US3413947A

US3413947A - Submarine craft

Info

Publication number: US3413947A
Application number: US633732A
Authority: US
Inventors: Picard Jacques
Original assignee: IFP Energies Nouvelles IFPEN
Current assignee: IFP Energies Nouvelles IFPEN
Priority date: 1966-04-29
Filing date: 1967-04-26
Publication date: 1968-12-03
Anticipated expiration: 1985-12-03
Also published as: GB1187835A; DE1506725A1; FR1502652A; ES339961A1; NL6705531A; BE697452A

Description

Dec. 3, 1968 J. PICARD 3,413,947

SUBMARINE CRAFT Filed April 26, 1967 a Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 3, 1968 J PlcARD 3,413,947

SUBMARINE CRAFT Filed April 26,. 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 3, 1968 J. PICARD 3,413,947

SUBMARINE CRAFT Filed April 26, 1967 v 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent 20 Claims. (01. 114-16) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A submarine craft comprising a hull having at least one independent water-tight element adapted to withstand the external ambient pressure, at least one of said elements having the general shape of a torus which may be formed by a plurality of sections of any shape such as, for example, rings of circular section, at least some of said rings being similar to each other, the surface of each ring having, in its section perpendicular to the generator circle of the torus located in the central plane of the ring, a curvature having its concavity directed towards the center of said circle and the radius of which is less than that of the equatorial circle of the torus, the surfaces of the rings being those of a torus, a cylinder or a sphere.

The present invention is concerned with a submarine craft, comprising at least one water-tight hull capable of resisting a high external pressure, the said water-tight hull having the general shape of a torus.

A device according to the invention has a large number of advantages: it is very easy to handle; its accommodation is excellent; it can very easily be equipped in various ways; it provides maximum safety for the navigating staff.

According to one form of construction, the hull having the general shape of a torus can be manufactured in sections, which overcome difficulties of manufacture and consequently causes the cost price to be considerably reduced.

The toric shape further enables the water-tight bull to be formed of rings having the same general shape, some of these rings having openings fitted with portholes, doors for communication with the ambient medium, water-tight passages for electric wires, etc. This method of construction of the hull makes it possible to manufacture in a single block only parts which are considerably shorter than the submarine craft and which thus do not necessitate very powerful equipment. In addition, these parts, provided with their openings, reinforcements, etc., can be tested to a high external pressure by means of a caisson of relatively small size which is therefore easy to construct.

It is known to employ spheres or cylinders with circular sections in order to produce chambers capable of withstanding considerable external pressures. However, these constructions have not proved satisfactory for submarine craft intended to be navigated while remaining at considerable depths for fairly long periods, and to carry out under these conditions missions which necessitate the transport and the use of substantial equipment.

In accordance with the present invention, the properties of strength of a spherical chamber in its resistance to external pressures are utilized so as to obtain a submarine craft which complies with the above-mentioned conditions.

In brief, the present invention relates to a submarine craft comprising at least one hull having the general shape of a torus. The said torus may be constituted by a certain number of portions. joined to each other in a fluid-tight manner with respect to the external pressure.

Other advantages and characteristic features will be brought out in the accompanying drawings and the description relating thereto, showing diagrammatically and by way of non-limitative examples, several forms of embodiment of the invention.

In the drawing FIGS. 1 and 2 are very diagrammatic views of a first water-tight hull, shown respectively in axial cross-section and in plan.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an alternative form of the device shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 shows in axial cross-section a water-tight hull in the form of a torus, the axis of which intersects the generator circle.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show an example of construction of a submarine craft with water-tight hulls.

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate respectively in vertical and horizontal cross-sections, a further example of construction of a device.

