While the oil would function as a heat sink when the array is active, which is rare, the main purpose is to act as an incompressible fluid to keep the dome over the sonar array from collapsing. The design requirements for minimum acoustic attenuation make it impossible for the dome to function as a pressure hull, so the array is outside the main pressure hull.
Fire at a docked Russian SSBN
- Thread starter Lostfleet
- Start date
understood, but I'm not talking about inerts around the array, but around the back end.
prev its been done on some of the Rivet Joint developments, but they were also using flammables. not a particularly attractive option
looks pretty internal to me
Submarine’s torpedo compartment was on fire - BarentsObserver
why would there be such a giant hole in the sub?
oh, and can someone just confirm for me that i Identifyed the ship beside her correctly as an Udaloy?
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- #25
Thank you for the latest link with pictures,
I couldn't locate the position of the hole, is it towards the bow of the submarine?
Also in one of the pictures it looked like they were pouring water into torpedo tubes, so I guess there are some internal damages as well ( apart from water damage)
I couldn't locate the position of the hole, is it towards the bow of the submarine?
Also in one of the pictures it looked like they were pouring water into torpedo tubes, so I guess there are some internal damages as well ( apart from water damage)
More info is always good. Those are great pictures.
I don't think the fire was in the torpedo compartment. If you look where the opening is shown, there appears to be only one, fairly thin, hull. On the left side of the opening there is the edge of what looks to be a large cylinder. I think that they were working on the bow sonar, not the torpedo compartment. Which would explain the large opening if they needed to move the sonar transducer (the large cylindrical object).
That would also mean that the wall at the back of the compartment, on the right hand side of the hole, is the pressure hull, and the bow end of the torpedo compartment . This would be heavily covered with acoustic insulation, both to reduce interference from noise emitted from within the inner hull and to protect the crew when the active sonar is engaged. But this would not the same material as the anechoic coating on the hull because it is in a protected environment and does not have to stand up to high speed water flows and impacts. This insulation might be more flammable, and would almost certainly be more susceptible to damage.
I agree that the pictures do not show much damage to the exterior anechoic tiles, but only the area above the sill of the opening is visible. The pictures showing the flooded dry dock look like the water only went about that high, so if there are damaged anechoic tiles that had to be extinguished they are probably below the level visible.
If the fire was in the bow sonar compartment they have a lot of work ahead of them pulling, probably disassembling, and fully inspecting and testing the components of the sonar transducer array, even if they do not need to do any other repairs.
It can if done properly, sometimes the weld is even stronger.
But the sonar dome is not part of the pressure hull, and there is little or no pressure differential across is. That is why the material in the pictures looks so thin, strength is not as much of a problem. But the welding has to be done exactly right or you get irregularities in the sonar reception.
The pressure hull is much thicker and has reinforcing stiffener rings. Welding it, because of the thickness and criticality, is one of the trickiest, and most inspected, parts of building the submarine, and will frequently require a weld to be redone several times to get it right. Generally, if it becomes necessary to gain access, you go in through a prearranged hard patch on the hull, there is generally one over the engine room and sometimes another one over the torpedo room. The most common alternative is radial cut dividing the submarine into 2 pieces perpendicular to the long access, which also required you to generally cut or remove everything (and that means EVERYTHING -- plumbing, controls, wiring, and anything else) that passes through the plane of the cut. This avoid the stiffener rings and allows the pressure hull to be reassembled with a single, continuous, inspectable, weld. Then you rebuild everything outside the pressure hull. And finally you have to go through a series of acceptance trials, just like for a new submarine, to confirm you put everything back together right. It is only probably only 40% to 60% cheaper than buying a new submarine. But if you want (and if you are going to go through that much work already it is a minor addition), and the original design permits, you can lengthen the hull at the same time by inserting a section.
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- #29
On a similar event in US they just found out a vacuum cleaner caused a 400 million dollar fire damage to Uss Miami,
Vacuum cleaner blamed for fire on nuclear submarine - CNN.com
Vacuum cleaner blamed for fire on nuclear submarine - CNN.com
She may have to be scrapped considering her age and the cost of repairing the damage.
Nuclear Sub May Have to Be Scrapped After Fire | Military.com
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- #31
It is a shame it they scrap the boat but not to do will be a big financial commitment.
To replace with a new submarine it will cost 2.6 billion,
To repair it will cost 400-600 million
To wait for scheduled replacement will cost them nothing,
we'll see what they decide but I am especially sad for USS Miami because when I was a kid, I read Tom Clancy's Submarine book in 1993 which was about the life aboard USS Miami, I always imagined myself working in that submarine. ( my kid dreams did not happen as I ended up as an architect
)