224results about "Marine torpedoes" patented technology

An hybrid unmanned underwater vehicle comprises a body housing a controller; a vector thruster for propelling the body; deployable wings allowing the unmanned underwater vehicle to traverse by gliding as the unmanned underwater vehicle ascends and descends; a center-of-mass shifter for shifting a center-of-mass of the vehicle to allow the unmanned underwater vehicle to pitch up and pitch down; and one of a multi-stage buoyancy control system within the body and configured to adjust an apparent displacement of the unmanned underwater vehicle and an expandable outer shell configured to adjust an apparent displacement and therefore a buoyancy of the unmanned underwater vehicle.

A method for auto-correction of errors in an array of disk storage devices (210) having a plurality of disk storage devices (210I, 210J) dedicated to storing parity data to provide fault tolerance for a loss of at least two of the plurality of disk storage devices (210A-210J). A read operation from the storage channels (210A-210J) transfers data to a plurality of disk channel memories (220A-220J). The data in the disk channel memories (220A-220J) is checked to confirm the data is valid. Responsive to detection of invalid data, the data may be tested to identify the disk storage channel in error, including sequentially excluding data read from a different one of the plurality of disk channel memories (220A-220J) from a parity check and determining the validity of data from remaining disk channel memories. If valid data is obtained, the disk storage channel from which the data was excluded is identified as the disk storage channel in error.

Devices for navigating in a fluid medium having a solid boundary include a vehicle body and a fin attached to the vehicle body. The fin is configured to oscillate relative to the body such that interaction between the fin and the fluid medium produces propulsive forces that propel the vehicle body in a desired direction in the fluid medium. The fin is also configured to rotate relative to the body along a transverse axis such that engagement between the fin and the solid boundary propels the vehicle body in a desired direction on the solid boundary.

Devices for navigating in a fluid medium having a solid boundary include a vehicle body and a fin attached to the vehicle body. The fin is configured to oscillate relative to the body such that interaction between the fin and the fluid medium produces propulsive forces that propel the vehicle body in a desired direction in the fluid medium. The fin is also configured to rotate relative to the body along a transverse axis such that engagement between the fin and the solid boundary propels the vehicle body in a desired direction on the solid boundary.

The present invention relates to a transfer system for providing wireless data transfer, electrical power transfer and navigation between a mobile subsea vehicle and a deployed subsea station that uses acoustic and electromagnetic carrier signals for wireless communication and navigation. An inductive connector is provided for power transfer between mobile subsea vehicle and a deployed subsea station without conductive contact.

An apparatus for changing the angle of attack of a cavitator on a supercavitating underwater research model. The apparatus has a nose assembly that has a pivotable cavitator tilt plate, an actuator member and a drive system engaged with the actuator member to drive the actuator member so as to tilt the cavitator tilt plate to a desired angle. Power components are remotely located and accessible to an operator so as to enable an operator to vary the angle of the cavitator tilt plate while the supercavitating underwater research model is underwater and in motion.

An assembly for determining speed of a supercavitating underwater vehicle during underwater travel includes a fin mounted on the vehicle aft of a cavitator portion of the vehicle and adapted to be extended outwardly beyond a hull of the vehicle and through a boundary of a gas-filled cavity around the vehicle to form a disturbance in the cavity boundary, which disturbance propagates along the boundary. An acoustic transmitter is mounted on the vehicle and directs acoustic energy toward the boundary and the disturbance. An acoustic receiver is mounted on the vehicle and receives acoustic energy reflected off the disturbance. An autopilot is mounted on the vehicle and clocks times of projection of the fin and acoustic transmission receptions of reflected acoustic energy to determine the speed of the vehicle through the water.

A supercavitating projectile is disclosed and includes a combustion chamber, a forward-directed jet nozzle and a comparatively larger gas duct / rear-directed jet nozzle. The combustion chamber is filled with a propellant having a hollowed core. The core serves as a pathway to fluidly allow combustion gases to the jet nozzles. In operation, the propellant combusts to form gasses forced forward through the forward-directed nozzle to generate a virtual cavitator in the form of a ventilation gas bubble. Combusted gasses are also forced out the rear-directed nozzle forming a propulsion jet. The projectile therefore uses the rear-directed jet to maintain a cruise velocity approximate to the launch velocity and employs a source of ventilation gas using the forward-directed jet for supercavitating of the projectile.

