New propulsion sytems for ships

Raggi_Thor: Ever hear of the doldrums? These areas can have weeks of no wind. In the areas between the Trade winds and the Horse latitudes it is also possible to be becalmed for days. For a commercial ship that may be unacceptable.

 

OK, I see that, but maybe som carco is more cost sensitive than time sensitive?

 

Could this be scaled up for ocean crossing?

Robots Powered by the Ocean Itself
Released: 10/2/2002 Point of Contact:
ONRPAO
Office of Naval Research
Corporate Communications Office
Phone: 703-696-5031
Fax: 703-696-5940
E-mail: ONRPAO@onr.navy.mil
They call them "gliders," but these move through water instead of air. Two new robotic gliders—autonomous underwater vehicles—powered by changes in their own buoyancy or by different temperature layers in the ocean—will be tested opera-tionally off Southern California this winter. Both gliders were developed with support from the Office of Naval Research and will participate in Navy and Marine Corps exercises between 21 January and 7 February 2003.

Webb Research of East Falmouth, MA, a company with long experience designing and building oceanographic instruments, will deploy its Slocum Glider during the exercise. The Slocum Glider uses a Webb Research heat engine that draws energy from the ocean thermocline—a layer where the ocean's temperature changes rapidly: it's the boundary between the warmer water above and the cooler waters below. The Slocum Glider cycles thousands of times between the surface and a pro-grammed depth, getting the energy it needs to change its buoyancy from the heat flow of the surrounding water. This long-range deep ocean glider is designed to cruise for five years in a vertical zig-zag from the surface to depths of about 5,000 feet and back. As it does so it measures salinity and temperature, plots currents and eddies, counts microscopic plants, and even records "biological" sounds like whale songs. An earlier battery powered model is used to study coastal waters up to 656 feet in depth for up to 30 days at a time. Webb Research named the glider in honor of Captain Joshua Slocum, who sailed alone around the world in a 37 foot sloop between 1895 and 1898.

The second robot—the University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory's Seaglider—is propelled by buoyancy control and wing lift to alternately dive and climb along slanting glide paths. It dead reckons underwater between Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation fixes it obtains at the surface, and so glides through a sequence of programmed waypoints. It transmits data and receives commands via satellite data telemetry when it exposes an antenna above the sea surface for a few minutes between dive cycles. Seaglider has enough range to cross an entire ocean basin in missions that last months, all the while diving and rising between the surface and waters as deep as 3500 feet. It can be launched and recovered manually from a small boat with a crew of two, and so doesn't rely on costly ships for its deployment. Seaglider collects high resolution pro-files of physical, chemical, and bio-optical properties of the ocean.

The Office of Naval Research is interested in systems like Seaglider and the Slocum Glider because they offer the Navy and Marine Corps potential tools for collecting data about regions of the ocean necessary for mine countermeasures and other tasks important to expeditionary warfare. In conjunction with Exercise Kernel Blitz 03, the Office of Naval Research is sponsoring demonstrations of these and other advanced mine countermeasures systems off the beaches of Camp Pendelton, CA, from 21 January to 7 February 2003. These systems represent advanced science and technology being developed to de-tect, identify, and classify mines in shallow and very shallow waters. They exploit recent advances in sensors (especially lasers, sonar, and television-like imaging), robotics (the sensors are installed on a variety of autonomous underwater vehi-cles—submarine robots), networking, and signal processing. Developed by teams of government, industry, and academic partners, the mine countermeasures technologies offer the prospect of ultimately reducing or eliminating the need for Sailors and Marines to enter the dangerous shallow waters just off shore in order to clear mines in preparation for expeditionary op-erations.



