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A description of some foreign research vessels and their equipment
A description of some foreign research vessels and their equipment
87
A description of some foreign research vessels and their equipment N. [. OLCHI-OGLU
Okeanologiya 1961. 1 (4): 763-769 DURING the ten years between 1960 and 1970 the National Academy of Sciences and the United States Navy have planned an extensive programme o f oceanographic research for which it is intended to build a large number of specially designed vessels equipped with the latest instruments. The aims of this research are as follows : to obtain information to help in the solution of new underwater navigation problems which have arisen in connection with the development of the underwater fleet, and particularly since the introduction of nuclear powered submarines which are able to make long runs without surfacing; to establish whether it is possible to make wider use of the products of the organic life at ocean depths and to determine the safety of disposing of radioactive materials remaining from the industrial use of atomic energy into the ocean. To solve these problems temperature sections of ocean regions must be compiled and systematized over many years according to various time periods, relief maps of the ocean bed must be made, accurate data must be obtained on the depths of the oceans, and it is also necessary to obtain bottom sediment characteristics and the directions and velocities of deep water currents. Particular attention is paid to the development of studies in the field of acoustics, it is hoped that in this field alone considerable improvement can be expected in the detection of underwater targets. Nearly half the research work in the field of antisubmarine defence will be devoted to acoustics and oceanography. It is intended to increase the number o f oceanographic vessels from 40 to 85. For this, allowing for putting obsolete vessels out of commission, it will be necessary to build 70 ships varying in displacement from 500 and 1200 tons to 2200 tons. Attention is also being given to the building of bathyscaphs and small submarines capable of going down to a depth of 5500 m. The tasks include increasing the accuracy of measurements : the measurement of depth to :L I ft, of current velocities to ± 0.1 kt, of the direction of currents to ~ 5`= and of the speed of sound to _t 0.1 ft/sec. Existing instruments do not give sufficiently accurate measurements, so it is intended to carry out a number of special measures. Special stations will be set up at several points and these will be equipped with all the necessary instruments for measuring the temperature and salinity of the water and the velocity of currents, For carrying out urgent investigations in individual regions it is considered expedient to build self-propelled deep-water vehicles which could quickly process the information obtained and transmit it to an accompanying ship or aircraft. Such a vehicle must travel certain sections of the route at a given depth and then surface in order to transmit the data obtained. Great difficulties will arise in building these vehicles with respect to maintaining the submerged depth required and also as regards the working of the apparatus under high pressures. To achieve the necessary buoyancy it is intended to use vessels made from a thin material filled with gasoline, as was used for the bathyscaph Trieste. The instruments and apparatus will not be protected from the sea pressure, they will be designed to work at depth. This is apparently one of the most difficult problems. New types of instruments will have to be designed for these craft. Half the expenditure on building the ships and on the research work must be found by the Navy, the remainder by government organizations and scientific societies. The extensive shipbuilding programme of the United States Navy envisages the building of 18 ships by 1968, including : I ship of 1200 tons to be built in 1960, 8 ships of the same type to be commissioned at yearly intervals, 5 ships with a displacement between 2000 and 3000 tons and a crew of 29 plus 39 scientific personnel, 4 small ships. In 1960 the United States Navy began to put into effect its ten year programme of oceanographic research (TENOC) necessary for antisubmarine defence. $255 million have been assigned to this
88
N . I . OLCHI-OcILU
programme, of which $190 million is for research and $52 million for building the 1S oceanographic vessels. The oceanographic investigations, in which the efforts of naval and civilian laboratories have bec~ coordinated, have been carried out by sixteen research vessels. In 1961 it is planned to assign 51-J." million to these investigations, which is $4.2 million more than in 1960. The 1960-1961 programme (from 30 June 1960 to 30 June 1961) includes the building o t one oceanographic research vessel o f a new design (Agor-2) which is planned as a floating laborator5 to study the influence of various oceanological conditions on the transmission of sound ($4-9 million (see TABLE 1). The ship will have high manoeuvrability at low speeds and will be equipped with a laboratory and a launching device for meteorological rockets. Ships of the same type as this will bc built for the National Research Council. During the 1960 programme a Liberty type cargo vessel has been refitted as the research ship AG-159 with a displacement of 7330 tons: it is intended for carrying out experiments on c o m m u n i c a tions and