Nuclear Submarine: Advanced Technology

Introduction:

Let’s explore the world of naval warfare and dive into the realm of nuclear submarine. These massive vessels are equipped with cutting-edge technology that provides unparalleled endurance beneath the waves. With sleek exteriors and powerful nuclear reactors, they redefine maritime capabilities. In this brief and captivating exploration, we’ll delve into the silent, submerged world of these submarines, where innovative engineering meets strategic prowess to safeguard our oceans.

What if you are on a ship at sea and suddenly, a remarkable sight unfolds before you: a colossal missile emerges from the water? Not just any missile, but a nuclear missile capable of reaching a target on the other side of the globe, spanning thousands of kilometers. Thanks to nuclear submarine, what was once only imaginable is now a reality.

The Trident 2 is a type of submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), recognized as one of the world’s most formidable weapons. These SLBMs boast an estimated yield of 475 kilotons, a stark contrast to the 12-13 kiloton yield of the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima. These potent weapons are housed within submarines, stealthily traversing the world’s oceans in highly classified, undisclosed locations.

Archimedes’ Principle:

In today’s article, let’s dive into the intricacies of these submarines, understanding the technology that propels them and unraveling their operational mechanisms. The functioning principle of all submarines is based on Archimedes’ principle, which is a fundamental concept taught in schools. As an object sinks, it experiences a buoyant force equivalent to the weight of the fluid displaced due to this object’s sinking. When a submarine’s weight matches that of the water it displaces, it achieves neutral buoyancy. Allowing it to maintain a constant depth. When the objective is to submerge, the gravitational force must exceed the buoyant force, prompting the use of ballast tanks.

Typically, these two tanks are located at the submarine’s ends, filled with air at the surface, enabling the vessel to float. These ballast tanks are flooded with water to descend into the water, increasing the submarine’s weight and initiating the descent. Such scenarios are labeled to have negative buoyancy. It indicates controlling a submarine’s depth by adjusting the water level in its ballast tanks. This mechanism controls the vertical movement for ascending and descending. A Rudder is employed for lateral movement, such as turning sideways in the water. It looks like this. It is known as a Vertical Rudder. This facilitates horizontal movement in the water. The boats, ships, and aircraft also use similar Rudder. Additionally, forward and backward motion is achieved through the use of a propeller, essentially a fan. When moving underwater, having a dependable method of determining one’s location is vital.

Sonar Technology:

Did you know that submarines use sonar technology to navigate underwater? Sonar works by means of the usage of sound waves to locate and locate objects. There are two types of sonar: active and passive. Active sonar entails emitting sound waves from the submarine, which bounce off objects and are acquired again with the aid of the submarine’s sensors. By measuring the time and distance of those reflections, the submarine can decide its vicinity and the encircling surroundings. Passive sonar, alternatively, listens for sounds from different resources, inclusive of enemy submarines, to decide their distance.

However, the usage of sonar generation has bad effects on marine lifestyles. Whales and dolphins, which additionally rely upon sonar for conversation, can be negatively impacted by the usage of sonar via submarines. To deal with this difficulty, alternative technologies together with LiDAR and RADAR are being explored. LiDAR makes use of light to estimate distance and is already integrated into many contemporary smartphones. RADAR, however, makes use of radio waves to calculate distances, but is restrained underwater because of the limited transmission of radio waves. Emerging technologies like the MRS Magnetic Anomaly Detection System or Gravitational Anomaly Detection System also are being explored as capability options.

Despite those alternatives, sonar technology remains the primary generation utilized in submarines nowadays. Multiple sonar sensors are strategically located around submarines to constantly monitor and accumulate information, making sure that no limitations or dangers are in their direction. This underscores the vital role of data science, which is necessary in almost every domain, whether in space, on the ground, or underwater. Unsurprisingly, data science has emerged as one of the most lucrative career options.

Inner Working of Submarine:

Now, let’s delve into the inner workings of a submarine. Typically, an armed military submarine consists of three levels or decks. This video will mostly focus on military submarines, which constitute most worldwide. It’s worth noting that the designs of research and tourism submarines may differ. The topmost deck of a military submarine is typically outfitted with torpedoes, which serve as weapons. The lowest deck houses battery rooms that supply electricity to the submarine, and sandwiched in between are the diesel machine, motor room, and the nerve center known as the control room.

You’ll usually find a conning tower positioned above the control room, an essential component serving as the submarine’s attack center. The conning tower has various instruments, including periscopes for observing the surroundings, electronic antennas, and access points for arms. It also serves as the main entry and exit point for individuals entering or leaving the submarine. Torpedoes are stored in torpedo tubes. These are basically self-propelled underwater missiles. These tubes are cylindrical containers designed to house these cylindrical missiles.

