Technical Field of the Invention

This invention is related to a propulsion system, working with internal combustion engines, diesel generators/electric engines and nuclear reactors/steam turbine combinations used in water vehicles, developed in order to replace conventional propulsion systems, applicable to underwater and above water vehicles as well as providing a high maneuvering capability, performance, maximum silence and long distance range.

Background of the Invention (Prior Art)

The most widespread propulsion system used in prior art for the under water and above water vehicles to move forward in water is a system that moves the water vehicle forward by the usage of angles and parabolic shaped (hydrodynamic shaped) blades of a propeller which accelerates the water block in front of it and moves it out of the way sending it behind the vehicle and which is powered by an internal combustion or electric engine or a steam turbine fed by a nuclear reactor.

Even though the aforementioned system is one of the most basic propulsion system for water vehicles this system has recently deemed to be insufficient due to improved technology and evolving needs and some disadvantages of the system have emerged.

One of the most important advantages is the high noise level that has increased with development of submarine technology and war technology. Following the development of submarines and conversion of submarines into defense and attack aimed vehicles with the installation of military technologies in such vehicles the usage of sonar systems which enable to determine the position of another submarine have increased. The above mentioned conventional propulsion systems have become a significant technical problem for all kinds of military under and above water vehicles due to the sonar systems operating with the principle to track underwater sound waves. These kinds of systems have pieces that move inside the water leaving lots of sonar traces that can be picked up; thus the location of vehicles are easily determined.

In order to prevent such a problem one of the most important improvements within the technical developments put forward is the Hydrodynamic Jet Propulsion system which ist he subject of application numbered US 3448713 A. The main principle of these state of the art systems which are named Hydro Jets is that the vehicle is moved by the acceleration of the water; that has been sucked from underneath the body of the vehicle; by the aid of a radial propeller located inside the body of the sea vehicle and pushing out the water from the exhaust nozzle.

In this type of systems, as there are no moving parts underwater and as the actual motion parts are located and insulated inside the trunk of the vehicle the sonar traces that have been emitted shall be much lesser than those of conventional propulsion systems.

Even though the Hydro Jets have a much lower noise emission than conventional propulsion systems, they still have not reached the desired low sound level in regards of leaving sonar traces, so the developments in this technical field is still being continued.

In the known state of the art, in both conventional systems and Hydro Jet systems, usually internal combustion engines, electrical engines combined with internal combustion engines, steam turbines fed by nuclear reactors and electrical engines combined with again nuclear reactors are being used in both underwater and above water vehicles. As these resources that supply power to the propulsion system form the basis of all propulsion systems developed for sea vehicles it is also being used s the main power source in different combinations in the propulsion system developed within the scope of this invention.

Brief description of the invention

The working principle of the propulsion system developed for water vehicles with this invention, is to move and maneuver the water vehicles above water level and under the water by the intake of water from the suction nozzles located on the left and right side of the water vehicle symmetrically, compressing this water in the pressure increasing group and bringing it up to high pressure rates and then storing the said pressurized sea water in high pressures inside the hydraulic accumulators, followed by discharging of the pressurized sea water in accordance with the needs of the vehicle in intervals or continuously from the exhaust nozzle/nozzles.

The invention of the said propulsion system which has been specially developed for submarines can also be applied to all above and under water vehicles..

It has been aimed to;

• Gain maximum silence,

• Achieve higher direction and performance ability, • Ensure that vehicles, especially submarines stay for longer periods under the water when the said propulsion system is developed within this invention for water vehicles.

Definition of the Figures

The necessary figures and related descriptions in order to better define the propulsion system developed with this invention can be found below:

Figure 1: A cross sectional of the engine room of a submarine in which a propulsion system developed within this invention is installed

Figure 2: The cross sectional view of the engine room of a conventional submarine in which the propulsion system developed within this invention has not been applied.

Figure 3: A cross sectional view of an engine room belonging to a water vehicle used above the water level to which a propulsion system developed within this invention has been applied to.

Figure 4: A general perspective of a propulsion system developed with this invention

Figure 5: A view of the usage for maneuvering point 360° of the side exhaust nozzles of a submarine to which the propulsion system developed according to this invention has been applied.

Figure 6: The view of usage of the side exhaust nozzles left/right motion of a submarine to which the propulsion system developed according to this invention has been applied.

Figure 7: The view of usage of the front exhaust nozzles for rear maneuvering and deceleration maneuvering of a submarine to which the propulsion system developed according to this invention has been applied.

Figure 8: The view of usage of the bottom and top exhaust nozzles for vertical ascend and vertical descend maneuvering of a submarine to which the propulsion system developed according to this invention has been applied. Definition of the Elements (Features/Components/Parts) on the Figures

In order to explain the propulsion system developed according to this invention the parts and pieces shown in the figures have been separately numbered and each part has been described below.