MILTECH

US Navy Submarine Makes First Launch Of Underwater Glider

Artist's rendition of the United States Navy undersea glider. By Chief Journalist (SW/AW) David Rush, Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs
Pearl Harbor HI (SPX) Nov 24, 2005
In a first for the U.S. Navy, an underwater glider was launched with the aid of Navy divers from the Dry Deck Shelter aboard USS Buffalo (SSN 715) November 14.[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif] The glider is a uniquely mobile network component capable of [FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]moving[/FONT][/FONT] to specific locations and depths and gathering various information, which is transmitted on a predetermined interval when it surfaces to computers via a built-in satellite phone.[/FONT]
"Our interest in the submarine force has been to use these to characterize the ocean," explained Lt. Cmdr. Patrick Cross, Pacific Submarine Force oceanographer.
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif] "They're equipped with sensors that can give us [readings on] salinity and temperature versus depth, and from that we can get sound speeds (the localized rate at which sound from a source [FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]travels[/FONT][/FONT] through water). We can feed that data into our MODAS (Modular Ocean Data Assimilation System), run by the Naval Oceanographic [FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Office[/FONT][/FONT], and that provides a picture that we provide to our submarines," said Cross.[/FONT]
The battery-powered device paints a picture for assets below and above the ocean that can be used to their advantage, according to Cross.
"It's basically a three dimensional depiction of ocean conditions that is used in tactical decision aids to determine sonar performance," said Cross. "The gliders are a great way to have a persistent sensor out there to continuously feed us data on what the ocean is doing," he said.
"Then we can feed that to our shore-based computer models and get a better picture of the ocean and give that information to all tactical assets - not just submarines, but anyone involved in ASW (anti-submarine warfare)."
Cross added that the gliders have demonstrated their capability in various exercises.
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif] "We have had incremental success since we began using them in exercises, including a glider in RIMPAC (exercise Rim of the Pacific) '04," he said. "It did a great [FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]job[/FONT][/FONT] of demonstrating the technology."[/FONT]
Retrieving a glider via submarine is a logical next step.
"One of the future exercises we hope to do is recover a glider on board a submarine, demonstrating both deployment and recovery. We would locate the glider via GPS, and divers would retrieve it and bring it aboard," Cross said.
The gliders are relatively inexpensive, easy to reconfigure for various missions, and have a long life span with minimal maintenance required. When new batteries are required, they can simply be replaced and the glider can be put back in the water again.

 

The cost of crew, operating expenses and sail/rig maintenance and repair is higher than the cost of fuel. That is why steamships replaced sailing ships. It was an economic decision. A sailing ship of just 4,000 tons used to have about 25 miles of running rigging, 12 miles of standing rigging, 1,200 blocks and about 52,000 sq/ft of canvas. Modern materials may make it simpler and cheaper to maintain, but engines seem to still be more economic. I suppose using sails as auxiliary power may be possible. The problem is that the structural increases in scantling plus the space the rigging and related parts take could be used for cargo. I have seen small cargo boats that work under sail in Third World countries. It is well suited because labor is cheap compared to fuel.

 

Not your great grandfather's hybrid

I agree with you about 50%, Gonzo.

As of now and maybe the next ten years, pure motor ships are the only way to go. The loss of cargo space, the need for more, and more specialized manpower, and the vexing vaguarities of contemporary weather patterns make even sail assisted ships noncompettitive for the time being. It is the next quarter of a century that concerns me.

I will not be surprised to see some system of global rationing of the remaining 'cheap (easy to pump out of the ground) oil'. That may be the only way to keep the peace (and major cities from disappearing under mushroom clouds) once supplies start falling behind growing demand.

The story of the last century has been one of greater and greater use of more and more concentrated energy. We (1st worlders at least) have become spoiled. We have been doing this for so long, we expect it to go on forever. Few of us realize that this concentrated energy comes from only one source: oil. And the competing source, Natural gas, is running out at an even faster rate. That leaves us with only two alternatives: coal and plutonium. All the rest are much more expensive to produce.

Yes. We Americans can produce ethanol and methanol by converting much of our food crop land to energy crop land. In effect starving ourselves to feed our cars. Or drastically reducing our grain exports which the world has grown to depend on. Such a move could be very dangerous, geopolitically.
Starving countries with nukes give me nightmares.

I expect the story of this new century is going to be pretty much the opposite of the last. Energy is going to be more diffuse, more expensive, and even more dangerous. Plutonium producing breeder reactors are going to be a common sight. As are coal powered electrical generating plants. This is going to highten greenhouse gas concerns, causing many of us 1st worlders to make some pretty tough choices. Do we go to war to hang on, temporarily, to the lifestyle we are acustomed to. Or do we severely cut back. My vote is for the second option.

If we do that, life in my country, the good ole U.S. of A. is going to become unrecogniseable. Gone are going to be the 30 mile commutes every day to work and back in 4,000lb autos along with all the side industries that make that possible. It can be beautiful. It can be terrible. I expect it to be a little bit of both. The other day, I saw on television, a Kennedy descendant on his sailing yacht being harrassed by a Green Peace rubber motor boat, because this particular Kennedy was fighting the construction of a wind turban farm in the middle of HIS beloved harbor. For an old lefty like me, it was a very surrealistic sight.

Now back to boats.

Once energy (the stored concentrated kind) becomes more expensive, the unreliable and cantankerous diffuse kind will become more and more attractive. The hybrid vessel of this new century is going to be nothing like the one of your great granfather's.