An undersea vehicle having both low emitted noise and low reflectivity is provided. The undersea vehicle has a hollow cylindrical hull with all components, sensors, electronics, motors, and other internal components with the exception of the propellers, located within the shell of the cylindrical hull. The hollow center of the hull provides a duct and propeller configuration with the shaping of the inlet tube designed to reduce forward noise transmissions, such as reflected active sonar signals and emitted noise. The internal duct gradually constricts to a throat section and thereafter diverges to an output section where dual counter-rotating propellers are located. The result is that most of the internal turbulent flow and the propeller noise is located behind the throat and is thereby reflected in the aft direction. Steering of the vehicle is accomplished by canting the leading edge intake section and the duct exhaust section.

A supercavitating water-entry projectile having empennage on the aft end which provides both aerodynamic and hydrodynamic stability and a supercavitating nose section is provided. A representative projectile is a subcaliber munition adapted for use in a 25 mm weapon using a sabot currently in use with the M919 round. The projectile has circumferential grooves around its center section to match these sabots. A key feature in the invention is the size and shape of the nose section. The projectile has a novel high strength extended blunt nose section followed by a truncated conical section which angles towards the body of the projectile in the range of five degrees. During underwater trajectory, the entire projectile is contained within the cavitation bubble formed by the blunt nose tip. The projectile's aft empennage, which provides both aerodynamic and hydrodynamic stability, fits within the bore of the weapon.

A hydrogen generation apparatus for an underwater vehicle is presented, the apparatus including a hydrolysis reaction compartment, a mass of solid lithium hydride disposed in the compartment, inlet and outlet structure for passing sea water through the compartment to generate steam, lithium hydroxide and hydrogen gas, a condenser for condensing out the steam and retaining the condensate and lithium hydroxide, and a tank for collecting the hydrogen gas, the tank having outlet structure for discharging the hydrogen gas to a vehicle propulsion system.

An unmanned underwater vehicle for use in water and with at least one acoustic signal source includes a vehicle body, a steering mechanism to direct the vehicle body through the water, a propulsion device to force the vehicle body through the water, and an adaptive Doppler guidance and control (ADGC) system. The ADGC system is configured to receive acoustic signals from the at least one acoustic signal source and to control the steering mechanism using changes in at least one frequency component of the received acoustic signals caused by Doppler shifts.

A surface ship, deck-launched anti-torpedo projectile is disclosed. The projectile has a blunt-end nose to create a cavitating running mode. The nose has a gradual, stepped, right-circular cylindrical or conic geometry. In some embodiments, the projectile includes a plurality of tail fins that are dimensioned and arranged to be within the generalized elliptical cavity that shrouds the projectile in the cavitating running mode.

The invention provides a composite load reduction device for high-speed water entry of an aircraft body. The composite load reduction device comprises a fairing detachably connected to the head of a main projectile body, a cavitator and a damping device, wherein the cavitator and the damping device are arranged in the fairing; the damping device is arranged in the fairing and located between the cavitator and the main projectile body; and the damping device comprises a sealing pressure cylinder, a piston, a mounting seat, a piston rod, a tension spring, an air cavity and buffer air. The composite load reduction device is a buffer vibration reduction device which utilizes the pneumatic damping device and buffer foam for load reduction at the same time. Meanwhile, the pneumatic damping device and the buffer foam are utilized for buffering, and the composite load reduction device has higher load reduction performance.