1. Submarine outer body

2. Diesel generators

3. Electrical batteries

4. Hydraulic accumulators

5. Manifold (collector)

6. Exhaust nozzle

7. Drive shaft

8. Propeller

9. Main electric engine

10. Pressure increasing group

11. Suction nozzle (water intake)

12. Body of above water vehicle

13. Sea water filter

14. Hydraulic oil depot

15. Hydraulic pump

16. Pressure increasing group electric engine

17. Large scaled piston

18. Hydraulic accumulator filling pipe

19. Exhaust nozzle feeding line

20. Automatically controlled vaults

21. Pressure increasing group main outlet line

22. Check valves 23. Small scaled piston

24. Pressure increasing body

25. Direction Control valve (3 way vault)

26. Electronic Control Unit

27. Submarine

Detailed Description of the Invention

The propulsion system for water vehicles developed with this invention enables as a main element higher maneuvering capabilities, performance, maximum silence and longer ranges when applied to the water vehicles in comparison to the conventional propulsion systems and the said developed propulsion system comprises of the following:

• Diesel generator (2)

• Electric battery (3)

• Hydraulic accumulator (4)

• Manifold (collector) (5)

• Exhaust nozzle (6)

• Pressure Increasing group (10)

• Suction nozzle (water intake) (11)

• Sea water filter (13)

• Hydraulic oil depot (14)

• Hydraulic pump (15)

• Pressure increasing group electric engine (16)

• Large scaled piston (17)

• Hydraulic accumulator filling pipe (18)

• Exhaust nozzle feeding line (19)

• Automatically controlled vault (20)

• Pressure increasing group main outlet line (21) • Check valve (22)

• Small scaled piston (23)

• Pressure increasing body (24)

• Direction control valve (3 way vault)(25)

· Electronic control unit (26)

The actual application area of the propulsion systems developed by this invention for water vehicles is the submarines. The propulsion system of the said invention which provides important advantages and technical superiority for submarines especially for military use acquires the operational power required from conventional diesel generator systems (2) and electric batteries (3) connected to the said system. The propulsion system of the said invention which can be applied in the same way to nuclear submarines becomes operational by acquiring the required power in such an application from the electric batteries (3) charges by the nuclear reactor group.

The propulsion system of the said invention can use the diesel generators (2) and the electric batteries (3) of such systems by connecting to the conventional systems externally which are made up of diesel generator/electric engines which can be found in standard submarines for the feeding of power as well as the diesel generator (2) and electric battery (3) modules belonging to itself in order to apply such a system to submarine and vehicles which are used above the water level which do not initially have this system installed.

To put it another way, the propulsion system of the said invention can be used easily by integrating the system to the conventional power sources that is already being used in nearly all submarines and water vehicles in the known state of the art. This enables to have low development, application and operation costs.

That being said, in this invention, the usage of the conventional propulsion system comprising of a propeller (8) a main shaft (7) and a main electric engine (9) can be left in use in the submarines and in water vehicles moving above water level in another application type of the invention; however the conventional system can also be completely replaced with the propulsion system developed with this invention and the propeller (8), main shaft (7) and main electric engine (9) can be left idle.

In the principle application of the propulsion system developed for water vehicles with this invention, the propulsion system of the said invention is placed between the conventional propulsion group comprising of diesel generators(2), a propeller (8) a main shaft (7) and an electric engine that can be found in submarines working with a combination of diesel generators/electric engine combinations, and the said developed propulsion system is activated with the power received from the batteries (3) that are charges by the diesel generators (2).

In order for the propulsion system of the said invention to operate in full capacity at first the hydraulic accumulators (4) must be filled with pressurized sea water. The filling of the hydraulic accumulators (4) with pressurized sea water by the compression of sea water with high pressures is performed by the pressure increasing group (10). The number and the dimensions of the pressure increasing group (10) and the hydraulic accumulator (4) that will be used within the system can vary in accordance with the amplitude of the application and the extensity of the requirements.

The propulsion system of the said invention acquires its energy from the electric batteries (3) charged by the diesel generators (2). Thus the system will operate flawlessly as long as there is sufficient energy in the electric batteries (3) of the water vehicles used under or above water.

The electronic control unit (26) that is activated through the energy obtained from the electric batteries (3) passes on the necessary command to the pressure increasing group electric engine (16) and ensures the operation of the electric engine of .the system initially with the energy gained from the batteries (3). The pressure increasing group electric engine (16) that is now active will move the hydraulic pump (15) and the small and large scaled pistons (17 and 23) located inside the pressure increasing body (24). As soon as the sea water is sucked in by the suction nozzles (11) of the hydraulic pump (15) opening up to the outer body of the water vehicle's trunk, the sea water is initially transferred to the sea water filter (13) and is decontaminated of the foreign substances that might be present inside the sea water. Following this the sea water transferred into the pressure increasing body (24) will be compressed with the aid of the movement of the large and small scaled pistons (17 and 23), thus gaining high pressure sea water. The pressure increasing body (24) will transfer the oil found in the hydraulic oil depot (14) through the hydraulic pump (15) with the aid of the direction control valve (25) respectively to the right hand side and left hand side of the pressure increasing body (24) in order to perform the inner compression process.