The water-tight hull shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has the shape of an annular torus 10 having an axis 1212. It may be made up of eight

segments

14, 16, .18, 20, 22, 24, 26 and 28 for example, com-prised between planes such as 30 and 32, passing through the axis 1212. and forming dihedral angles such as 34, equal to one-eighth of a revolution, or 45. The joining together of adjacent segments is effected along their limiting planes such as 30, 32, for example, by means of bolted reinforcements and fluid-tight packings. Any other method of assembly may however be utilized, without thereby departing from the scope of the invention.

The mean utiliz-able length L being definitely greater than the overall length of the device, its maneuverability has proved excellent as compared with known devices.

The hull shown in FIG. 3 differs from that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 in that the segments such as 38, 40 which form it, each has the shape of a portion of a cylinder and not a portion of a torus. These cylinder portions can be obtained by simply winding a sheet of metal, and are coupled together by elliptical flanges.

The water-tight hull shown in axial cross-section in FIG. 4 has the form of a torus the axis of which intersects the generator circle.

The innermost part of the geometric torus, shown in broken lines, no longer exists and in. order to compensate for its resistance to external pressure, a central pillar 46 is provided.

Hulls of generally toric shapes, such as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4, may constitute per se the hulls of a submarine craft.

For example, it is possible to house propulsion equipment in one or two

compartments

14, 16 or alternatively in opposite compartments 14, 22 (see FIG. 2), the other compartments being reserved for occupation, scientific instruments, armament equipment, etc. In addition, one of the compartments may be utilized as a pressurized airlock so as to enable divers to install themselves there before and between missions. A lock-chamber of this kind will be described in greater detail in the description which follows.

In order that a hull such as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 may serve as a submarine craft, it would only be necessary to enclose it wholly or partly in a protective casing, not shown in the drawings, which may be of strong transparent material. This external protection serves to prevent direct shocks on the hull which may cause dents or bosses and may thus considerably reduce its local resistance to the external pressure, it being understood that the protective casing is designed so as to be rigid or flexible, and that water at the same pressure is continuously present inside and outside the said casing.

The device may furthermore be provided with a base- 19 plate or other device mounted on one or more shockabsorber members so as to permit it to land without shocks on the bottom of the sea.

A retractable device of the snorkel type (as will be described later), projectors, etc., may also be provided.

FIGS. and 6 show by way of example and in greater detail, a further form of construction of the submarine craft according to the invention.

In this case, the water-tight hull is made-up of rings numbered from 48 to 65, each having the shape of a portion of a sphere. With the exception of those having the reference numbers 48 and :9, these rings are limited by planes passing through the axis of the torus; they ter-' minate along these planes in flanges which permit them to be bolted together through the intermediary of a watertight packing. Suitable reinforcements are provided at the level of the flanges in order to ensure perfect local and general strength of the device.

By virtue of the shape as parts of spheres, the thickness necessary for the rings is only half that which would be necessary if they were sections of a cylinder of the same diameter. In spite of the necessity for coupling flanges and their reinforcements, the gain in weight as compared with a hull of truly toric shape is very substantial.

The rings 48 and 49 each form a spherical portion more complete than the others so as to be separated from the remainder of the toric hull by bulkheads capable of withstanding the pressure. Their internal space can be put under pressure until it reaches the pressure of the external water in which it is contemplated that divers will have to work. Inside the remainder of the fluid-tight hull, atmospheric pressure is generally maintained.

The assembly of the rings 48 and 49 thus constitutes a pressurized lock-chamber. This lock-chamber is provided for the occupation of divers or oceanauts, which live there for long periods in an atmosphere under pressure containing, for example, oxygen and helium. If this pressure is sufficiently close to that of the surrounding external water, the divers are able, without any troublesome precautions, to come and go between the water and the lock-chamber through a water-tight panel 68. it is also possible to maintain the internal space of the rings at an over-pressure, for example in order to etlect the decompression of the oceanauts when the craft is on the surface.

This lock-chamber also comprises: a further door 70 furnishing access to the remainder of the water-tight hull; a small water-tight lock-chamber 72 for the exchange of objects, food, etc.; a compressor 74 for the supply of breathable gas to the divers operating outside the craft, and any other equipment considered necessary for the operation to be undertaken.

