A New Type of Ship
Following is description of an unusual Ship, which has some
characteristics of a catamaran, and uses water-jets for propulsion and stabilization.
This Ship has a large Tube
in the middle of its bottom, which connects its front and its back. There are
large openings into that Tube both in the front and in the back of the Ship.
The Ship is symmetrical – it is
designed to move either way: “forward” or “backward”. Front and back are just
temporary designations to indicate direction of movement. This Tube in the
middle of it is its main feature. Water naturally comes into this Tube, and
from it, water is pumped into jets to move the Ship.
Since water from the Tube
goes through machinery, it has to be filtered; hence there are series of
filters, where the Tube meets external waters (in the front and in the back of
the Ship). In these places the Tube is flared-up and opened to the bottom that
filtered out staff could be immediately moved down out of the Ship. The removal
is assisted with automatic brushes.
To control flow of
water in the front and in the back of the Tube there is a set of inflatable
bags just behind the filters. They do not need to provide a tight closing of
the Tube, just an obstruction for water flow. Only bags on the “current back”
of the Ship are deployed, when needed.
All jets are fixed in place;
only speed of water flow through them is controlled.
Two jets are needed on the back of
the Ship: left and right to turn the Ship. For reliability, it is better to
have them in double - four jets on the back.
Also, there are
symmetrical four (inactive) jets on the front.
To improve maneuverability,
we place small jets on the right side of the Ship: two on the back of the Ship and
two on the front. They send water to push the ship from right to left.
Also, there are four
jets on the left side of the Ship.
The next set of jets is
unusual – they send water down. They are used to tame Ship’s oscillation
front-to-back and right-to-left. They are set on Ships perimeter, only a few of
such jets are needed and they do not need to be powerful, but they have to be
computer controlled and they should react fast. This set of jets is used also
to tilt the Ship into a turn, like a bicycle, not as a usual Ship.
There are structural
weaknesses in the Ship:
-
where nozzles of jets open up into outside of the
ship
-
where water is taken into Ship’s hydraulic system
from the Tube to be pushed into jets,
-
tubes of the
hydraulic system traversing the Ship.
They all have to be encapsulated
into water-tight compartments to localize any possible leak.
Pumps, feeding the jets
should be next to the Tube in the middle of the ship to enhance ship’s
stability.
There is no need for
any kind of “structure” on top of the Ship: it is elevating center of gravity
of the ship and it is vulnerable in case of bad weather. Modern observation and
communication equipment can provide all needed information to the captain and
the crew.
Similarly, there is no need for
windows in the Ship – modern inexpensive to operate lighting equipment and
abundance of screens and speakers provide sufficient substitute for them.
One needs to place
observation, communication and visual signaling equipment high above the Ship and
one needs visible indication of the Ship’s dimensions for other ships. Hence
the Ship needs four masts on its four corners. When the Ship is small, one mast
in the middle of the ship or on one of its corners could be sufficient.
Masts should be telescopic,
that they could be collapsed for protection or repair. To make masts more
reliable, each should consist of three telescopic legs. In the case of only one
mast in the middle of the Ship, it should consist of four telescopic legs.
The bottom of the Ship could be
almost flat and it does not need the keel. The sides of the Ship also could be
flat or almost flat.
The Ship could look like a box with
openings into the Tube in its front and back. This is particularly suitable for
a container ship.
The Ship should be able
to withstand high oceanic waves rolling over its top without damage or flooding.
It means its top should be water proof, when it is closed, and the Ship should
rely on fully developed air conditioning system.
Ballast tanks should be used to
regulate how low the ship sits in the water.
The Ship of this type not only
pushes itself using jets, it also pulls itself by sacking water into the Tube on
its front.
This sacking of water in the front
of the Ship reduces the height of the wave in front of it and its resistance to
ship’s movement. The wave on the back of the Ship exerts pressure on the Ship,
which pushes it in the right direction.
The Ship monitors this
varying pressure in both places, in front and in back, and adjusts its
“sacking” and “pushing” accordingly. It varies speed of water through the jets
and degree of blocking the water flow in the Tube by inflatable bags. This improves
efficiency of Ship’s propulsion system.
The ship could be designed as fully
submersible. In this case, it does not need masts and its shape should be like
a tube, not like a box.
Propulsion jets should be placed in
front and back: toward top, toward bottom and one toward each side of the ship.
Pairs of maneuvering jets should be
placed on top, bottom and sides of the ship. One jet of the pair should be
placed on the front and another on the back of the Ship.
External manipulators could be
added to facilitate underwater operations.
A small ship of this type could be
propelled with muscle power. Each member of a team could be pumping hydraulic liquid
with legs using reciprocating pumps. The flow of hydraulic fluid produced by
the team is used to drive all the water jets and an air compressor facilitating
air conditioning in the ship.
Small submersible ships, designed
for two persons, could be used for flexible underwater construction and
maintenance. They could use manipulators driven by the Ship’s hydraulic system.
This ship is stable – the Tube,
full of water in the bottom of it, lowers its center of gravity. It is highly maneuverable.
It is quiet.
Pumps moving water through jets
could be driven directly or indirectly by muscles, electric motors, internal
combustion engine, etc. and source of power could be switched as needed.
This ship could use narrow “landing
canal” dag up in a shore. It can go into it on arrival and back out of it on
departure. This is a useful feature for a ferry.
Alexander Liss 3/20/2019 – 6/16/2019