine is of single hull construction, with m3/man/day, [9]
casing on top to provide walking access and space for d) Fresh water: 14litres/man/day, [9]
undercasing fittings. The following is estimated for the floor areas of
C. Pressure Hull accommodation, sanitary, dinning, recreational spaces
and stores:
The submarine is divided into four compartments by Table 16 - Living spaces and stores - Areas and Volumes
three containment bulkheads. These are designed to Officers SR JR Vol(m3) Derived
contain safety cases for the reactor compartment and AIP from
regeneration compartment. It is considered that by the Sleeping, dining 15.0 21.3 45.5 163.6 SSK
& recreation area
time they are strong enough to contain the mishaps of (sq.m)
these compartments, they will be water tight as well. Bathroom & 2.1 1.8 3.6 15.1 SSK
heads (sq.m)
XI. CREW, ACCOMODATION & GA Washbasins (no) 2 2 2 1.5 SSK
In order to estimate the required size of the Showers (no) 1 1 1 4.5 SSK
Heads (no) 1 1 2 5.1 SSK
complement, UCL Submarine Data Book [9], was Galley (sq.m) 1.4 2.5 6.1 20.0 SSK
initially referred. It describes the overall complement Pantry offices 2.1 0.0 0.0 4.3 SSN
depending upon the level of automation, amount of on- (sq.m)
board maintenance and the watch system appropriate to Laundry (sq.m) 0.5 0.9 2.3 7.5 SSN
the mission. Stowage volume 1.6 1.8 3.3 13.5 SSK
(cu.m)
However, to get to a real number existing Communal 0.8 1.1 1.8 7.5 SSK
commonwealth nations submarines displacement vs crew Stowage vol
data was utilized, which is as follows: (cu.m)
Total Volume 242.5
Table 14 - Commonwealth Nation Submarines - Displacement vs Crew
Country Class (Sub Type) Displacement Complement In order to keep the size & displacement to minimum
UK Astute (SSN) 7400 109 SSK standards were adopted and Japanese hotel pods
UK Trafalgar (SSN) 5300 130 type accommodation was adopted, the screenshot of the
UK Swiftsure (SSN) 4900 120 same can be seen below:
Australia Collins (SSK) 3400 58
Canada Victoria (SSK) 2500 47
Pakistan Khalid (SSK) 2000 41
Singapore Archer (SSK) 1700 28
Singapore Challenger (SSK) 1500 23
India Sindhughosh (SSK) 3000 53
India Shishumar (SSK) 1900 40
Complement vs displacement
140
120
SSK
100
Complement
80 SSN
60
y = 0.017x + 2.4665
40 Linear
20 (SSK)
0
0 2000 4000 6000 8000
Displacement (Te)
Figure 26 - Commonwealth Nation Submarines – Displacement vs

Crew
Inlight of above data and [9], following distribution of

complement is finalized for the concept design:
Table 15 – Complement
Total Crew Officers Senior Rates Junior Rates

50 7 13 30 Figure 27 - Japanese Pod Hotel [32]
The submarine can provide accommodation for 8
Moreover, following assumptions are adopted for officers and 46 Rates, with CO & duty officer having a
calculation of crew related requirements: separate accommodation in the command deck. Extra Ty
a) Endurance : 99 days accommodation for trainees or sea training staff can be
b) Provisions: 0,006 m3/man/day, [9] arranged in weapon spaces.
of operation.
When surfaced the stability is governed by the
metacentric height and the righting lever arm (GZ) and
hence restoring moment when forced into a heel angle.
The analysis was undertaken for the worst possible
case of all keel tanks and main ballast tanks empty. The
“Fig. 30” below shows the boat in the surfaced condition,
with the waterplane represented by the green surface, the
level trim in this state can be seen.
Figure 30 – Hybrid Submarine with level waterplane