The invention provides a resistance reduction-propulsion integrated structure of a manually-ventilated supercavitating torpedo. A traditional torpedo structure is changed, a cavitation bubble generator on the head portion of the traditional structure is omitted, and the head portion of the torpedo is made to be a plane; an engine jet pipe located on the tail portion of the torpedo is omitted, and four small engine jet pipes are arranged at the front end of the torpedo and evenly distributed in the upper direction, the lower direction, the left direction and the right direction; the included angle between the central axis of each jet pipe and the central axis of the torpedo is 10-15 degrees; by the adoption of the structure, the situation that the movement form is instable due to the fact that the front portion and the rear portion of the torpedo bear thrust at the same time is avoided, and meanwhile uniform thrust can be provided. The resistance reduction-propulsion integrated structure of the manually-ventilated supercavitating torpedo can be applied to low-speed movement and can also achieve high-speed movement; during low-speed movement, natural cavitation bubbles cannot be formed on the plane of the front portion of the torpedo, the engine jet pipes inject air so that a ventilation cavitation bubble can be formed nearby, the resistance of the portion covered with the cavitation bubble is reduced, the resistance reduction effect is achieved, and a propulsion system and a resistance reduction system of the torpedo are combined.

A marine vessel comprising a command module, first and second buoyant tubular foils, and first and second struts for connecting the first and second buoyant tubular foils to the command module, respectively, wherein the first and second buoyant tubular foils provide substantially all buoyancy required for the marine vessel, and wherein the marine vessel further comprises first and second engines enclosed within the first and second buoyant tubular foils, respectively, and first and second propulsion units connected to the first and second engines, respectively, for moving the marine vessel through water, and means for reducing drag on the vessel as the vessel moves through water.

A submersible vessel comprising:an elongated hull;at least one propeller mounted on a forward end of said hull and adapted to move said hull through water;said at least one propeller being of a size and configuration such that when it is rotated at an appropriate speed, it generates supercavitated water flowing from said at least one propeller and thence along an outer surface of said hull so as to diminish friction on the outer surface of said hull and facilitate high underwater speeds.

A high speed underwater projectile configuration that includes a cylindrical telescoping cavitator design capable of providing projectile nose shape change where such change to the projectile nose tip geometry results in supercavitation and a concomitant vaporous cavity in the water that reduces projectile drag resistance while maximizing projectile range and where the projectile nose tip further includes a retractable cavitator piston feature. The projectile nose is designed to house a cylindrical cavitator piston that protrudes forward from the projectile and is held in place until launch. Velocity induced hydrodynamic forces on the forward face of this cavitator piston cause the piston to start moving aft and to gradually cause the piston to retract into the projectile nose, until a larger, secondary cavitator is exposed to the vaporous cavity.

The present invention relates to a transfer system for providing wireless data transfer, electrical power transfer and navigation between a mobile subsea vehicle and a deployed subsea station that uses acoustic and electromagnetic carrier signals for wireless communication and navigation. An inductive connector is provided for power transfer between mobile subsea vehicle and a deployed subsea station without conductive contact.

Systems and methods for underwater descent rate reduction are provided. In one embodiment, a method for underwater descent rate reduction for an underwater delivery vehicle is provided. The method comprises: opening a first valve based on a first hydrostatic pressure to permit water to flow into a first chamber of a hydrostatic pressure driven piston assembly; developing a pressure differential across a piston head separating the first chamber from a second chamber of the hydrostatic pressure driven piston assembly; pushing the piston head into the second chamber to extend a piston rod from the hydrostatic pressure driven piston assembly; and pivoting a deflecting flap downward into a direction of vehicle descent as the piston rod extends.

The invention provides a pneumatic damping type load reducing device for large-angle inclined underwater entry of a navigation body. The pneumatic damping type load reducing device comprises a fairingwhich is mounted at the head of a main projectile body and is detachably connected with the head of the main projectile body, wherein a cavitator is arranged in the main projectile body; a pneumaticdamping device which is superposed with the axis of the fairing is arranged between the cavitator and the main projectile body; and a plurality of side hydraulic dampers are arranged between the pneumatic damping device and the inner wall of the fairing. At the moment that the main projectile body falls from high altitude and touches water, the fairing is disintegrated and broken due to impact load, and absorbs part of energy, and fragments are separated from the device. The pneumatic damping device mainly absorbs front normal impact energy from a water surface, and the side hydraulic damperscan absorb most of impact energy of the water surface on the side surface of the fairing, so that the pneumatic damping type load reducing device is especially suitable for an underwater entry workingcondition that the navigation body has a large inclination angle and an attack angle posture.

