naval
MTU boosts submarine battery power generation
Operational scenarios for conventional submarines have changed significantly over the past 30 years. MTU has addressed this through the development of a more powerful battery charging unit based on its V12-cylinder Series 4000 high speed engine
by Doug Woodyard M TU’s first engine for submarine
applications was created in 1959, the naturally-aspirated V12-cylinder
Series 493 model developing 441kW at 1,500 rpm and subsequently logging over 3,600 deliveries. The design was derived from the proven Mercedes Benz MB 820 engine which served in a wide range of marine installations embracing around 1,970 units as well as rail traction and power generation applications. Of those marine installations, more than 340 were deployed in submarine duties, accumulating combined service times exceeding 1.5 million operating hours. Power demands for a larger submarine design led in 1980 to the development of a variant of MTU’s supercharged Series 652 marine, rail and power generation engine. Only 24 of these 16V 652 MB81 submarine versions – rated for 1,200kW at 1,400 rpm – were delivered, however, as the size of submarine that it was designed for did not meet the tactical needs of many navies for smaller coastal submarines at the time. Increasing onboard electronics as well as growing displacements meant that the power requirements of coastal submarine designs could no longer be satisfied by the Series 493 engine. Tapping extensive experience from more than 15,000 Series 396 engines in diverse applications, MTU responded with the development of a special turbocharged/intercooled model for backpressure operation in submarines. A V12-cylinder 396 engine was operated as early as 1982 under simulated snorkel conditions during an 18-month test phase. Performance verification was successfully completed with a 12V 396 submarine power unit in a 1,000-hour type testing at a German ministry of defence establishment. Subsequent analysis revealed the excellent state of all components, with no measurable wear.
112 I Marine Propulsion I February/March 2012
MTU’s new V12-cylinder Series 4000 diesel-driven battery charging unit for submarines is designed to meet demand for more powerful packages with lower fuel consumption
Among the references for the 12V 396 engine were the German Navy’s class 206 submarines of the 1970s, which were powered by twin gensets driven by 440kW engines. With a length of 48.6m, a beam of 4.6m and a displacement of 500 tonnes, the class was the world’s smallest military submarine. Twelve of the original 18 built were converted to class 206A boats between 1987 and 1993, the last of which was only decommissioned in March 2011. The first V16-cylinder 396 SB83 engines, developing 970kW at 1,800 rpm, were delivered in 1987. Improvements to the Series 396 design continued, the SE84 model of 1990 yielding up to 1,040kW at 1,800 rpm from V8, 12 and 16-cylinder configurations. An upgraded and uprated version of this model introduced in 2002 addressed the growing size and power demand of submarines. The ‘L’ in all cylinder variants of the Series 396 SE84 L indicates the higher power rating (up to 1,200kW at 1,800 rpm) of MTU’s long-established current design.
Continuing orders for V8, 12 and 16-cylinder models underline the sustained market interest in the Series 396 engine, which by last year had aggregated almost 250 references in submarine installations and had logged unit service times of over 310,000 hours. The German Navy’s most
advanced and quietest submarine generation, the class 212A, features a V16-cylinder engine and a fuel cell for generating electrical energy. By the turn of the 21st century the Series 396 SE had also earned installations in nuclear submarines, in which the MTU-driven emergency gensets foster a less visible snorkelling mode when the main power plant is running under emergency conditions.
Major changes in the demands placed on diesel- powered battery charging units have followed the evolution of conventional submarines since the 1980s, MTU explains. Such submarines have grown in size to meet increased transit distances to operational areas and to accommodate air- independent propulsion (AIP) systems in the hull. Despite hydrodynamic refinements of hull shapes the larger displacements created higher power demands, a trend that will be further accelerated by Lithium-Ion batteries. Li-Ion batteries significantly increase the underwater endurance and performance of submarines but the associated diesel-driven charging units have to adapt to new requirements: more electrical power and the provision of rated power over almost the entire operational time to fully exploit the advantages of Li-Ion technology. Covering longer transit distances from home
www.mpropulsion.com
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