electromagnetic radiations. In the middle of 1960 work began on building the research vessel Surveyor (DSS-32), which is intended for long hydrographic studies in tropical and polar waters (see TABLE 1). The hull has transverse framing with powerful ice strengthening. Great attention was paid in the design to locating and securing the main and auxiliary machines and equipment in such a way as to cause a minin~um amount of vibration. The laboratories are equipped for carrying out all kinds of hydrographic studies, there arc cabins for 111 crew and scientific personnel, there are also premises for storing large reserves of fuel, water and provisions so that the ship can work for six months without putting into port. All the living and service quarters are air conditioned. The navigation equipment includes : radar, direction1 finder, echo-sounder, Sperry gyrocompass (mark 14) and other modern equipment. According to the 1960-1961 edition of the British handbook of naval ships the United States Navy includes an oceanographic research vessel named J. W. Gibbs (see "I~BLE 1). It was laid dow~ as a floating seaplane base on 7 September 1942, launched on 20 December 1942 and finished building on 21 March 1944. It was refitted as an oceanographic research vessel at the end of the war, and in 1959 was handed over to the Hudson Laboratory of Columbia University for carrying out acoustic and seismoacoustic research as laid down by the Office of Naval Research of the United States Na*3. Recently it has been working among the Antilles, on the east coast of the United States, in the Bermudas and off Greenland. The ship is provided with geophysical, hydroacoustic, seismoacoustic and hydrological laboratories. There are three auxiliary screw propellers to give a speed of 4 kt and less. For work with acoustic and certain oceanographic instruments there is a shaft amidships under the bridge passing into the hull from the deck to the ship's bottom. The shaft is sealed up by a sluice valve controlled from the deck. An electric winch is installed on the deck above the shaft. The special equipment includes : a deep-water echo-sounder for sounding, pendulum-type gravimetric instruments, several asdic sets and underwater acoustics instruments for qualitative and quantitative studies of sea noises, seismoacoustics instruments, deep-water Edgerton stereoscopic cameras and standard oceanographic instruments. For work with the instruments the ship is fitted with a deep-water hydrological winch, an acoustics cable winch, a winch for the bathythermograph and a trawl winch. In 1958, on its own initiative, the Reynolds Metals Company (Virginia, U.S.A.~ sponsored a project to build a submarine bathyscaph named the Aluminaut which is designed to carry out scientific research work down to a depth of 4500 m for a period of 36 hr. In comparison with Piccard's bathyscaph Trieste the Aluminaut will have a far greater range (100 miles against a quarter of a mile for the Trieste) and a greater tonnage; this is because the Aluminaut has a cylindrical pressure hulls, whereas the Trieste's pressure hull was spherical. In projecting and building the bathyscaph the firm is making use of the results of experimental research work carried out in 1959 to study the possibility of using high-strength aluminium alloys for the pressure hulls of military submarines. The aims of the Aluminaut will be to study the possibility of using the useful minerals deposited on the ocean bed, and to carry out acottstic measurements and geophysical, geological and biological studies. For this the designers of the bathyscaph must provide ways of carrying out complex oceanographic observations and deep-water studies. They must make it possible to carry out observations with the bathyscaph moving either vertically or horizontally and to stop the bathyscaph at a given
Table I.
--~
Name of ship
i )
Main dimensions (m)
I
Flag
Surveyor
U.S.A.
J. W. Gibbs
U.S.A.
i1IisDlacement 1 -(ions) ~ ____ 3130
Length 89.50 max
1750 stand. 2800 full load
91.44 to waterline 94.71 max
U.S.A.
1020 stand. 1370 full load
63.70
‘,
U.S.A.
1040 full load
53.34 max
Tappet
Canada
1900 full load
62.00 max
Maxwell
Canada
Agor-2
Norway
A descript
-
I-
~
Breadth 14.02
1
Depth
~ Draught
8.30 to ~ main deck
4.88
12.54
4.1lmax’
1 I .28
4.57 max
10.97
35.05 max
7.96
33.98
7.62
3.96
; between perpendiculars 38.20 max
France
I
1480
Theodot Tissiet ‘,
Japan
soj ‘0
Japan
4740 full load
~
56.50 I between perpendiculars 66.10 max
4.45 to main deck 6.75 to upperdeck
i I
29.5
6.2
3.0
x4.03
15.80
9.30
Powc
5.87 full load
t
,iption of‘ somr of the research cessets
Main engines _
pwer (h.p.)
__-~
1 /
Tjppe
3250
Lava1 turbine with reduction gear 2 Fairbanks
Morse diesels
No. of
screws
Complement
I
Sped
kt
I I
Crew
) Scientists
/ 1
Range
._
I
I
15 full load 1
! 18
48
28
13
8 off. 14 crew
15
1200 rnr
Bow p
18
19
1500m1 at 12kt
Projecl M. 1
5000 m1
Main I gene 800’
6080 Diesel-electric
12 2900
Diesel-electric
700 700
Norwegian
diesel
I loo
320
I
(
I 4800
)
4-stroke, 4-cylinder diesel Two 2-stroke Scylinder diesels
11
44
12
20
2000 ml --
12
53
60 days
9
36
I
11
12 max I norm
2 aux. 50 h.p 15 m’
Antarc icebr desig thick stern assen 375 n hater
Complement
of
No.
Range
Speed
kt
screws
Crew
~ Scientisfs
Remarks
I_
15 full load 18
48
28
13
8 off. 14 crew
15
1200 m1
Bow propeller
18
19
1500 ml at 12 kt
Project by firm of M. Rozenblat Main engine : 2 diesel 1150 k W. ge;z~.
12
.2
11
5000 ml
2
12
2OOOm’+
I1
12
60 days
, 1
2
I
2 aux. 4-stroke diesels, 50 h.p. each, 900 revlmin
9
12 max.