The spherical caps at the extremities of the lock-chamber may, for example, be slightly less thick than the rings constituting the remainder of the hull, because they work under the internal pressure, contrary to the rest of the habitable portion, which is subjected to an external pressure.

As has also been mentioned above, a water-tight lockchamber can be incorporated in a toric hull such as that of FIGS. 1 to 4.

The remainder of the water-tight hull may, for example, be arranged in the following manner, starting from the lock-chamber and turning in a clockwise direction:

A compartment 73 for electrical and electronic instruments;

A cabin 75 with six bunks and a toilet, also containing a reserve 77 of lithium hydroxide for the chemical purification of the air;

Heat-insulated chambers 76, '78, containing respective ly a cryogenerator which serves to eliminate the impurities in the atmosphere by condensation and freezing, and a refrigerator for the preservation of deep-frozen food; a

kitchen is provided between these chambers and the part of the hull close to the axis;

A living-room with emergency lock-chamber 80 providing a rapid outlet;

An observation post 75 a piloting station 81 and a second observation post 83, with their

respective portholes

82, 84 and 86.

The hull can obviously be arranged in a different manner, as appropriate to the mission to be carried out.

The submarine craft may be constituted for example by this hull only. In this case, one or more rings 50, 51, may form the motor compartment intended to supply the electric motors which drive the propellers 94, 96 and 98 (see FIG. 6). A craft of this kind is also provided with a protective casing and a landing device.

Tests have shown however that the maneuverability of the craft is only very slightly reduced by extending it so as to give it a general shape such as that shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

The craft shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is also provided with an auxiliary watertight hull 88. This is formed of portions of spheres, but it could also be cylindro-spherical.

inside the hull 83 there are also provided an electric generating set 9t) intended to operate at atmospheric pressure, and an air compressor 91. A tube 92 of the socalled snorkel type provides the supply of air to the set and the evacuation of the combustion gases when the submarine is on the surface or submerged at small depths. The snorkel 92 is shown folded back on the submarine, which is the position it occupies during diving.

The submarine craft comprises elements which can resist the surrounding pressure during submersion, and which are generally housed inside the protection casing described above and/or inside fairings or casings which are not adapted to resist the pressure. These elements are essentially:

Horizontal-shaft propellers for propulsion and maneuvering at reduced speed, such as 94 and 96, with electric motors;

Vertical-shaft propellers such as 98 with electric motor, for moving the submarine vertically;

Electric accumulators in the space 100 surrounded by the toric hull;

Cylinders of compressed gas, such as 102; these cylinders are re-charged on the surface by the compressor 91 and serve, during diving, for the operation of the ballast tanks and the external working tools of the oceanauts;

An electric generating buoy 104 which can be released from the submarine while being coupled thereto by a cable wound on a winch 106; this buoy is intended to operate on the surface when the submarine is resting on the sea bottom, as the snorkel cannot then be employed. The cable is capable of withstanding the tensile pull due to the buoy; it comprises in particular a pipe for fuel-oil and wires to bring the energy generated to the submarine, and to control the operation of the electric generating set of the buoy;

Tanks, ballasts, ballast-tanks, remote-controlled tools, projectors, cameras, life-boats, equipment for carryingout programs of work, together with a mercury balancing device with cylinders 108, 110, etc.

The submarine is also equipped with a landing device preferably comprising one or a number of damping members in order to ensure that it can land gently on the sea bottom.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show very diagrammatically, by way of example, a form of construction of the submarine craft according to the invention, which is particularly advantageous.

The whole of the toric hull 112 is intended to be kept internally at atmospheric pressure. The pressurized lockchamber 114 has a water-tight hull consisting of a series of portions of spheres, the centers of which are in a straight line. Communication for the personnel with the toric hull is efiected by a transfer lock-chamber 116 with a small lock 118 for food, for example. The hull 120 for the electric generating set is similar to that shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 but is arranged transversely to the axial plane of the submarine.

