Vortex power!
I had this idea months ago, but didn't post it. Now I'm posting it. It is about a submarine.
Think of corkscrews. Think of propellers. The limiting factor for submarines is that they must put a lot of force on that single (sometimes double for smaller) propeelor in the back. It is okay, but we can do better.
Now, here we go with the what if... part.
What if......
The prop was not just at the back? What if it was full body?
The idea...
The cycloen propeller consists of two flat metal panels twisted around the submarine, 180 degrees from each other to counter balance each other, like a corkscrew cyclone double helix, or a giant screw with the swirly bit spinning separately from the rest. The cycloen propeller is rotated easily and ingeniously (not igneously, that means volcanically). The cycloen prop is attached to rotating rings situated around the hull. The diving planes are situated before the propeller begins and after it ends, so it is able to do things that other subs can. The rudder is also situated after the prop ends.
Spinning counterweights and flywheels, along with a specially designed tail, make sure that it is the propeller that spins, and not the sub. Or an extra set of counter-rotating props would work, too. Or small props in the tail to counteract the spin, too. Or all of them together
Benefits....
Faster, as it pushes more water, easier. It could probalbly reach higher speeds than other subs. Also, since it moves more water,
Maybe a bit quieter, as this could produce less cavitation, which means more silence (I'm not a sub engineer, so I don't know for sure). Better looking, too, if you like that sort of thing.
Also, in wartime, if a torpedo was shot at it, the torpedo could hit the prop instead of the hull, so it wouldn't do as much damage. Then the sub could feign sinking so the enemy sub would think it was and not waste any mor torpedos on it.
I just like subs.-- DesertFox, Oct 09 2004 (?) like this? http://upload.wikim...ll-turtle-small.jpg [FarmerJohn, Oct 09 2004] [+] for being one of the only sub propulsion ideas that makes it quieter.-- wagster, Oct 09 2004 I think that I see it. Would it not be a bit flimsy?. How is it held and driven?. What about the periscope?.-- gnomethang, Oct 09 2004 Not flimsy, by my standards. No more flimsy than a regular propeller; probably stronger. And for the periscope, just stop the rotation of the cycloen fins and use an auxilary motor. That's how you would get in and out, too.-- DesertFox, Oct 09 2004 You wouldn't have to make it stick out much. Two cylinders going round the sub, one front and one back, with helical grooves cut in (think cross-cut gears) would still have a larger propulsion area than a single propellor.-- wagster, Oct 09 2004 Though this as it is would have an already extremely large propulsion surface. Of course, I'm envisioning a four foot wide spirally fin sticking out on each side. It could be smaller or larger.
Yes, FJ. The fins stick out like on those weird things. But two of the, situated 180 degrees apart.-- DesertFox, Oct 10 2004 FJ has linked an image of the first wartime submarine, the Turtle. Used in an unsuccessful attempt to sink a British boat during the Revolutionary War, the bomb was intented to be screwed into the side of a boat and the fuse lit - woulda been a good idea, if'n the damned target hadn't had an iron hull.
This would create less cavitation, sure (cavitation: the creation of low-pressure areas in the immediate vicinity of a propeller, resulting in conversion of water to steam in otherwise cold water, which creates sound as the bubbles are recompressed and reliquified). However, cavitation is only one factor of submarine sound, the other being actual engine and gear sounds. Would the mechanics needed for a rotating submarine body be quiet enough?-- shapu, Oct 11 2004 Hunt for Red October, [longshot]? Or are you just thinking like an underwater jet engine?-- shapu, Oct 11 2004 random, halfbakery