15 m’
1 norm.
i
Antarctic expedition icebreaker, 2700 BRT, designed for ice 1.2 m thick, 3 helicopters on stern platform 2 disassembled flight deck 375 m* seaplane in hatch 2.
A description of some foreign research vessels and their equipment
89
depth in a stable position, they must provide means of conducting visual observations at the bows and stern and finally they must provide satisfactory living conditions for the personnel. The main characteristics of the Ahtminaut are as follows : Length over all . . . . Breadth . . . . . . Light draught .... Draught before submerging Working submersion depth Submersion depth on test.. Depth at which pressure hull fails Complement (including 2 observers)
\
r I,, 11 I
f 1t L~
II._ I'
',
~,
==
-ci7 ,i
%.v;illi
'"i
]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
t
tl
LII
/C
~x._
_llj
E~a. 1. Longitudinal section o f the research bathyscaph Aluminaut. l--horizontal propellor, 2--rudder, 3---hydroplanes, 4 ~ o m p a r t m e n t with the screw electric motor, 5--stern hatch, 6--pressure hull, 7--vertical propeller, 8--bow hatch, 9--portholes, 10--jettisonable ballast.
15.48 m
3"05 m 2.90 m 3-51 m 4570 m 5180 m 6410 m 3
The minimum internal diameter of the hull was determined at 2140 mm to provide satisfactory living conditions. The cylindrical pressure hull will be made from aluminium sheet with a maximum possible thickness of 150 mm provided the metal remains homogeneous when rolled; it will have bilge keels and a horizontal propeller for moving; it will have a vertical propeller for vertical descent for maintaining accurate depth and for improving its manoeuvrability, and it will also have steering gear. The vertical propeller will also make it possible to control the rate of descent and ascent. The general layout is given in FIG. 1, and the five compartments inside the pressure hull arc used as follows: compartment no. 1 (bows) is for scientific apparatus and two observers; compartment no. 2 is for the oceanographic equipment; compartment no. 3 is for the control gear and the navigator; compartment no. 4 is for the batteries; comparinlent no. 5 is for the living equipment (bunks, wardrobes etc.). Each compartment is 2.03 m long. There will be a hatch in the bows and stern for access to the pressure hull. Observation ports will be prm.ided in the hemispherical bows. The preliminary project provides for equipping the AhmUnaut with three ballast systems: compartments will be located amidships in which will be placed steel shot which will be kept in position with the aid of a magnet, for traxelling on the surface, controlling the reserve of buoyancy and maintaining a constant positive matacentric height there is water ballast in cisterns located in the keel, under the keel there is a solid lead ballast tsome sources say it is steel). The weight of the ballast is : Lead keel . . . Steel shot . . . Water ballast Permanently secured Total
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ballast ..
. . . . . . . . . .
Neit Capacity : (Equipment and complement) Reserve of buoyancy ....
3180 kg 1820 kg 1360 kg 909 kg 7269 kg
..
1820 kg 2270 kg
90
N . I . OLCHI-OGLu
Vertical descent will be achieved by flooding the ballast tanks with simultaneous power irom ti~: vertical propeller. Normal ascents will be effected by blowing tanks and jettisoning steel shot throLl~i~ the hatch. The lead keel will also be jettisoned for emergency ascents. A d.c, propelling motor will be supplied from a silver-zinc battery. The power of the propuis~,~ unit was selected to ensure a speed of 4-8 kt and a range of 100 miles. To avoid complicated de~ic~:~ for making the deadwood stulffing box air tight it was decided to place the s|ern scrc~ motor i;~ insulated conic section filled with oil under pressure (to compensate for the outside pressure!: ~hi,: section is joined to the hull at the stern outside the pressure hull. When this is dot~¢ Ihc curr,,:ttt nlust be supplied along a cable passing through the hull of the vessel. The electric motor con-~p:~r~ ment must be easily removable for ease of maintenance and repair. It is intended to provide the bathyscaph with manipulators of the type used in atonuc p~',~c'~ engineering, which will assist in the use of the special equipment for exploiting the useful rnin,.-rai> on the ocean floor. The manipulators will be controlled from inside the bathyscaph. The eqtdplnc~ also includes powerful television units. The Reynolds Metals Company is carrying out its work according to a progrtmame pro\ i d i ~ for five stages : (1) studying the possibility of using aluminmm alloys for the hulls of bath3scap~ls. (2) preliminary planning and model trials; (3) operational planning and preparing the working drawings for building the bathyscapi: (4) building the bathyscaph and testing the strength of the design elements uf the huli: (5) testing the strength of the hull, trial descent to a depth of 5200 m without crew. sect tr:tiis ~r the surface and underwater posilions, final preparation for a descent to a deplh of aboul 4500 with crew. Work on the lirst stage was carried out under the supervision of R.A.D.M. t). i)~,~ (U,S. N. l¢,ct :, it lasted about a year and was completed in January, 1959. As a result of this work il was established that the Aluminaut would be capable of carrying out scientific research work at a depih of 4500 :~ for 36 hr. Work on the second stage of the special