EP2628675B1 - Method for filling a ballast tank of a submarine and a filling device for a submarine - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a method for blowing a submersible of a submarine, in which stored in the submarine compressed gas is passed into the dipping cell. In addition, the invention relates to a blowing device for a submarine with at least one compressed gas storage for filling at least one dipping cell with pressurized gas.

Submarines have immersion tanks that are filled with water during submarine diving. For emergency emergence submarines are equipped with blowing devices, by means of which preferably located in a bow-side of the submarine immersion cell water is displaced with a gas introduced into the dipping cell in the environment of the submarine. This increases the buoyancy of the submarine, which now, without having to take any further measures, rises to the water surface.

The gas required for the blowing out of the dipping cells is either known in known blowing devices, such as in DE 10 2004 048 311 B4 described carried on board the submarine in the form of compressed air or, as such. B. off DE 33 20 159 A1 . DE 197 04 587 A1 . DE 43 38 340 A1 and EP 1 415 906 A1 known, generated on board the submarine by gas generators by chemical means.

Inflation devices using stored gas compressed to blow out the immersion tanks in the submarine have the advantage that they and their operation are comparatively inexpensive. This is especially true when air is used as compressed gas, since the operational readiness of such Anblasvorrichtungen after an emergency climb of a submarine can be restored only by the fact that the compressed gas storage is replenished by a located on board the submarine compressor submerged in submarine. The resulting costs are negligible, so that the crew of a submarine equipped with such an inflator is able to frequently train the emergency ascent to the water surface.

However, it has been shown that the immersion cells can be completely blown out using only these submersion depths of up to about 150 m under specification of a meaningful dimensioning of the compressed gas storage required for storing the compressed gas. This is due to the fact that the prevailing in the dipping cell back pressure and thus to be done by the pressure gas volume change work with increasing depth, it also proves to be disadvantageous that the pressurized gas due to the performed volume change work heat is removed, causing the Reduced water displacement volume of the compressed gas in the dipping cell.

Anblasvorrichtungen, in which the compressed gas is provided for blowing out the dipping of a gas generator available to allow in an emergency ascent of the submarine, even from greater depths than 150 m complete blowing out of the immersion cells. In these blowing devices, it proves to be disadvantageous that gas generators are very expensive and after use not or only after a major overhaul which, as the overhaul is associated with a docking and long downtime of the submarine, causes further significant costs. The use of the gas generators with subsequent overhaul also leads to the fact that the crew of a submarine equipped with such an inflator usually can not perform emergency ascents of the submarine for training purposes. Furthermore, the high working temperatures during emergency blowing with gas generators endanger color-sensitive and heat-sensitive parts in the immersion cell. In this respect, blowing devices which use compressed gas stored to blow out the immersion cells would actually be preferable, even if they could also be used in comparable immersion depths as the blowing devices using the gas generators.

Out US 3,626,880 It is known to warm up the compressed air used for emergency spraying of the submerged immersion tanks by means of a gas generator prior to introduction into the immersion cells. The heat exchange device and the gas generator used for this purpose are provided in a space between the pressure body of the submarine and an outer side of the pressure body arranged outer skin in a line connection of a compressed air tank with the immersion cells.

Against this background, the present invention seeks to provide a method for blowing a submersible in a submarine and a Anblasvorrichtung this available that allow using a stored compressed gas emergency recovery of the submarine from greater depths than usual.

The sub-task of the invention relating to the method is achieved by a method of the type mentioned above for blowing on a submersible of a submarine, wherein according to the invention the pressurized gas, which is preferably compressed air, is heated in the dipping cell becomes. This means that the pressurized gas is heated where the heat has previously been removed from it. Here, a process control can be provided, in which the compressed gas is already being heated while it is being introduced into the immersion cell. Alternatively, a process control may be provided, in which the heating of the compressed gas takes place after the complete introduction of the compressed gas into the dipping cell.

This measure is based on the consideration, at least to compensate for the above-described reduction of the water displacement volume of the compressed gas in the dipping cell, that the pressurized gas, the heat extracted due to the volume change work heat is supplied again. Particularly advantageously, even more heat can be supplied to the compressed gas in order to further increase the volume of water displaced by the compressed gas in the immersion cell. In this way, the method according to the invention using a stored compressed gas for blowing out a dipping cell allows the emergency ascent of submarines from greater depths than was possible in previously known methods of this type.

In principle, the pressurized gas conducted into the immersion cell in the event of an emergency climb of a submarine can be heated independently of the depth from which the emergency ascent should take place. Preferably, however, the method according to the invention is controlled in such a way that the pressurized gas is heated during an emergency climb of the submarine only at those depths in which the pressurized gas introduced into the immersion cell alone is no longer capable of completely discharging the water contained in the immersion cell displace. Otherwise, heating of the compressed gas may also be dispensed with.

Preferably, the compressed gas is heated by means of a chemical reaction and / or decomposition of an energy carrier resulting heat. For example, in the context of the method according to the invention Energy carriers are burned or catalytically decomposed, wherein the resulting heat during combustion or catalytic decomposition is supplied to the compressed gas. As an energy carrier, for example, diesel fuel can be used, which is usually present in a conventional, ie not atomically operated submarine per se. In addition, of course, all other energy sources suitable for heat generation, preferably solid or liquid can be used.