Figure 28 - Cross Section of living spaces For accurate and meaningful results weight and center
The concept design has been separated into four of gravity are input as far as was reasonably practicable.
compartments as discussed earlier, due safety cases and This was achieved by placing individual items above 10
containment of reactor and cryogenic plant. Due Tonnes at specific location, and lesser than this were
flexibility offered by the RIM drive propulsor, there are grouped and distributed over their possible location.
new directions in the general arrangement to be explored. The results of the surfaced static stability analysis are
The lack of a main drive shaft means that the propulsion shown in “Fig. 31” below in the form of a GZ curve:
systems (reactor, AIP and battery) can be distributed
throughout the boat so as to allow for redundancy in the
design.
Figure 31 - GZ Curve
The graph indicates that the static surfaced stability
appears to be adequate, this was checked against
submarine surfaced stability of DefStan 08-102, [18].
Results can be seen in Table 17 below:
Table 17 - DEFSTAN 08-102 assessment results
Figure 29 – General Arrangement
Criteria Achieved Limit Actual value
The concept design is too small to be survivable in an GM Pass 0.3 m 0.527 m
GZ at 30° heel Pass 0.15 m 0.278 m
event of a torpedo strike, but the redundancy gained from Area 0° - 30° Pass 0.042 mrad 0.073 mrad
the zonal distribution of the propulsion systems Area 0° - 40° Pass 0.07 mrad 0.129 mrad
complemented by the all-electric zonal DC distribution Angle of max GZ Pass 50° 95.8°
system adds redundancy in terms of system failure.
It should be noted that the accommodation Submerged buoyancy is achieved through the centre of
compartment is located aft of the reactor compartment gravity being maintained beneath the centre of buoyancy
which is not the convention on current SSN designs. in all conditions, as there is no metacentre when fully
However this was required to satisfy the stability submerged and hence GM is zero.
conditions for the boat. Additionally with the reactor The submerged stability was assessed in the worst
compartment being an unmanned (but accessible if possible state of all keel tanks empty and main ballast
required) compartment, it is expected that there will be no tanks flooded, which is required to achieve neutral
exposure issues in the thoroughfare, being the forward buoyancy. The stability also assessed in
machinery compartment. PARAMARINE® using the submarine stability tool. The
results show that the distance BG is positive, with a value
XII. STABILITY & TRIM of 0.67m.
A. Stability B. Trim
Static stability analysis was undertaken using The trim polygon, “Fig. 32”, has been created using the
PARAMARINE ®to assess the stability characteristics of UCL Trim Tool, [19]. The bounding volume of the trim
the concept design in both the surfaced and dived modes polygon represents the weight and moment variation
possible for the boat to maintain neutral buoyancy and The design needs more attention in the areas of AIP
level trim. The inner bound contains a permeability regeneration, through utilization of cryo technology, and
margin and hence is smaller. The consumables polygon is storage of liquid hydrogen. Moreover, there is also need
entirely within the trim polygon, meaning that the boat to further investigate the un-manned operation of AIP
can achieve neutral buoyancy and level trim in all regeneration compartment.
operating conditions.
XIV. COSTING
Trim Polygon The cost estimate below, [9, 10], shows that the
UPC is approximately $100M under budget. It is
200.00
expected that this surplus can be used for de-risking of
above discussed safety cases related to this concept
design.
Weight (te)
100.00
Table 19 - Costing estimate
Group 1 Hull Structure $ 195 M

Group 2 Propulsion $ 460 M
Group 3 Electrical Services $ 18 M
0.00
-1600 -1400 -1200 -1000 -800 -600 -400 -200 0 200 400 600 800 1000
Group 4 Control & Communications $ 10 M
Group 5 Ship Services $ 134 M
Moment (te.m) Group 6 Outfit & Furnishing $ 92 M
Group 7 Armament & Pyro $ 71 M
Figure 32 – Trim Polygon
Group 9 Variable Items $ 18 M
A major contributing factor in the larger difference Total $ 998 M
between the consumable and trim polygons is the
relatively small quantity of consumables on board. One of XV. FURUTRE WORK
the major contribution is no storage of fossil or AIP fuel The submarine has been designed as a concept boat.
(due regeneration). This does however result in a small The envisaged in service date is approximately 2045. The
centre of gravity shift, which is included on the graph time margin is considered sufficient for the further
(shown as horizontal sections of the curve i.e. change in development, proving, marinizing/ sub-marinizing and
CofG but not weight). The trim and compensation system de-risking of incorporated technologies. Following area
would require further iterations, for future development. requires further exploration/ development/ growth:
Other consumables considered for trim analysis are: i. De-risking of nuclear reactor technology
i. Fresh/Black/Grey water ii. Development of improved UUV recovery systems
ii. Food stores iii. Deployment of UAV through PDT
iii. Other stores iv. Investigation into optimization of crew based on
iv. Lubrication oil submarine role
v. Non-compensated weapons
XVI. CONCLUSION
XIII. SAFETY CASE There has been an increasing focus on littoral
This concept design is a merger of an SSK and SSN, operations during last decade putting a limit on size of
whose technologies have been stretched to their limits by submarines. There is also a worldwide trend of Defence
utilization of a regenerating fuel cell with storage of budgets cuts. It is evident to the scholarly mind on both
liquid H2 and an HTGCR compact nuclear reactor. The strategic and tactical level that era of huge and costly
design is promising but it has some safety issues that military platforms of cold war era is over. Moreover,
need more attention than of an existing submarine. sensor technologies have developed at a very rapid pace
Important safety cases are discussed below: due improvements in processing, computational power
Table 18 - Safety cases of concept design
S No Case Description Outcome Containment Way ahead

