Combined mast fairing and underwater vehicle

Abstract

The invention provides a combined mast fairing and an underwater vehicle. The combined mast fairing comprises a bearing section, a connecting assembly and a stealth section which are sequentially connected, the bearing section comprises a streamline base body and a guide rail located in the streamline base body, the connecting assembly comprises an inner connecting sleeve and an outer connecting sleeve, and the outer connecting sleeve is embedded in the stealth section and connected with the stealth section through a fastener; the streamline base body is arranged outside the inner connecting sleeve in a sleeving mode, an annular boss is arranged on the side, facing the streamline base body, of the inner connecting sleeve, an annular groove matched with the annular boss is formed in the side, back to the invisible section, of the outer connecting sleeve, and the annular boss is sleeved with the annular groove of the outer connecting sleeve. The fastener penetrates through the holes in the stealth section, the outer connecting sleeve and the annular boss to fasten and connect the stealth section, the outer connecting sleeve and the annular boss; and the stealth cover is formed by adopting a radar stealth function composite material. The combined mast fairing provided by the invention meets the requirements of structural bearing and radar stealth performance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of underwater vehicles, and in particular to a combined mast fairing and an underwater vehicle. Background Art

[0002] When underwater vehicles such as manned submersibles and UUVs need to perform tasks such as communication or navigation, they need to extend equipment such as radar masts or optoelectronic masts out of the water. Usually, a fairing is set outside the radar mast or optoelectronic mast. First, it serves as a support and guide structure for the mast lifting and lowering. Second, because the mast needs to work when the underwater vehicle is sailing, the streamlined shape of the fairing can reduce the headwind resistance. When the mast is working, part of the fairing is exposed on the water surface. When the underwater vehicle is used to perform covert tasks, the fairing exposed above the water surface becomes the target of radar detection. Therefore, when designing the fairing, it is necessary to take into account both the structural load-bearing and radar stealth performance.

[0003] The existing mast fairing is mainly designed from the perspective of structural load-bearing. The shape meets the requirements of hydrodynamic performance, and the structural design meets the requirements of mast support and guidance. Radar stealth design is rarely considered, and radar absorbing paint is mainly applied on the surface of the fairing to reduce RCS (radar wave reflection cross-sectional area). This method has the following shortcomings, which makes it difficult to further improve the radar wave stealth performance of the fairing: First, because the fairing serves as a supporting structure for the mast's lifting and lowering, guide rails are set in the vertical direction inside it to guide the mast's lifting and lowering. This requires the fairing to be a vertical structure, and the outer surface cannot be designed with a large angle of inclination, and the vertical shape is not conducive to radar wave stealth.

[0004] Secondly, radar absorbing coatings have disadvantages such as a narrow absorbing frequency band and poor resistance to marine environment. Radar stealth functional composite materials have absorbing structures composited in the material, so their mechanical properties are lower than those of metal materials and structural composite materials. If they are used for the overall molding of the mast shroud, the size and weight of the shroud will increase. Summary of the invention

[0005] The main purpose of the present invention is to provide a combined mast fairing and underwater vehicle, aiming to take into account both structural bearing and radar stealth performance requirements.

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a combined mast fairing, comprising a load-bearing section, a connecting assembly and a stealth section connected in sequence, wherein: The bearing section includes a streamlined base and a guide rail located inside the streamlined base, the connecting assembly includes an inner connecting sleeve and an outer connecting sleeve, the outer connecting sleeve is embedded in the interior of the stealth section and connected to the stealth section by fasteners, the streamlined base is sleeved on the outside of the inner connecting sleeve, the inner connecting sleeve is provided with an annular boss on the side facing the streamlined base, the outer connecting sleeve is provided with an annular groove matched with the annular boss on the side facing away from the stealth section, the annular groove of the outer connecting sleeve is sleeved on the annular boss, the fasteners pass through the openings on the stealth section, the outer connecting sleeve and the annular boss to fasten the three together, and the stealth cover is formed of a composite material with radar stealth function.

[0007] Preferably, the outer openings on the load-bearing section and the stealth section for fasteners to pass through are filled with radar absorbing putty, the radar stealth functional composite material includes a reflective layer and a functional layer formed outside the reflective layer, the reflective layer is formed by carbon fiber epoxy resin prepreg, the functional layer is cross-compositely formed by multiple layers of quartz fiber epoxy resin prepreg and absorbing metamaterial film, and the streamlined matrix is ​​compositely formed by epoxy resin and glass fiber.

[0008] Preferably, the stealth cover is a hollow cover body, a reinforcing rib is installed in the middle of the inner wall of the cover body, and a through hole for a fastener to pass through is opened at one end of the cover body close to the connecting component.

[0009] Preferably, a top cover is installed on the inner side wall of the end of the stealth cover away from the connecting assembly, and a hole is opened on the top cover to serve as a passage for the mast to lift and lower. Preferably, the cover body includes a first cover body and a second cover body that are coaxial and integrally formed, and the top cover is located on the top of the first cover body; the cross-section of the first cover body gradually decreases in the direction away from the top cover, and the cross-section of the second cover body gradually increases in the direction away from the top cover to form an inward-inclined structure in the middle of the outer wall of the cover.