Back in his day, an engine's weight was counted in tons per hp. Now it's pounds. The hybrid ship can have a much smaller and lighter engine.
Back in his day, all the sail handling (or most of it) was done by the muscle power of the crew. Now it can be done hydraulically.
Back in his day, sails were furled by hand. Now they can be mechanically furled.
Back in his day, weather was something you watched from the deck. Now we have satellite weather.
Back in his day, navigation was time consuming and not all that accurate. Now it is within feet and at the push of a button.
Back in his day, cargo was laboriously brought on board and painstakenly stowed. Now it will be loaded in standard shipping containers within minutes.
And back in his day, voyages were for indefinite periodsof time. Now, with vastly better engines and feathering propellers, ships will come and go like clock work. Just as they do today (but somewhat slower than we're used to)

Many of my leftist friends say we made a lot of mistakes during the last three centuries. I agree with them on that.

But we learned a lot too.

Bob

 

Oil prices can rise dramatically as a result of increased demand and less supply, or we can get some (international) agreement on taxes that will be higher for crude oil if environmentalists say that ship's engines has much higher emissions than cars for example.

 

"environmentalists" say that ship's engines has much higher emissions than cars for example.


What would an enviro-nut know about ships engines?

These are severly regulated by intl rulles to a very strict standard.

The enviro-nut sobbing is because it is a LARGE engine that powers a ship with 8000 sealand boxes aboard.The newest designs will have 13,400TEU.

And many enviro-nuts are against world trade and the standard of living it provides.

FAST FRED

 

They don't have to know anything about engines, but som of them will know a little about oil qualities, NOx, sulphur and so on.

 

Hey Fred:

Ever hear of 'flags of convenience'. If you haven't, maybe you should look into it. The shipping biz is nothing like the airline biz.

And I think this name calling thing has gone a bit too far. Don't you?
After all, reasonable people can dissagree, reasonably, can't they?

Bob

 

Like the one about Pollution and Global warming? Get real, there will always be some countries that will not care ( it is bad for local politics) till the moment everything collapses.

 

Vega, I agree with you, some countries, like the USA, will not care
I myself think that actions to reduce CO2 emissions may (or may not cost more than the consequences of global warming.

 

Raggi, Vega- Afraid I can't argue with you on that last point. Much as I'd like you both to be wrong (and I suspect you'd like to be, too), it seems there are certain entrenched powers that aren't particularly amenable to change. Whether current actions to reduce CO2 emissions will do anything is becoming increasingly questionable- Canada and many other countries are squirming out of their promises by bureaucratic manipulation, while the US blatantly ignores science and claims global warming is a farce. Some of you may have seen the recent studies of Russian and Canadian tundra that are indicating that runaway melting may have already begun- releasing millions of years worth of methane and other built-up greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. To give the subject its due would require far more space than I can fairly take here, but I'm sure most of you are aware of the severity of the issue and its consequences.

Back to boat engines though-
With so much hype over fuel cells for cars, it's easy to overlook the emergence of SOFC technology (solid-oxide fuel cell)- in particular, how it's a near-perfect match for the marine industry. Ships require constant engine power over long periods of time, and startup/shutdown time isn't critical. High operating temperatures, which are bad in cars, are fine in boats. Efficiencies of 70-80% or better are possible for a SOFC with turbine condensor (cogeneration), compared to the 40-50% of the very best large freighter diesels. Outputs well into the megawatt range will soon be commonplace with these cells, which can be made to operate on hydrogen, any hydrocarbon, or almost any organic liquid fuels, with appropriate reformers. http://www.azom.com/details.asp?ArticleID=919&head=Solid+Oxide+Fuel+Cells for more details on the technology.

 

Interesting post about SOFC cells and co-generation, Marshmat.

All:
Have a look at these interesting articles on the subject:
http://www.dti.gov.uk/renewables/publications/pdfs/f0300207.pdf
http://www.tev.ntnu.no/utlysning/dring_sofc_2002.htm

 

The Marine Glider

No comments on scaling this up?

http://www.webbresearch.com/slocum.htm

Products > Slocum Glider​

Conceived by Douglas C. Webb and supported by Henry Stommel and others, the class of Slocum Gliders is named after Joshua Slocum, the first man to single-handedly sail around the world.
It is a uniquely mobile network component capable of moving to specific locations and depths, occupying controlled spatial and temporal grids. Driven in a sawtooth vertical profile by variable buoyancy, the glider moves both horizontally and vertically.

Long-range and satellite remote sensing systems are being realized in the ocean measurement field. These systems are being used to quantify currents, sea surface height, temperature, and optical properties of the water enabling modeling and prediction of ocean state variables in the littoral zone. A similar nested grid of subsurface observations is required to maximize the impact and ground-truth the more extensive surface remote sensing observations.
The long range and duration capabilities of the Slocum gliders make them ideally suited for subsurface sampling at the regional scale. The Slocum gliders can be programmed to patrol for weeks at a time, surfacing to transmit their data to shore while downloading new instructions at regular intervals, at a substantial cost savings compared to traditional surface ships.