1. Reactor fusion out of Explosion, reactor capability a. Primary -Reactor core a. Issue contained within the reactor, reactor
control lost. out of order, AIP & battery to be utilized. No
re-entry to the reactor compartment. Report
back to base.
b. Secondary - Strong
bulkheads on either side b. Submarine declared hazardous, all
and strong deck on top personnel safely escape to surface
2. AIP Cryo malfunction Cryo plant lost. AIP Strong bulkhead and strong AIP regeneration capability lost temporarily,
regeneration capacity limited deck on top compartment to be vented and equipment to be
to gaseous state only i.e. s/m checked thoroughly before re-utilization of AIP
quite mission limited to 1 day regeneration plant. Cryo plant lost. Report back
only. to base.
3. LOX tank leakage Explosion, AIP plant lost Strong bulkhead and strong AIP capability lost, compartment to be vented
deck on top before re-entry can be obtained. Report back to
base.
4. Liquid H2 tank leakage Explosion, possible damage Surrounding water AIP capability lost, possible damage to
to propulsion propulsion. Report back to base.
and output power necessitating quietness and stealth. This [4]. C. F. McDonald, “Closed-Cycle Gas Turbine
together with increasing popularity of modularity and Potential for Submarine Propulsion”. San Diego,
California: GA TechnologiesInc, 1998.
multi-role technologies harvest the need of multirole and [5]. C. T. Miller, “Maritime Applications of an Advanced
quite submerged platforms with long endurance and Gas-cooled Reactor Propulsion System,” SNAME,
capability of shallow operations. California, pp. 2-5, May 1977.
This study presents a concept design of a hybrid boat. [6]. J Chang, J. G. Wood and J. G Shreiber,
The main focus has been on exploring the design space “Development of Advanced Stirling Radioisotope
Generator for Space Explorations”, proceedings of
between current SSK and SSN boats and to incorporate Space Technology Forum (STAIF-2007), AIP
new technologies. The propulsion technologies have been Conference proceedings 880, pp. 313-324, 2007.
discussed in detail. [7]. G. J. Slaby, “Overview of Free-Piston Stirling
The concept of a Payload Delivery Tube (PDT) Engine Technology for Space Power Application”,
Solar Energy Conference, pp.1-5, 1987.
provides mission specific ammunition and UUVs. The
[8]. P. S. Spoor, “Acoustic-Stirling 55 Gal/Day Oxygen
propulsion system is fully electric comprising of a Liquefier for use on Aircraft Carriers”, International
compact nuclear power plant and an onboard Cryocooler Conference ,pg 681-685, 2009.
rechargeable AIP system. Moreover, the battery provides [9]. Submarine Data Book of Department of Naval
sufficient power for undertaking evasions when the Architecture, University College London, 2012.
nuclear plant is in sleep mode. Furthermore, the concept [10]. Submarine Design Procedure of Department of
Naval Architecture, University College London,
of all electric propulsion is considered to be the future of 2012.
all SSN [20]. The most promising feature of the concept [11]. [Online].http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/worl
design is its low cost and enhanced capabilities. The d/europe/type-212.htm
platform is intended to capture export market. The small [12]. Ship & Boat International, RINA, Edition Jan/Feb
size of this concept boat has the advantage of easy 2012, pg 26-27
docking, crew, support infrastructure etc. for countries [13]. Hailstorm SSGN Design of Department of Naval
Architecture, University College London, 2011.
used to operating small conventional submarines.
[14]. Ø. KrØvel, “Design of Large Permanent Magnetized
Single sheet characteristics of hybrid submarine are as Synchronous Electric Machines,”Phd dissertation,