In this manner by enabling the large and small scaled pistons (17 and 23) to move right and left the sea water will be compressed by a pumping process. The compressed sea water will then be transferred to the main outlet (21) of the pressure increasing group to be carried on later into the hydraulic accumulator filling pipe (18) through the aid of the check valves (22) that only allow one way passage.

Thereafter the automatically controlled vaults (20) which will be opened after receiving a command from the electronic control unit (26) and will allow the passage of the high pressure sea water obtained after compression from the main outlet (21) of the pressure increasing group to the hydraulic accumulator filling pipes (18).

The sea water transferred from the hydraulic accumulator filling pipes (18) to the hydraulic accumulators (4) shall then be stored here as high pressure sea water

This above mentioned process shall be repeated until all the accumulators (4) used in such an application is totally filled.

The system which is ready for operation after the hydraulic accumulators (4) are filled then can be started off in order to obtain propulsion power. In order to obtain propulsion power one of the hydraulic accumulators (4) will transfer the pressurized sea water contained within through the exhaust nozzle feeding line (19) in a pre determined unit amount to the manifold (collector) (5) in a period of predetermined unit time in accordance with the needs of the vehicle after receiving a command from the electronic control unit (26). The manifold (5) collecting the pressurized sea water received from the hydraulic accumulators (4) transfers this said pressurized sea water to the exhaust nozzle (6). The pressurized sea water that has been passed to the exhaust nozzle (6) is discharged with high pressure from the outlet of the exhaust nozzle (6) thus giving the submarine propulsion power.

Together with this, the speed and performance of the submarine can be increased by using more than one hydraulic accumulator (4) and by increasing the amount of pressurized water that is transferred to the manifold (5) in accordance with the required speed and performance amounts.

A continuous and stable propulsion power can be obtained until the pressurized sea water inside all of the hydraulic accumulators (4) used in such an application is finished. After the hydraulic accumulators (4) are used up the cycle goes back to the starting point and the filling process of the accumulators is restarted.

However it is not necessary to stop the vehicle in order to refill the hydraulic accumulators (4). If necessary while the pressurized sea water inside the hydraulic accumulators (4) are used in order to obtain propulsion power the hydraulic accumulators (4) can be continued to be filled in.

During such a process if the submarine is moving above the water level or if the said system is being used in vehicles moving above water levels, the diesel generators (2) can be activated and the electric batteries (3) feeding the propulsion system can also be charged simultaneously with the said processes. If the conventional propulsion system comprising of a propeller (8), a main shaft (7) and a main electric engine is still active on the submarine which the new propulsion system is applied to, then this conventional system can be also activated to achieve higher performance.

While the charge of the electric batteries (3) is negatively affected when these two said systems are working together in parallel the extra propulsion force necessary in times that need higher speed and maneuvering capability can be provided with the usage of both systems in parallel. Also in case of a break down in the pressure increasing group (10) then the conventional system comprising of a propeller (8), a main shaft (7) and a main electric engine (9) can still be used as an emergency system.

As the pressure increasing group electric engine (16) used in the said propulsion system developed within this invention, uses much lesser energy than the conventional main electric engines (99 in submarines, the submarines in which this new system is applied to have the capacity to stay under water for longer periods when compared to the submarines operating with the conventional diesel/electric system.

In another application of the propulsion system developed according to this invention, high maneuvering capability can be achieved with the aid of the additional exhaust nozzles (6) placed at the right and left hand sides and the front and the back side of the body of the submarine (1) in suitable numbers in accordance with the needs of the vehicle.

With the cross usage of the additional exhaust nozzles (6) connected to the manifolds (5) a point 360° turning maneuver to the left or right can be achieved in according to the needs of the submarine (27). Also with the parallel usage of the exhaust nozzles (6) the submarine (27) can be moved right or left without being moved forward or backwards. Additionally by placing exhaust nozzles (6) at the bottom and top of the submarine's body (1) the submarine (27) can vertically ascend or descend.

In another application method of the propulsion system developed according to this invention; additional exhaust nozzles (6) which are again connected to the manifolds (5) can be placed according to needs at the front part of the submarine's body (1) thus achieving powerful braking deceleration and even reverse movement maneuvering. Various developments of applications around this basic concept can be improved and developed for water vehicles according to the said invention the invention can not be limited to the descriptions explained herein and the invention is fundamentally as described in the Claims.