The small relative cost and the ability to operate multiple vehicles with minimal personnel and infrastructure will enable small fleets of Gliders to study and map the dynamic (temporal and spatial) features of our subsurface coastal waters around-the-clock and calendar.

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• Versatile, maneuverable and powered with alkaline batteries the electric glider can be deployed for a period of 15 to 30 days at a 600 to 1500km range. Its flexible payload allows it to carry customized sensors. The Coastal glider can be operated to a depth of 4-200 meters. The 1km glider can be operated to depth of 1000 meters.

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• Long range and endurance using environmental energy (Thermal Engine), the thermal glider can be deployed at a maximal depth of 2000 meters for a period of 5 years at a 40,000 kms range.

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• The science bay is an exchangeable 5L payload capacity that can be adaptable to a number of sensors used in scientific data retrieval. This section has an independent computer that operates the data acquisition process and communicates with the main vehicle computer, which in turn accesses and transmits the information

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Source:
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Date:
2005-09-07




Rensselaer Researcher To Showcase New Solar Underwater Robot Technology

ARLINGTON, V.A. – A new solar-powered underwater robot technology developed for undersea observation and water monitoring will be showcased at a Sept. 16 workshop on leading-edge robotics to be held at the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Arlington, Va.

Solar-powered Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (SAUV). (Photo: RPI/Sanderson in collaboration with Autonomous Undersea Systems Institute, Falmouth Scientific Inc., and Naval Undersea Warfare Center)


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Arthur C. Sanderson, professor of electrical, computer, and systems engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, will display the robotic technology being developed by a team of research groups, including Rensselaer, and led by the Autonomous Undersea Systems Institute directed by D. Richard Blidberg.
Sanderson also will participate on a panel of six robotics experts who recently completed a study to be released at the Sept. 16 workshop. The World Technology Evaluation Center International Study of Robotics is a two-year look at robotics research and development in the United States, Japan, Korea, and Western Europe.
As the principal investigator of an NSF-funded project called RiverNet, Sanderson is working collaboratively with other researchers to develop a network of distributed sensing devices and water-monitoring robots, including the first solar-powered autonomous underwater vehicles (SAUVs).
“Once fully realized, this underwater robot technology will allow better observation and monitoring of complex aquatic systems, and will support advances in basic environmental science as well as applications to environmental management and security and defense programs,” said Sanderson.
The SAUV technology allows underwater robots to be deployed long-term by using solar power to replenish onboard energy. Long-term deployment of SAUVs will allow detection of chemical and biological trends in lakes, rivers, and waterways that may guide the management and improvement of water quality. Autonomous underwater vehicles equipped with sensors are currently used for water monitoring, but must be taken out of the water frequently to recharge the batteries.
According to Sanderson, the SAUVs communicate and network with one another in real time to assess a water body as a whole in measuring how it changes over space and time. Key technologies used in SAUVs include integrated sensor microsystems, pervasive computing, wireless communications, and sensor mobility with robotics. Sanderson notes that the underwater vehicles have captured the attention of the U.S. Navy, which will evaluate their use for coastal surveillance applications.
The SAUV weighs 370 pounds, travels at speeds of up to 2 miles per hour, and is designed to dive to depths of 500 meters.
Sanderson and his colleagues will continue field testing the vehicles in coming months at locations including Rensselaer’s Darrin Fresh Water Institute on Lake George, N.Y., to determine communication, interaction, and maneuvering capabilities in testing dissolved oxygen levels, one of the most important indicators of water quality for aquatic life.
Sanderson is collaborating on SAUV development with the Autonomous Undersea Systems Institute, Falmouth Scientific Inc., the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, and Technology Systems Inc.
The Sept. 16 workshop is sponsored by NSF, NASA, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The international robotics study was organized by the World Technology Evaluation Center, a United States-based organization conducting international research assessments.
“This gathering of researchers and their robots shows the necessity of federal support for basic research that leads to new technologies with useful applications in health care, the environment, and industry,” said Sanderson.
Editor's Note: The original news release can be found here.

 

"Ever hear of 'flags of convenience'. "

Sure but the CIVILIZED world does NOT allow these vessels into their ports.

So how much trade does go on between 3rd world countries with barely floating garbage with a Liberian flag of convienance?

Hardly enough to cause that 14% of global polution .

The REAL world goes on,

FAST FRED