Advantageously, the chemical reaction or decomposition processes provided for heating the compressed gas are those processes in which the energy carrier is decomposed into gaseous constituents which preferably behave inertly in the temperature range to be expected. The gas released during the chemical reaction and / or decomposition of the energy carrier is preferably conducted into the immersion cell, so that it contributes to water displacement in addition to the compressed gas introduced into the immersion cell.

The partial task of the invention relating to the blowing device is achieved by a blowing device with at least one compressed gas reservoir for filling at least one immersion cell with pressurized gas, the blowing device having a heat source for heating the pressurized gas. The compressed gas storage, which can be arranged inside and outside the pressure hull of a submarine, is conductively connected to the immersion cell arranged outside the pressure hull. Here, in the line connection between the compressed gas storage and the immersion a preferably arranged within the pressure body controllable shut-off valve is provided which prevents dipping a submarine intrusion of the water in the immersion cell and an unwanted introduction of the compressed gas into the dipping cell.

The heat source is arranged in the immersion cell. Since the dipping cell is flooded during normal dive travel of a submarine and exposed to the diving pressure, the heat source is expediently formed pressure and seawater resistant.

In principle, all suitable heat exchangers or heat generators can be used as the heat source for the blowing device according to the invention, provided that they can provide the thermal energy required for heating the compressed gas. Preferably, however, it is provided that a gas generator, ie a device in which solid and / or liquid energy carriers are gasified, forms the heat source. The use of a gas generator as a heat source is advantageous in that gas generators can not only provide the thermal energy needed to heat the compressed gas due to their exothermic conversion processes, but at the same time produce a product gas which can also be used to blow out the dipping cell.

However, the main purpose of the gas generator is the heat generation, so that it can be significantly smaller in terms of its efficiency in terms of gas production and thus cheaper than those gas generators that provide in the previously known Anblasvorrichtungen only the compressed gas for blowing out the immersion cells. Despite this lower efficiency, the gas generator used in the invention, in the case that no compressed gas can be provided for blowing out the dipping cell of the compressed gas storage, yet able to generate only the gas required for blowing out the dipping cell, in which case, however, a prolonged Blow-out time must be accepted.

In particular, if combustion processes take place in the gas generator, an oxidizing agent must be supplied to the energy carrier to be gasified in the gas generator, as long as the energy carrier itself does not contain this oxidizing agent. As the oxidizing agent, it is possible to use air which is preferably used as compressed gas in the method according to the invention for blowing a dipping cell. Conveniently, this stored in the compressed gas container air can be supplied to the gas generator as the oxidant. For this purpose, the compressed gas storage device of the blowing device according to the invention can advantageously be line-connected to the gas generator. In this case, with an arrangement of the gas generator within the immersion cell, the interior of the immersion cell can also form part of the line connection of compressed gas storage and gas generator.

Preferably, the compressed gas reservoir and the gas generator are signal-connected to a controller. Here, a signal connection of the compressed gas storage with the controller is also to be understood as meaning a signal connection between the controller and a controllable valve connected downstream of the compressed gas store. With the control, a compressed gas outlet of the compressed gas storage or a valve forming the compressed gas outlet can be controlled to open and close in the simplest case. Possibly. can be adjusted and / or changed with the control of the volume flow of the effluent gas from the compressed gas storage. Furthermore, with the control of the gas generator can be switched on and off and or its operating behavior can be changed.

According to a further advantageous embodiment, the control for individual or common control of compressed gas storage and gas generator is formed. The joint control of the Druckgasspeichers and the gas generator is provided here for the cases in which the compressed gas storage and the gas generator are operated together at the same time, while the controller when only the compressed gas storage or only the gas generator to be operated, or if these components are to be operated in series, each only controls the compressed gas storage or the gas generator.

In a further advantageous development of the blowing device according to the invention, this means comprises interrupting the blowing process. These means may be part of the control, with which the compressed gas storage and the gas generator are signal-connected and / or it may be provided separate means by which the Anblasvorgang example, manually interrupted or terminated.

The invention is explained in more detail with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawing.

In the drawing, a bow-sided area of a submarine 2 is shown in a schematically greatly simplified schematic diagram. In the outer vessel of the submarine 2 between a bow-side wall 4 of a pressure hull 6 of the submarine 2 and an outer wall 8 spaced from the wall 4, a dipping cell 10 is arranged.

The dipping cell 10 is completely flooded with dive of the submarine 2 in the usual way with water. In an emergency ascent of the submarine 2, the water in the dipping cell 10 must be displaced from this, so as to increase the buoyancy of the submarine 2. For this purpose, the submarine 2 has a blowing device, whose main components are a compressed gas reservoir 12 and a gas generator 14.