programme has also been completed. ]'his wol-k ,,x~ii;~ done at the South Western Scientilic Research Institute at San Antonio (Texas) under Dr. km~ a~t~: WANK. The model was subjected to strength tests in a special chamber at a pressure corresponding to that at a depth of 6400 m. Comparison between steel and aluminium plating showed that with a steel hntl the vessel ~,¢,~titi sink; aluminium alloy type 7079-T6 with a yield point of 4200 kg/cm 2 was selected for buildin~ Underwater acoustic and fluid dynamics tests were carried out on a model one twelfth actual s~¢',:: the metal was also subjected to fatigue tests. So that the bathyscaph can be used at places a long way from the shore base it will t-~ madc so ti) t: it can be towed by a special ship at a considerable speed and even with high seas. Because of ti~i:, the lines of the hull and superstructure are planned to take account of the forces which occur when ii), bathyscaph is towed in high seas in the above-water position. The towing vessel will be equipped with lifting gear for taking the bathyscaph on board. The Aluminaut is the first of a series of similar bathyscaphs. Subsequent vessels ma~ bc iiU~.d with mechanical grabs for collecting samples of bottom sediments and loading them into sl~:ciai external bunkers. The firm of Martin has made and handed over to the U.S. Marine Research Laboratory tx~o d c c p water asdic sets intended for studies at depths down to 5500 m. The electronic cquipmcnt of ~h~: asdic sets is enclosed in a strong spherical casing. The receiving base consists of twenty hydrophonc,; forming a vertical cylinder located above the strong sphere. The preliminary amplifiers of the hydrophones are placed in inch cylinders. The emitter is located slightly above the receiving set, Rubber washers protect the circuit from shorting when the emitter is lowered into the water, The magazine Missiles and Rockets for 6 June 1960, Vol. 6, No. 23 gives a description of mc underwater remote-controlled manipulator intended for studying the ocean floor at a depth ,,>f four miles. It gives a description of the mobile gear, including the mechanical manipulator, ti~c television system consisting of four cylindrical television cameras 76 mm dia. and 355 mm long, and also the device for raising the gear vertically, In 1959 the research vessel Tapper was completed at Sorel (Canada). Its electric propulsion unit has remote control from the wheelhouse of the rnain diesel generators, the propelling motors
A description of some foreign research vessels and their equipment
9l
and the four-bladed screw propellers which are made from nickel aluminium bronze. There is a helicopter platform at the stern. At the end of 1960 the Canadian ttydrographic Service concluded a contract with the shipyard for the sum of $450,000 for building the research vessel Maxwell (see TABLE 1) which is specially intended for work inshore, particularly in the more remote regions of the western coast of Canada. The ship will have high manoeuvrability, to achieve which it will be provided with two rudders. All the deck gear, including the boats' winches, is hydraulic. The navigation equipment will include two compasses, radar, a radio-telephone and a gyro-pilot. A small laboratory will be equipped for carrying out analyses on board. Two launches, each 7.93 m long, will be used for studying shallow regions, each of these will be supplied with life rafts and three pinnaces. The first stage of work will include research work near the southern coast of Newfoundland, and then near the coast of Labrador. The ship is to be commissioned in 1961. In August 1959 the supplier published preliminary characteristics (see TABLE 1) of an oceangoing research vessel ordered by the Norwegian Navy with financial aid from the U.S.A. for the Norwegian Defence Research Institute. The hull will be of strong welded steel construction with a drop-shaped stem and a cruiser stern. On order for the French Scientific and Technical Institute of Marine Fishing the survey ship President Theodore Tisset (see TABLE 1) was building at the Austin Norman shipyard in 1959. The ship is intended for stern trawling and will have a refrigeration plant for refrigerating fish at temperatures o f -- 50 °, -- 26 ~ and -- 40°C, two live-fish tanks, premises for sorting, preparing and carrying out anatomical studies on fish, and a biological and a chemical laboratory. The tractive force of the trawl winch is 13.5 tons, and at a trawling speed of 4 kt it is 10 tons. The deck gear includes two cargo winches and two hydrological winches. In April 1960 a fishing research vessel (see TABLE 1) was launched in Japan; it will operate in the region of the Ryukyu islands. The ship has six holds for fish, two freezing chambers and one live fish tank. The capacity of the fuel tanks is 50 m 3 the fresh water tanks 20 m 3 and the fish holds 70 m 3. The freon refrigerator plant requires 2 h.p. and is designed to freeze the fish to a temperature of -- 20'C. The fish catching equipment also includes lines and hooks and nets for catching tunny and mackerel. REFERENCES
Canad. Ship. & Mar. Engng. News (1959) (3). Mar. Engng. Log. (1960) (6) 8. Missiles and Rockets (1960) 6 (23). Naval Res. Rev. (1960) New Scientist (1960) 7, (176). Peche Maritime (1959) (981). RvzH~ov K. P. (1960) Some American and French oceanographic vessels. Zap. po gidrograf (2). Shipbldg. & Ship. Rec. (1960).