An intriguing aspect is that these torpedo tubes can also be used as emergency escape routes from nuclear submarine. Nevertheless, escaping through them is no easy feat. The tubes have a narrow diameter, measuring only 12.75 inches for light torpedoes and 21 inches for heavy torpedoes. First of all, this is an extremely narrow space. Additionally, individuals attempting to escape must wear a 23 kg escape suit due to the immense water pressure at those depths. One can’t simply exit the submarine at those depths. The immense pressure of the water would crush the unprepared instantly. Officers working in submarines undergo rigorous training for six months.

Power Source of Submarine:

Now, let’s talk about the submarine’s power source where does it get the energy to operate? The answer depends on the submarine type, with two primary categories in India: conventional and nuclear. Conventional submarines utilize large electrical batteries, akin to car batteries, but these require recharging every 2-3 days. To recharge these batteries, a diesel engine is needed. However, operating a diesel engine necessitates oxygen from the air. Since submarines operate underwater, they must resurface to run the diesel engine and recharge the batteries. In contrast, nuclear submarines don’t have this problem. They employ a nuclear reactor instead of a diesel engine to generate electricity. This allows them to remain submerged for extended periods, limited only by human factors, such as food availability and crew provisions.

The submarines can remain submerged as long as there are sufficient provisions for the crew. Examining the structure of a submarine, the outer layer is typically composed of rubber. This reason for strategic choice is quite simple, actually. Because rubber effectively absorbs sound, making it challenging to detect submarines in the water. Military submarines are designed to be elusive, ensuring enemy counterparts do not easily spot them. The black layer visible in submarine photos is made of rubber.

Interior of Submarine:

Moving to the interior, the primary body of the submarine within the rubber layer is referred to as the Hull. There are two common types of hulls: single hull and double hull. Single-hull submarines have only one layer of the main body, while double-hull submarines consist of two layers. In the double hull design, the ballast tank is integrated, with water filling the space between the two layers, effectively serving as a ballast tank. The clear advantage of a double hull configuration lies in providing an additional layer of protection. In the event of a collision, a double-hull submarine offers enhanced security. Most modern military submarines adopt the double hull design for added protection and to withstand water pressure better, as illustrated by the incident involving the Titan submersible’s implosion under water pressure.

At the water’s surface, the atmospheric pressure is 1 atmosphere, equivalent to 1 kilogram per square centimeter. As one descends underwater, pressure increases. For every 10 meters of depth, there’s an additional 1 kilogram per square meter of pressure. Military submarines are typically designed to operate at depths of 300-400 meters, with some capable of reaching depths of 500 meters. The pressure reaches 50 atmospheres at this depth, which is 50 times greater than at the surface. Obviously, constructing submarine hulls requires robust materials. Not using the right materials might cause failures or accidents. As with the Titan submersible.

Military submarines use high-quality steel alloys, blending steel with titanium, carbon, aluminium, and other elements. The complexity of designing a submarine is underscored by the fact that it takes approximately 10 years to design a diesel-electric submarine, while a nuclear submarine demands a minimum of 15-17 years at the design stage.

US Submarines:

The American Navy’s Ohio-class submarines are considered among the most powerful in the world. The U.S. possesses a total of 18 Ohio-class submarines, each capable of carrying 24 Trident 2 ballistic missiles. Furthermore, each Trident 2 missile can potentially accommodate 14 nuclear bombs. When the United States and Russia aimed to decrease the number of nuclear weapons they had, they entered into the START 1 agreement. The terms of the agreement specified a reduction limit from 14 to 8. This START I treaty, officially known as the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, was the first treaty between the U.S. and the Soviet Union to reduce strategic nuclear weapons.

Beyond these, the U.S. Navy features other submarine classes, such as Los Angeles, Columbia, and Virginia. In Russia, the Yasen class is the most powerful nuclear attack submarine. Besides India, Russia, and the U.S., countries like China, the UK, France, and Germany also possess similar submarines. The capacity of these nuclear submarine in terms of personnel varies between submarines, and the actual data is confidential in these countries for military reasons. The capacity of a submarine typically ranges between 50 and 80 people who can be on board. Nuclear submarines are even larger, and they can accommodate approximately 100 individuals. The size of these submarines is truly remarkable. It’s unbelievable.

Typically, non-military submarines do not venture too deep into the water. The Titan submersible was an exception. Such deep-sea submarines are rare in the tourism sector. A few companies in Europe, the USA, and the UK provide submarine and submersible dives, such as the companies Atlantis and Sea Bourn. They offer expeditions to locations like Alaska.