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c 24 April an explosion in the battery (foment rocked the USS Bonefish
!°Xic
’^2), igniting a fire and spewing gases that killed three crewmen and
'"jured
“ecu.
23 others. When the explosion
Peris,
^ed, the submarine was cruising at
r°utine
,c°Pe depth while participating in
«C;
antisubmarine warfare exercises
ape Canaveral, Florida.
_Expiosi0
am°ng a submariner’s worst fears.
are „‘_'“J10ns in the battery compartment
ning submerged, yet it is also among the most dangerous pieces of equipment a submarine carries. The U. S. Navy has only four diesel-electric submarines remaining in its inventory, but even the Navy’s nuclear-powered submarines carry batteries.
These batteries discharge hydrogen and other toxic gases when they are being recharged. Ventilators installed in the battery compartment normally dispel the
The answer is reliability. Nuclear plants incorporate automatic devices that shut down the submarine’s reactor during unsafe operating conditions. Sometimes these shutdowns result from false alarms. But whether the alarm is false or real, when operating during wartime or covertly, a submarine needs a reliable source of backup power to maintain her critical life-support and operating systems until a shut-down reactor can be restarted.
Vmarine
exPlained naval author Norman
H
Of
conventional submarine tech-
way a diesel-electric goes down the tubes in peace-
the j?a.n atter the Bonefish accident. l%"Cldent illustrated a persistent di-
'Ogy. ------ ---------------
cner > C battery's the primary source Pel dje^ tor the electric motors that proSet submarines when they are run- gases, but if they accumulate for some reason a spark can set off a hydrogen explosion. Dangerous gases also can become a threat if the battery floods with seawater.
Nuclear-powered submarines have essentially unlimited power and are able to operate submerged, so why keep something as dangerous as a battery on board?
An SH-3 helicopter evacuates crewmen from the disabled Bonefish while the USS Carr (FFG-52) and her whaleboat provide assistance. The explosion in the diesel submarine earlier this year is a grim example of why the Navy should replace the batteries used in all its submarines with a safer technology.
113
nRs/ October 1988
The diesel engine is one such backup source, and almost all nuclear-powered submarines carry it. However, for the diesel engine to operate, the submarine must get to the surface. While emergency deballasting systems are available to enable the submarine to do that, surfacing is inadvisable when an enemy ship waits overhead. That is when the submariner turns to the tried-and-true battery.
But an equally tried-and-true technology is available to replace the backup battery: the fuel cell. It fits all the important requirements: It can be operated while submerged, produces no toxic byproducts such as gasoline or diesel exhaust, and is relatively compact and quiet.
A fuel cell operates by converting chemical energy to electrical energy. For example, a fuel cell can convert oxygen and hydrogen to water in the presence of a catalyst to produce electricity. Oxygen and hydrogen are readily available on modem nuclear-powered submarines; in fact, they are by-products of submarine operations. The unlimited power of the nuclear reactor permits submerged submarines to generate their own oxygen by electrolytically converting water into hydrogen and oxygen. Some of this oxygen is stored in high-pressure bottles in case the oxygen generators or their power supplies become disabled. This stored oxygen would provide the oxidant for a submarine’s fuel cells.
Hydrogen is another by-product of the oxygen generator. Presently this hydrogen is pumped overboard, but it would be no more difficult to store hydrogen than oxygen. As to safety, high-pressure hydrogen, properly stored, is probably less dangerous than high-pressure oxygen.
An additional advantage of using a fuel cell is that it would eliminate the need for pumping waste hydrogen overboard. Any discharge from a submarine—whether heat from the reactor, noise from the crew or equipment, or expelled hydrogen—increases the possibility of enemy detection.
The fuel cell meets other criteria for installation in submarines. Its weight is less than that of a battery for equivalent voltage and current, and the only byproduct of fuel cell operation is water—a valuable commodity on board a submarine. Any fuel cell water not used for drinking, washing, and other needs could be pumped overboard. It would certainly be among the submarine’s more innocuous discharges.
Having essentially no moving parts, a fuel cell would be extremely reliable.
There would be almost no chance o breakdown short of gross physical da® age to the cell.
Naturally, it would be necessary ^ conduct large-scale prototype testing ensure that fuel cells could satisfy a sU marine’s electrical requirements dun s an emergency. But the biggest stumb'111; block to using fuel cells as backup P°''^ in nuclear-powered submarines would tradition. Submarines have always batteries, and some salty old submarin would be sure to say, “If it ain’t bro ’ don’t fix it.” But the Bonefish trage has shown that the submarine battery broken. It sinks ships and kills sau°
The submarine fuel cell may not n
the high-tech polish of supercondud0 ’
but it is a new use of a proven techn ogy. The Apollo 6 spacecraft used Bacon cells to supply electricity f°r ^ craft and water for the crew, and tha certainly on the cutting edge. If i* a 0 [£ our submarines less weight and no space and is safer for our sailors to °Pe ate, the fuel cell deserves a try.
Commander Blish is a civilian patent attorney cializing in electrical technologies. He serves j serve duty as the executive officer of ReadinesS . a Delta. A 1969 graduate of the Naval Aeaderny nuclear submariner, he served on board the u exander Hamilton (SSBN-617), Gold crew-
Entry Rules: .
1. Each photograph must pertain to a naval or maritime subject. (The photo is not limited to the calendar year oi contest.)
2. Limit: 5 entries per person.
3. Entries must be either black and white prints, color pn" - or color transparencies.
4. Minimum print size is 5” x 7." ,
5. Minimum transparency size is 35mm. (No glass moun transparencies, please.)
6. Full captions and the photographer's name and address must be printed or typed on a separate sheet of paper a attached to the back of each print, or printed on the transparency mount. (No staples, please.)
7. Entries must arrive at the U.S. Naval Institute no later
December 31, 1988. e(j
Photographs not awarded prizes may possibly be puro ^ by the U.S. Naval Institute. Those photographs not puree will be returned to the owner if accompanied by a stamp self-addressed envelope.
Sponsored by the U.S. Naval Institute and the Eastman Kodak ComP^
27th ANNUAL NAVAL & MARITIME PHOTO CONTEST
The US Naval Institute and the Government Systems Division, Eastman Kodak Company'are proud to co-sponsor the 27th Annual Naval & Maritime Photo
COwfnning photos will be published in a 1989 issue of Proceedings. Cash prizes will be awarded as follows:
1st Prize 2nd Prize 3rd Prize
Honorable Mention (15)
$500 $350 $250
$100 each
Mail entries to: ^ & MARmME pHaro C0NTEST
U.S. Naval Institute • Annapolis, MD 21402 • (301) 268-6110
DEADLINE: 31 DECEMBER 1988
114
Proceedings /
, 19** October