87
A description of some foreign research vessels and their equipment N. [. OLCHI-OGLU
Okeanologiya 1961. 1 (4): 763-769 DURING the ten years between 1960 and 1970 the National Academy of Sciences and the United States Navy have planned an extensive programme o f oceanographic research for which it is intended to build a large number of specially designed vessels equipped with the latest instruments. The aims of this research are as follows : to obtain information to help in the solution of new underwater navigation problems which have arisen in connection with the development of the underwater fleet, and particularly since the introduction of nuclear powered submarines which are able to make long runs without surfacing; to establish whether it is possible to make wider use of the products of the organic life at ocean depths and to determine the safety of disposing of radioactive materials remaining from the industrial use of atomic energy into the ocean. To solve these problems temperature sections of ocean regions must be compiled and systematized over many years according to various time periods, relief maps of the ocean bed must be made, accurate data must be obtained on the depths of the oceans, and it is also necessary to obtain bottom sediment characteristics and the directions and velocities of deep water currents. Particular attention is paid to the development of studies in the field of acoustics, it is hoped that in this field alone considerable improvement can be expected in the detection of underwater targets. Nearly half the research work in the field of antisubmarine defence will be devoted to acoustics and oceanography. It is intended to increase the number o f oceanographic vessels from 40 to 85. For this, allowing for putting obsolete vessels out of commission, it will be necessary to build 70 ships varying in displacement from 500 and 1200 tons to 2200 tons. Attention is also being given to the building of bathyscaphs and small submarines capable of going down to a depth of 5500 m. The tasks include increasing the accuracy of measurements : the measurement of depth to :L I ft, of current velocities to ± 0.1 kt, of the direction of currents to ~ 5`= and of the speed of sound to _t 0.1 ft/sec. Existing instruments do not give sufficiently accurate measurements, so it is intended to carry out a number of special measures. Special stations will be set up at several points and these will be equipped with all the necessary instruments for measuring the temperature and salinity of the water and the velocity of currents, For carrying out urgent investigations in individual regions it is considered expedient to build self-propelled deep-water vehicles which could quickly process the information obtained and transmit it to an accompanying ship or aircraft. Such a vehicle must travel certain sections of the route at a given depth and then surface in order to transmit the data obtained. Great difficulties will arise in building these vehicles with respect to maintaining the submerged depth required and also as regards the working of the apparatus under high pressures. To achieve the necessary buoyancy it is intended to use vessels made from a thin material filled with gasoline, as was used for the bathyscaph Trieste. The instruments and apparatus will not be protected from the sea pressure, they will be designed to work at depth. This is apparently one of the most difficult problems. New types of instruments will have to be designed for these craft. Half the expenditure on building the ships and on the research work must be found by the Navy, the remainder by government organizations and scientific societies. The extensive shipbuilding programme of the United States Navy envisages the building of 18 ships by 1968, including : I ship of 1200 tons to be built in 1960, 8 ships of the same type to be commissioned at yearly intervals, 5 ships with a displacement between 2000 and 3000 tons and a crew of 29 plus 39 scientific personnel, 4 small ships. In 1960 the United States Navy began to put into effect its ten year programme of oceanographic research (TENOC) necessary for antisubmarine defence. $255 million have been assigned to this
88
N . I . OLCHI-OcILU
programme, of which $190 million is for research and $52 million for building the 1S oceanographic vessels. The oceanographic investigations, in which the efforts of naval and civilian laboratories have bec~ coordinated, have been carried out by sixteen research vessels. In 1961 it is planned to assign 51-J." million to these investigations, which is $4.2 million more than in 1960. The 1960-1961 programme (from 30 June 1960 to 30 June 1961) includes the building o t one oceanographic research vessel o f a new design (Agor-2) which is planned as a floating laborator5 to study the influence of various oceanological conditions on the transmission of sound ($4-9 million (see TABLE 1). The ship will have high manoeuvrability at low speeds and will be equipped with a laboratory and a launching device for meteorological rockets. Ships of the same type as this will bc built for the National Research Council. During the 1960 programme a Liberty type cargo vessel has been refitted as the research ship AG-159 with a displacement of 7330 tons: it is intended for carrying out experiments on c o m m u n i c a tions and electromagnetic radiations. In the middle of 1960 work began on building the research vessel Surveyor (DSS-32), which is intended for long hydrographic studies in tropical and polar waters (see TABLE 1). The hull has transverse framing with powerful ice strengthening. Great attention was paid in the design to locating and securing the main and auxiliary machines and equipment in such a way as to cause a minin~um amount of vibration. The laboratories are equipped for carrying out all kinds of hydrographic studies, there arc cabins for 111 crew and scientific personnel, there are also premises for storing large reserves of fuel, water and provisions so that the ship can work for six months without putting into port. All the living and service quarters are air conditioned. The navigation equipment includes : radar, direction1 finder, echo-sounder, Sperry gyrocompass (mark 14) and other modern equipment. According to the 1960-1961 edition of the British handbook of naval ships the United States Navy includes an oceanographic research vessel named J. W. Gibbs (see "I~BLE 1). It was laid dow~ as a floating seaplane base on 7 September 1942, launched on 20 December 1942 and finished building on 21 March 1944. It was refitted as an oceanographic research vessel at the end of the war, and in 1959 was handed over to the Hudson Laboratory of Columbia University for carrying out acoustic and seismoacoustic research as laid down by the Office of Naval Research of the United States Na*3. Recently it has been working among the Antilles, on the east coast of the United States, in the Bermudas and off Greenland. The ship is provided with geophysical, hydroacoustic, seismoacoustic and hydrological laboratories. There are three auxiliary screw propellers to give a speed of 4 kt and less. For work with acoustic and certain oceanographic instruments there is a shaft amidships under the bridge passing into the hull from the deck to the ship's bottom. The shaft is sealed up by a sluice valve controlled from the deck. An electric winch is installed on the deck above the shaft. The special equipment includes : a deep-water echo-sounder for sounding, pendulum-type gravimetric instruments, several asdic sets and underwater acoustics instruments for qualitative and quantitative studies of sea noises, seismoacoustics instruments, deep-water Edgerton stereoscopic cameras and standard oceanographic instruments. For work with the instruments the ship is fitted with a deep-water hydrological winch, an acoustics cable winch, a winch for the bathythermograph and a trawl winch. In 1958, on its own initiative, the Reynolds Metals Company (Virginia, U.S.A.~ sponsored a project to build a submarine bathyscaph named the Aluminaut which is designed to carry out scientific research work down to a depth of 4500 m for a period of 36 hr. In comparison with Piccard's bathyscaph Trieste the Aluminaut will have a far greater range (100 miles against a quarter of a mile for the Trieste) and a greater tonnage; this is because the Aluminaut has a cylindrical pressure hulls, whereas the Trieste's pressure hull was spherical. In projecting and building the bathyscaph the firm is making use of the results of experimental research work carried out in 1959 to study the possibility of using high-strength aluminium alloys for the pressure hulls of military submarines. The aims of the Aluminaut will be to study the possibility of using the useful minerals deposited on the ocean bed, and to carry out acottstic measurements and geophysical, geological and biological studies. For this the designers of the bathyscaph must provide ways of carrying out complex oceanographic observations and deep-water studies. They must make it possible to carry out observations with the bathyscaph moving either vertically or horizontally and to stop the bathyscaph at a given
Table I.
--~
Name of ship
i )
Main dimensions (m)
I
Flag
Surveyor
U.S.A.
J. W. Gibbs
U.S.A.
i1IisDlacement 1 -(ions) ~ ____ 3130
Length 89.50 max
1750 stand. 2800 full load
91.44 to waterline 94.71 max
U.S.A.
1020 stand. 1370 full load
63.70
‘,
U.S.A.
1040 full load
53.34 max
Tappet
Canada
1900 full load
62.00 max
Maxwell
Canada
Agor-2
Norway
A descript
-
I-
~
Breadth 14.02
1
Depth
~ Draught
8.30 to ~ main deck
4.88
12.54
4.1lmax’
1 I .28
4.57 max
10.97
35.05 max
7.96
33.98
7.62
3.96
; between perpendiculars 38.20 max
France
I
1480
Theodot Tissiet ‘,
Japan
soj ‘0
Japan
4740 full load
~
56.50 I between perpendiculars 66.10 max
4.45 to main deck 6.75 to upperdeck
i I
29.5
6.2
3.0
x4.03
15.80
9.30
Powc
5.87 full load
t
,iption of‘ somr of the research cessets
Main engines _
pwer (h.p.)
__-~
1 /
Tjppe
3250
Lava1 turbine with reduction gear 2 Fairbanks
Morse diesels
No. of
screws
Complement
I
Sped
kt
I I
Crew
) Scientists
/ 1
Range
._
I
I
15 full load 1
! 18
48
28
13
8 off. 14 crew
15
1200 rnr
Bow p
18
19
1500m1 at 12kt
Projecl M. 1
5000 m1
Main I gene 800’
6080 Diesel-electric
12 2900
Diesel-electric
700 700
Norwegian
diesel
I loo
320
I
(
I 4800
)
4-stroke, 4-cylinder diesel Two 2-stroke Scylinder diesels
11
44
12
20
2000 ml --
12
53
60 days
9
36
I
11
12 max I norm
2 aux. 50 h.p 15 m’
Antarc icebr desig thick stern assen 375 n hater
Complement
of
No.
Range
Speed
kt
screws
Crew
~ Scientisfs
Remarks
I_
15 full load 18
48
28
13
8 off. 14 crew
15
1200 m1
Bow propeller
18
19
1500 ml at 12 kt
Project by firm of M. Rozenblat Main engine : 2 diesel 1150 k W. ge;z~.
12
.2
11
5000 ml
2
12
2OOOm’+
I1
12
60 days
, 1
2
I
2 aux. 4-stroke diesels, 50 h.p. each, 900 revlmin
9
12 max.