This submarine craft comprises an evacuation sphere 122 communicating with the hull 112 by a lock-chamber in two

parts

124, 126, assembled together along a diametral plane by bolted flanges.

In the event of accident, the personnel shut themselves inside the sphere 122 after having unbolted the flanges in question, contact with the hull being maintained by the pressure of the surrounding water. After having closed the doors of the lock-

chamber

124, 126, the surrounding water is permitted to enter this chamber, thus removing the force which applies the two parts against each other. The sphere then rises to the surface.

The submarine craft described may be modified without departing from the scope of the present invention. In particular, it is possible to build a craft comprising a number of toric hulls connected to each other by a spherical lock-chamber for example, or again by the direct attachment of one section of a toric hull to that of the other.

What I claim is:

1. A submarine craft comprising a hull including at least one independent water-tight element having an outer external surface the entirety of which is exposed to the pressure of the ambient medium, said external surface of at least one of said elements having the shape of an annular torus for withstanding the external ambient pressure.

2. A submarine craft comprising a hull including at least one independent water-tight element having an outer external surface the entirety of which is exposed to the pressure of the ambient medium, said external surface of at least one of said elements having the shape of an annular torus for withstanding the external ambient pressure, said annular torus element being constituted by a plurality of rings of circular sections, at least some of said rings being similar to each other, the surface of each ring having, in a section perpendicular to the generator circle of the torus located in the central plane of the ring, a curvature having its concavity directed toward the center of said circle and the radius of which is less than that of the equatorial circle of the torus.

3. A submarine craft as specified in claim 1 wherein said element in the shape of a torus is constituted of a plurality of sections and frames and flanges for joining said sections.

4. A submarine craft as specified in claim 3 wherein a first element has the general shape of a torus, the pressure within said element being approximately the normal atmosphere pressure, and at least one other element is provided and is independent of said first element and is pressurized at the approximate pressure of the ambient medium, said second element being constituted by a plurality of spherical portions joined together in a water-tight manner, and means providing communication between said first element and said second element.

5. A submarine craft comprising a hull including one independent water-tight element for withstanding the external ambient pressure on its entire external surface, said element having the general shape of a torus constituted by sections and frames and reinforced flanges for securing said sections together to ensure water-tight and pressure withstanding junctions between said sections; a first part of said element being pressurized at approximately the ambient water pressure, a second part of said element being non-pressurized and having normally an internal pressure approximating normal atmospheric pressure and comprising living and working compartments for the crew, said first part being in direct communication with the ambient water and in indirect communication with said second part and with the engine compartment, means for actively connecting said engine compartment to propulsion means mounted externally of said element, a retractable snorkel for said engine compartment, and an escapelock chamber joined to said water-tight element and communicating with an independent spherical escape element, a shock resistant and transparent protective casing for the hull and means to permit landing of the craft on the seabottom.

6. A submarine craft comprising a hull including one independent water-tight element for withstanding the external ambient pressure on its entire external surface, said element having the general shape of a torus constituted by sections, and frames and reinforced flanges for securing said sections together to ensure water-tight and pressure withstanding junctions between said sections, a first part of said element housing the living and working compartments of the crew and being maintained at a normal interior pressure approximately that of normal atmosphere pressure, and a second part pressurized at approximately the pressure of the ambient water, said second part being in direct communication with the ambient water and in indirect communication with said first part of said element, and a second independent element constituted by spherical portions assembled in a water-tight and pressure resisting manner to house an engine, said second element being provided with a retractable snorkel, and means for actively connecting said engine compartment with propulsion means mounted on exterior supports, and an escape chamber joined to said first torus shaped element on the one hand and to an independent spherical escape element on the other hand, a shock resistant and trans parent casing for the hull, and means for permitting the landing of the craft on the bottom of the sea.