A system has a source of gas venting gas at a nose portion of the vehicle to create a gas / vapor cavity on the nose portion and an adjacent hull of the vehicle. A thermal engine propelling the vehicle through ambient water creates waste heat for heating the hull to raise the temperature of the gas / vapor cavity extending over it. A pump aft on the vehicle recirculates a portion of the gas / vapor cavity as recirculated gas to the nose portion. The velocity of the recirculated gas of the gas / vapor cavity is controlled by the pump to be virtually the same as the relative flow rate of the ambient water along an interface boundary between the gas / vapor cavity and the ambient water.

A projectile having a cavity-running mode is provided with a mechanism for changing the diameter of its nose. Based on changed conditions, the diameter of the nose can be actively reduced or increased, as required, to maintain a desired value for the nose-to-body ratio of the projectile.

An assembly for vehicle deceleration and buoyancy comprises a pair of doors enclosing flotation bags inflatable for buoyant recovery of the torpedo. In operation, the doors are controllably forced open to an initial angle off a longitudinal axis of the assembly to a fully-deployed position by hydrodynamic forces of the movement of the vehicle. From the doors blocking the hydrodynamic forces, the vehicle decelerates. The hydrodynamic braking action of the doors reduces the time required to reach terminal velocity, thus reducing the depth the vehicle sinks and enabling recovery with less gas required for inflation.

The invention belongs to the technical field of high-speed water inlet of moving objects, in particular to a reverse air jetting air bubble assisting high-speed water inlet reducing impact load mechanism. The load mechanism comprises a high-pressure gas cylinder, a gas channel, a fairing, an engine, a spray pipe, a tail wing, air holes, a high-speed gas jet hole, a moving body, an air cavity, an electronic pressure regulating valve, an electronic flowmeter, a computer control device and a threaded connection device; the fairing is connected to the head of the moving body through threads, a plurality of air holes are uniformly distributed in the head of the moving body in the circumferential direction, the air holes are in communication with the annular air cavity in the shell, the engine is used for supplying air to the air cavity through the air channel, the air cavity is connected with the high-speed gas jet hole, the high-pressure gas cylinder is connected with the high-speed gas jet hole through an air channel arranged with the electronic pressure regulating valve and the electronic flowmeter, and the spray pipe is located at the tail part of the device. The high-energy gas jetis used for tearing a notch in front of the moving body to make contact with the water, the moving body does not need to be decelerated, most of the load resistance of the front surface is avoided, and the problem of contradiction between speed and water inlet resistance is solved.

A mine neutralizing device that includes a buoy. The buoy includes a mine neutralizing device capable of swimming to an undersea mine to neutralize it. A method for neutralizing undersea mines includes locating an undersea mine, placing a buoy containing a mine neutralizer near the mine, and swimming the mine neutralizer to the undersea mine.

The invention provides a damping type buffering device for underwater entry of a navigation body. The damping type buffering device comprises a fairing, a buffering device body and an electromagnet device, wherein the head of the fairing is sealed, and the tail of the fairing is detachably connected with the outer wall of the head of a main elastic body; the buffering device body is arranged in the fairing, located between the head of the fairing and the head of the main elastic body and used for buffering the acting force between the main elastic body and the fairing after the main elastic body enters water; and the electromagnet device is installed in the head of the main elastic body and used for attracting the buffering device body. The damping type buffering device is used for head load reduction in the air-drop or medium-high-speed launching underwater entry process of the navigation body and can be suitable for the buffering load reduction purpose of vertical or large-angle inclined underwater entry of the navigation body at the speed of 20m / s to 100m / s. The damping type buffering device is simple in structure and convenient to implement and install, and different hydraulicdampers can be adjusted or replaced according to actual working conditions and requirements to achieve the load reduction purpose of different degrees.

An integrated propulsion and guidance system for a vehicle includes an engine coupled to an impeller via a driveshaft to produce propulsive force. The impeller includes a hub and a plurality of blades, including at least one control blade pivotably mounted to the hub. A control system provides a control signal to a magnetic actuator to adjust the blade pitch of the control blades as the blades rotate about the hub. The change in blade pitch produces a torque on the driveshaft that can be used to control the heading of the vehicle.