15 m’
1 norm.
i
Antarctic expedition icebreaker, 2700 BRT, designed for ice 1.2 m thick, 3 helicopters on stern platform 2 disassembled flight deck 375 m* seaplane in hatch 2.
A description of some foreign research vessels and their equipment
89
depth in a stable position, they must provide means of conducting visual observations at the bows and stern and finally they must provide satisfactory living conditions for the personnel. The main characteristics of the Ahtminaut are as follows : Length over all . . . . Breadth . . . . . . Light draught .... Draught before submerging Working submersion depth Submersion depth on test.. Depth at which pressure hull fails Complement (including 2 observers)
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r I,, 11 I
f 1t L~
II._ I'
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~,
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%.v;illi
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t
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LII
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E~a. 1. Longitudinal section o f the research bathyscaph Aluminaut. l--horizontal propellor, 2--rudder, 3---hydroplanes, 4 ~ o m p a r t m e n t with the screw electric motor, 5--stern hatch, 6--pressure hull, 7--vertical propeller, 8--bow hatch, 9--portholes, 10--jettisonable ballast.
15.48 m
3"05 m 2.90 m 3-51 m 4570 m 5180 m 6410 m 3
The minimum internal diameter of the hull was determined at 2140 mm to provide satisfactory living conditions. The cylindrical pressure hull will be made from aluminium sheet with a maximum possible thickness of 150 mm provided the metal remains homogeneous when rolled; it will have bilge keels and a horizontal propeller for moving; it will have a vertical propeller for vertical descent for maintaining accurate depth and for improving its manoeuvrability, and it will also have steering gear. The vertical propeller will also make it possible to control the rate of descent and ascent. The general layout is given in FIG. 1, and the five compartments inside the pressure hull arc used as follows: compartment no. 1 (bows) is for scientific apparatus and two observers; compartment no. 2 is for the oceanographic equipment; compartment no. 3 is for the control gear and the navigator; compartment no. 4 is for the batteries; comparinlent no. 5 is for the living equipment (bunks, wardrobes etc.). Each compartment is 2.03 m long. There will be a hatch in the bows and stern for access to the pressure hull. Observation ports will be prm.ided in the hemispherical bows. The preliminary project provides for equipping the AhmUnaut with three ballast systems: compartments will be located amidships in which will be placed steel shot which will be kept in position with the aid of a magnet, for traxelling on the surface, controlling the reserve of buoyancy and maintaining a constant positive matacentric height there is water ballast in cisterns located in the keel, under the keel there is a solid lead ballast tsome sources say it is steel). The weight of the ballast is : Lead keel . . . Steel shot . . . Water ballast Permanently secured Total
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ballast ..
. . . . . . . . . .
Neit Capacity : (Equipment and complement) Reserve of buoyancy ....
3180 kg 1820 kg 1360 kg 909 kg 7269 kg
..
1820 kg 2270 kg
90
N . I . OLCHI-OGLu
Vertical descent will be achieved by flooding the ballast tanks with simultaneous power irom ti~: vertical propeller. Normal ascents will be effected by blowing tanks and jettisoning steel shot throLl~i~ the hatch. The lead keel will also be jettisoned for emergency ascents. A d.c, propelling motor will be supplied from a silver-zinc battery. The power of the propuis~,~ unit was selected to ensure a speed of 4-8 kt and a range of 100 miles. To avoid complicated de~ic~:~ for making the deadwood stulffing box air tight it was decided to place the s|ern scrc~ motor i;~ insulated conic section filled with oil under pressure (to compensate for the outside pressure!: ~hi,: section is joined to the hull at the stern outside the pressure hull. When this is dot~¢ Ihc curr,,:ttt nlust be supplied along a cable passing through the hull of the vessel. The electric motor con-~p:~r~ ment must be easily removable for ease of maintenance and repair. It is intended to provide the bathyscaph with manipulators of the type used in atonuc p~',~c'~ engineering, which will assist in the use of the special equipment for exploiting the useful rnin,.-rai> on the ocean floor. The manipulators will be controlled from inside the bathyscaph. The eqtdplnc~ also includes powerful television units. The Reynolds Metals Company is carrying out its work according to a progrtmame pro\ i d i ~ for five stages : (1) studying the possibility of using aluminmm alloys for the hulls of bath3scap~ls. (2) preliminary planning and model trials; (3) operational planning and preparing the working drawings for building the bathyscapi: (4) building the bathyscaph and testing the strength of the design elements uf the huli: (5) testing the strength of the hull, trial descent to a depth of 5200 m without crew. sect tr:tiis ~r the surface and underwater posilions, final preparation for a descent to a deplh of aboul 4500 with crew. Work on the lirst stage was carried out under the supervision of R.A.D.M. t). i)~,~ (U,S. N. l¢,ct :, it lasted about a year and was completed in January, 1959. As a result of this work il was established that the Aluminaut would be capable of