7. A submarine craft as specified in claim 1, in which the element having the general shape of a torus is formed by a plurality of sections.

8. A submarine craft as specified in claim 1, in which the element having the general shape of a torus is formed by a plurality of rings of circular section, atleast some of said rings being similar to each other.

9. A submarine craft as specified in claim 2, in which the surfaces of said rings are portions of the surface of a torus.

10. A submarine craft as specified in claim 2, in which the surfaces of said rings are portions of the surface of a cylinder.

11. A submarine craft as specified in claim 2, in which the surfaces of said rings are portions of the surface of a sphere.

12. A submarine craft as specified in claim 1, in which the axis of the element having the general shape of a torus intersects the generating surface.

13. A submarine craft as specified in claim 3 wherein the element having the general shape of a torus comprises a non-pressurized compartment, the pressure within said compartment normally being approximately the normal atmosphere pressure, and a pressurized compartment at at pressure approximately equal to the pressure of the surrounding ambient Water, said pressurized compartment being in direct communication with the ambient water and in indirect communication with the non-pressurized compartment.

14. A submarine craft as specified in claim 13 wherein at least a part of the non-pressurized compartment is the engine-room.

15. A submarine craft as specified in claim 1,. comprising a casing for the protection of the hull against shocks, said casing being a hock resistant and transparent :material.

16. A submarine craft as specified in claim 15, said casing comprising means to ensure anu approximately equal pressure of the ambient water at its inner and outer surace.

17. A submarine craft as specified in claim 5 wherein, the sections of the element having the general shape of a torus are formed by a plurality of rings of circular section, at least some of said rings being similar to each other, the

surface of each ring having, in a section perpendicular to the generator circle of the torus located in the central plane of the ring, a curvature the concavity of which is directed towards the center of said circle and the radius of which is less than that of the equatorial circle of the torus.

18. A submarine craft as specified in claim 6 wherein, the sections of the element having the general shape of a torus are formed by a plurality of rings of circular section, at least some of said rings being similar to each other, the surface of each ring having, in a section perpendicular to the generator circle of the torus located in the central plane of the ring, a curvature the concavity of which is directed towards the center of said circle and the radius of which is less than that of the equatorial circle of the torus.

19. A submarine craft comprising a hull, one first element of which is independent, water-tight and adapted to withstand external ambient pressure, and has the general shape of a torus constituted by sections and frames and flanges to ensure water-tight and pressure withstanding junctions between said sections, said element being the living and Working compartment of the crew and maintained at a normal interior pressure being approximately that of the normal atmospheric pressure, a communicating lock chamber between said non-pressurized element and a second independent element pressurized at the ambient pressure of the water and in direct communication with the ambient water, said second element being constituted by spherical portions assembled in a water-tight and pressure resisting manner, and a third independent element similarly constituted housing an engine, said third element being provided with a retractable snorkel, and means for actively connecting said engine to propulsion means mounted on exterior supports, and an escape chamber communicating on the one hand with said first torus shaped element and with a spherical independent escape element on the other hand, a shock resistant and transparent casing for the hull and means to permit the landing of the craft on the sea-bottom.

20. A submarine craft as specified in claim 19, wherein the sections of the element having the general shape of a torus are formed by a plurality of rings of circular section, at last some of said rings being similar to each other, the surface of each ring having, in a section perpendicular to the generator circle of the torus located in the central plane of the ring, a curvature the concavity of which is directed towards the center of said circle and the radius of which is less than that of the equatorial circle of the torus.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,281,414 10/1918 Pegram 114l6 X 1,359,513 11/1920 Leathers 11416 X 1,808,599 6/1931 Galeazzi 11416 3,356,055 12/1967 Link 114-16 3,356,056 12/1967 Lehmann 114-16 X MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner.

TRYGVE M. BLIX, Assistant Examiner.