follows: Norwegian University of Science and Technology,
Feb 2011.
Table 20 – Hybrid Submarine characteristics
[15]. [online].http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/syste
Single Sheet Characteristics ms/ship/dd-x-sea-jet.htm
Submerged displacement 3200 tonnes [16]. Structure design sheet of Department of Naval
Surfaced displacement 2904 tonnes Architecture, University College London.
Length pressure hull 40 metres [17]. Subsea Structures Sizing Spreadsheet, Department
Diameter pressure hull 9 metres of Naval Architecture, University College London.
Length overall 73 metres [18]. DEFSTAN 08-102, UK MoD, 2010.
L/D 8.11 [19]. Trim Tool of Department of Naval Architecture,
Reserve of buoyancy 10.1 % University College London.
Fixed ballast 140 tonnes [20]. I Khan, IFEP for Nuclear Submarines, Lambert
Deep dive depth 370 metres Academic Publishing, 2012.
Crew 50 [21]. [online]. http://www.freerepublic.com
Transit speed 16 knots [22]. C. Hollosi, Janes Unmanned Maritime Vehicles,
Patrol speed 4 knots Issue-5, IHS Global Limited, 2011.
Max speed 20 knots [23]. [online]. http://www.seasroutefinder.com
Mission endurance 99 days
Indiscretion Ratio 0.0
[24]. [online].http://ukarmedforcescommentary.blogspot.c
o.uk/2012/11/successor-submarine-and-alternatives.
Cost UPC £998M html
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS [25]. [online]. http://www.baesystems.com
[26]. L. A. Gish, “Design of an AUV Recharging
Sincerest thanks to faculty and staff of Naval System,” Master thesis, Department of Ocean
Architecture Department at University College London, Engineering, MIT, US, June 2005.
UK. Special thanks to Professor Paul W Wrobel for [27]. G. Weaver and R. Reidy, World Fuel Cells: An
Industry Profile with Market Prospects to 2010,
continuous guidance, help, support and guidance Elsevier Advanced Technology, 2002
throughout. Finally thanks to Mr Jawad Khan of PN [28]. [online] http://www.industry.siemens.com
Dockyard, Karachi, Pakistan for his valuable comments [29]. E D. SCHULZ, “ThyssenKrupp Techforum”, Issue
and suggestions to improve the quality of the paper. 1, pg 68-69, 2006.
[30]. R. W. Button, J. Kamp, T. B. Curtin and J. Dryden,
REFERENCES “A Survey of Missions for Unmanned Undersea
[1]. R. Burcher and L. Rydill, Concepts in Submarine Vehicles”, RAND Corporation, 2009.
Design. Cambridge Ocean Tecnology Series. [31]. [online] http://www.naval-technology.com
Cambridge Press, 1998. [32]. http://montaraventures.com
[2]. H. Carlberg, “Concept design of a commercial
submarine.” pp.41-47, May 2011.
[3]. E. Greenspan, “Solid-Core Heat-Pipe Nuclear
Battery Type Reactor”. Berkeley: Department of
Nuclear Engineering, Univeristy of California, pp.
15-52, Sep 2008.

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Figure 1 – Transit path for scenario 1 [23]

Figure 3 – Transit path for scenario 3 [23]

III. PAYLOAD Torpedo Length (m) Diameter (mm) Mass (Ton)

Figure 7 - Cassette stored countermeasures [31]

The concept of sprit speed will be discussed in section

UUV Category Length Diameter Weight Endurance/ Country of Utilization

V. ACHIEVING RAPID RE-ROLE

Figure 11 - Mast bay configuration Figure 12 – Group wise weight breakdown

Lead Acid Li-Ti Zebra Li-Poly Li-Ion

Figure 20 - Electrical system schematic

Motor Parameter Value Unit

An iterative process was adopted to choose the suitable

Frame Depth Width Web Flange Frame Area

Figure 26 - Commonwealth Nation Submarines – Displacement vs

Inlight of above data and [9], following distribution of

Total Crew Officers Senior Rates Junior Rates

Figure 30 – Hybrid Submarine with level waterplane

Group 1 Hull Structure $ 195 M

S No Case Description Outcome Containment Way ahead

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