carrying out scientific research work at a depih of 4500 :~ for 36 hr. Work on the second stage of the special programme has also been completed. ]'his wol-k ,,x~ii;~ done at the South Western Scientilic Research Institute at San Antonio (Texas) under Dr. km~ a~t~: WANK. The model was subjected to strength tests in a special chamber at a pressure corresponding to that at a depth of 6400 m. Comparison between steel and aluminium plating showed that with a steel hntl the vessel ~,¢,~titi sink; aluminium alloy type 7079-T6 with a yield point of 4200 kg/cm 2 was selected for buildin~ Underwater acoustic and fluid dynamics tests were carried out on a model one twelfth actual s~¢',:: the metal was also subjected to fatigue tests. So that the bathyscaph can be used at places a long way from the shore base it will t-~ madc so ti) t: it can be towed by a special ship at a considerable speed and even with high seas. Because of ti~i:, the lines of the hull and superstructure are planned to take account of the forces which occur when ii), bathyscaph is towed in high seas in the above-water position. The towing vessel will be equipped with lifting gear for taking the bathyscaph on board. The Aluminaut is the first of a series of similar bathyscaphs. Subsequent vessels ma~ bc iiU~.d with mechanical grabs for collecting samples of bottom sediments and loading them into sl~:ciai external bunkers. The firm of Martin has made and handed over to the U.S. Marine Research Laboratory tx~o d c c p water asdic sets intended for studies at depths down to 5500 m. The electronic cquipmcnt of ~h~: asdic sets is enclosed in a strong spherical casing. The receiving base consists of twenty hydrophonc,; forming a vertical cylinder located above the strong sphere. The preliminary amplifiers of the hydrophones are placed in inch cylinders. The emitter is located slightly above the receiving set, Rubber washers protect the circuit from shorting when the emitter is lowered into the water, The magazine Missiles and Rockets for 6 June 1960, Vol. 6, No. 23 gives a description of mc underwater remote-controlled manipulator intended for studying the ocean floor at a depth ,,>f four miles. It gives a description of the mobile gear, including the mechanical manipulator, ti~c television system consisting of four cylindrical television cameras 76 mm dia. and 355 mm long, and also the device for raising the gear vertically, In 1959 the research vessel Tapper was completed at Sorel (Canada). Its electric propulsion unit has remote control from the wheelhouse of the rnain diesel generators, the propelling motors
A description of some foreign research vessels and their equipment
9l
and the four-bladed screw propellers which are made from nickel aluminium bronze. There is a helicopter platform at the stern. At the end of 1960 the Canadian ttydrographic Service concluded a contract with the shipyard for the sum of $450,000 for building the research vessel Maxwell (see TABLE 1) which is specially intended for work inshore, particularly in the more remote regions of the western coast of Canada. The ship will have high manoeuvrability, to achieve which it will be provided with two rudders. All the deck gear, including the boats' winches, is hydraulic. The navigation equipment will include two compasses, radar, a radio-telephone and a gyro-pilot. A small laboratory will be equipped for carrying out analyses on board. Two launches, each 7.93 m long, will be used for studying shallow regions, each of these will be supplied with life rafts and three pinnaces. The first stage of work will include research work near the southern coast of Newfoundland, and then near the coast of Labrador. The ship is to be commissioned in 1961. In August 1959 the supplier published preliminary characteristics (see TABLE 1) of an oceangoing research vessel ordered by the Norwegian Navy with financial aid from the U.S.A. for the Norwegian Defence Research Institute. The hull will be of strong welded steel construction with a drop-shaped stem and a cruiser stern. On order for the French Scientific and Technical Institute of Marine Fishing the survey ship President Theodore Tisset (see TABLE 1) was building at the Austin Norman shipyard in 1959. The ship is intended for stern trawling and will have a refrigeration plant for refrigerating fish at temperatures o f -- 50 °, -- 26 ~ and -- 40°C, two live-fish tanks, premises for sorting, preparing and carrying out anatomical studies on fish, and a biological and a chemical laboratory. The tractive force of the trawl winch is 13.5 tons, and at a trawling speed of 4 kt it is 10 tons. The deck gear includes two cargo winches and two hydrological winches. In April 1960 a fishing research vessel (see TABLE 1) was launched in Japan; it will operate in the region of the Ryukyu islands. The ship has six holds for fish, two freezing chambers and one live fish tank. The capacity of the fuel tanks is 50 m 3 the fresh water tanks 20 m 3 and the fish holds 70 m 3. The freon refrigerator plant requires 2 h.p. and is designed to freeze the fish to a temperature of -- 20'C. The fish catching equipment also includes lines and hooks and nets for catching tunny and mackerel. REFERENCES
Canad. Ship. & Mar. Engng. News (1959) (3). Mar. Engng. Log. (1960) (6) 8. Missiles and Rockets (1960) 6 (23). Naval Res. Rev. (1960) New Scientist (1960) 7, (176). Peche Maritime (1959) (981). RvzH~ov K. P. (1960) Some American and French oceanographic vessels. Zap. po gidrograf (2). Shipbldg. & Ship. Rec. (1960).