In the drawing, the compressed gas reservoir 12 is shown outside the submarine 2, but it can be arranged both outside and inside the pressure hull 6 of the submarine 2. In the compressed gas storage 12, air is stored as a compressed gas at a pressure of about 250 bar. In the event of an emergency climb of submerged submarine 2, the compressed air contained in the compressed gas reservoir 12 is fed into the immersion cell 10 for displacement of the water located there, which is illustrated in the drawing with reference to the arrow A shown there.

To initiate the compressed air stored in the compressed gas storage 12 in the immersion cell 10, a line 16 is connected to the pressure gas accumulator 12 on the output side, which leads through the wall 4 of the pressure body 6 in the immersion cell 10 opens. In a region adjacent to the wall 4, an adjustable shut-off valve 18 is arranged in the line 16, with which the line 16 can be closed or opened as required.

The gas generator 14 is arranged inside the immersion cell 10. The main task of the gas generator 14 is to heat the introduced from the compressed gas storage 12 in the dipping cell 10 compressed air, which is illustrated in the drawing with an arrow-shaped heat flow 20. The gas generator 14 thus forms a heat source. In addition, the gas generator 14 discharges the gas generated by it into the immersion cell 10, which thus also contributes to displacing water present in the immersion cell 10 from it.

• Befindet sich das Unterseeboot 2 im getauchten Zustand in einer Notsituation, die einen Notaufstieg des Unterseeboots 2 erforderlich macht, wird das die Leitung 16 zuvor verschließende Absperrventil 18 von einer Steuerung 22, die über eine Leitung 24 mit dem Absperrventil 18 signalverbunden ist, geöffnet. In Abhängigkeit von der Tauchtiefe des Unterseeboots 2 wird in der Steuerung 22 bestimmt, ob auch der Gasgenerator 14 aktiviert wird oder nicht.

The operation of the illustrated blowing device is as follows:

• If the submarine 2 is in an immersed state in an emergency situation which requires an emergency ascent of the submarine 2, the shut-off valve 18 which previously closed the line 16 is opened by a controller 22, which is signal-connected to the shut-off valve 18 via a line 24. Depending on the diving depth of the submarine 2, it is determined in the controller 22 whether the gas generator 14 is also activated or not.

Up to a maximum depth of preferably 150 m, the gas generator 14 is not activated by the controller 22, since up to this depth, the compressed air flowing from the compressed gas reservoir 12 into the dipping cell 10 without additional measures in a position that is located in the dipping cell 10 To displace water in a sufficiently short period of time.

If the submarine 2 is at a depth below 150 m, this is no longer the case, ie, in addition to the air introduced into the dipping cell 10 there is also water in the dipping cell 10. The controller 22, which via a line 26 with the Gas generator 14 is signal-connected, then activates the gas generator 14. This now generates a thermal energy from an energy source, a gas or gas mixture flowing from the gas generator 14 into the immersion cell 10. The thermal energy emitted by the gas generator 14 now heats the compressed air located in the immersion cell 10, which expands due to the heating. This expansion of the compressed air as well as the gas additionally generated by the gas generator 14 cause the water still in the immersion cell 10 to be displaced out of the immersion cell 10 in dipping depths which are clearly below 150 m. This increases the buoyancy of the submarine 2, which thus rises to the water surface.

As described, the controller 22 can automatically initiate all measures required to blow out the dipping cell 10. In addition, however, the blowing device also has means with which the compressed air introduction into the immersion cell 10 as well as the activation of the gas generator 14 can also be performed individually manually. In the drawing but has been omitted for clarity, the presentation of these funds.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

2

- Submarine

4

- wall

6

- Pressure body

8th

- outer skin

10

- immersion cell

12

- compressed gas storage

14

- Gas generator

16

- Management

18

- shut-off valve

20

- Heat flow

22

- Control

24

- Management

26

- Management

A

- arrow

Claims (9)

1. A method for blowing a ballast tank (10) of a submarine (2), with which a pressurised gas stored in the submarine (2) is led into the ballast tank (10), characterised in that the pressurised gas is heated in the ballast tank.
2. A method according to claim 1, characterised in that the pressurised gas is heated by way of heat arising with a chemical reaction and/or decomposition of an energy source.
3. A method according to claim 2, characterised in that a gas which is released with the chemical reaction and/or decomposition of the energy source is led into the ballast tank (10).
4. A blowing device for a submarine (2), with at least one pressurised gas storage means (12) for filling at least one ballast tank (10) with pressurised gas, characterised in that the blowing device comprises a heat source which is arranged in the ballast tank (10) and is for heating the pressurised gas.
5. A blowing device according to claim 4, characterised in that a gas generator (14) forms the heat source.
6. A blowing device according to claim 5, characterised in that the pressurised gas storage means (12) is conductively connected to the gas generator (14).
7. A blowing device according to one of the claims 5 or 6, characterised in that the pressurised gas storage means (12) and the gas generator (14) are signal-connected to a control (22).
8. A blowing device according to claim 7, characterised in that the control (22) is designed for the individual or common activation of the pressurised gas storage means (12) and gas generator (14).
9. A blowing device according to one of the claims 7 or 8, characterised in that it comprises means for interrupting the blowing procedure.

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