The Stirling engine because of its inherent closed-cycle operation can be readily modified to work in an airless environment even if the primary source of energy is a fossil fuel. Thus, Stirling engines are well suited for use in the underwater environment and have been operated successfully in manned military submarines since the early 1980s. In recent years fossil-fuelled Stirling systems have also been proposed for use in small unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs). However, in this case the need to carry an onboard oxygen supply in a very confined space has presented a number of design difficulties. These are identified in the paper. However, if the oxidant supply to the engine is provided by the membrane extraction of dissolved oxygen from seawater and/or disposable pods are used then the UUV Stirling system becomes more attrative. If this latter concept is extended to include multi-stage vehicles it can be shown that fossil-fuelled Stirlings could also be put to effective use in long range - long endurance underwater vehicular operations.
Assessment of a multi-stage underwater vehicle concept using a fossil-fueled stirling engine
Untersuchung eines Konzepts für ein mehrstufiges Unterwasserfahrzeug mit einem fossil betriebenen Stirling-Motor
1995
8 Seiten, 10 Bilder, 17 Quellen
Conference paper
English
The Stirling Engine for Underwater Vehicle Applications
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