[0010] Preferably, the angle between the side surface of the first cover body and its bottom surface is 3° to 4°, and the angle between the side surface of the second cover body and its bottom surface is 3° to 4°.

[0011] Preferably, the combined mast fairing further comprises an adjusting washer located at the mounting gap between the annular groove and the annular boss.

[0012] Preferably, the adjusting washer and the stealth section are formed of the same material.

[0013] Preferably, the annular boss has a plurality of protrusions extending outward, and the annular groove is provided with a plurality of slots adapted to the protrusions, and the protrusions and the slots cooperate to snap-connect the annular protrusion and the annular groove.

[0014] The present invention further provides an underwater vehicle, comprising the above-mentioned combined mast fairing, and also comprising an optoelectronic mast, wherein the optoelectronic mast is disposed on the combined mast fairing.

[0015] The combined mast fairing provided by the present invention has the following beneficial effects: 1. The two-stage structure of the load-bearing section and the stealth section is adopted. The stealth section exposed to the water surface during operation is designed to be radar stealth. The RCS of the deflector is greatly reduced through the large-angle inward tilt design of the middle part and the application of radar stealth function composite materials; 2. The stealth section and the load-bearing section are connected by an embedded connection component, which keeps the outer surface of the fairing smooth without protruding structures such as flanges, has good connection strength, and does not affect the hydrodynamic performance of the fairing; 3. The combined mast fairing has the advantages of simple structure, easy implementation and good stealth. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the external structure of the combined mast fairing of the present invention; Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the explosion structure of the combined mast fairing of the present invention; Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the top view of the structure of the bearing section in the combined mast fairing of the present invention; Figure 4 It is a schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of the stealth section in the combined mast fairing of the present invention; Figure 5 It is a schematic structural diagram of the inner connecting sleeve in the combined mast fairing of the present invention; Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the combined mast fairing of the present invention after being equipped with a photovoltaic mast.

[0017] In the figure, 1. load-bearing section, 2. stealth section, 3. connection assembly, 4. streamlined base, 5. guide rail, 6. stealth cover, 7. top cover, 8. reinforcement ribs, 9. inner connection sleeve, 10. adjustment gasket, 11. outer connection sleeve, 12. optoelectronic mast.

[0018] The realization of the purpose, functional features and advantages of the present invention will be further explained in conjunction with embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention, and are not used to limit the present invention.

[0020] It should be noted that in the description of the present invention, the terms "transverse", "longitudinal", "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside" and the like indicate the orientation or position relationship based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the drawings, which is only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and does not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention. In addition, the terms "first", "second" and the like are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0021] The invention provides a combined mast fairing.

[0022] Reference Figures 1 to 5 In this preferred embodiment, a combined mast fairing includes a load-bearing section 1, a connecting assembly 3 and a stealth section 2 connected in sequence, wherein: The bearing section 1 includes a streamlined base 4 and a guide rail 5 located inside the streamlined base 4. The connecting assembly 3 includes an inner connecting sleeve 9 and an outer connecting sleeve 11. The outer connecting sleeve 11 is embedded in the stealth section 2 and connected to the stealth section 2 through fasteners. The streamlined base 4 is sleeved on the outside of the inner connecting sleeve 9. The inner connecting sleeve 9 is provided with an annular boss on the side facing the streamlined base 4. The outer connecting sleeve 11 is provided with an annular groove matching the annular boss on the side facing away from the stealth section 2. The annular groove of the outer connecting sleeve 11 is sleeved on the annular boss. The fasteners pass through the openings on the stealth section 2, the outer connecting sleeve 11 and the annular boss to fasten the three together. The stealth section 2 is formed of a radar stealth functional composite material. The outer openings on the bearing section 1 and the stealth section 2 for the fasteners to pass through are filled with radar absorbing putty.

[0023] The inner connecting sleeve 9 includes an annular flange located at the bottom and an annular boss located at the top. Both the annular flange and the annular boss are provided with threaded holes. The annular flange is used to be accommodated in the interior of the bearing section 1. The inner ring side of the outer connecting sleeve 11 is sleeved on the outer ring side of the annular boss, and the outer ring side of the outer connecting sleeve 11 is sleeved in the interior of the bearing section 1.

[0024] The load-bearing section 1 is in a vertical state in the height direction. The streamlined base 4 is a structural composite material formed of high-strength glass fiber and epoxy resin, and has excellent mechanical properties. A guide rail 5 is installed inside the streamlined base 4, and the guide rail 5 is made of metal material. The overall structural strength of the load-bearing section 1 is high, and it bears the load transmitted to the guide rail 5 by the mast during operation.

[0025] Specifically, in this embodiment, the radar stealth functional composite material includes a reflective layer and a functional layer formed outside the reflective layer. The reflective layer is formed by carbon fiber epoxy resin prepreg, and the functional layer is cross-compositely formed by multiple layers of quartz fiber epoxy resin prepreg and absorbing metamaterial film.

[0026] This embodiment proposes a specific structure of a stealth section 2: the stealth section 2 includes a hollow stealth cover 6 and a reinforcing rib 8 installed in the middle of the inner wall of the stealth cover 6. A through hole for fasteners to pass through is provided at one end of the stealth cover 6 close to the connecting component 3. By providing the reinforcing rib 8, the structural stability of the stealth cover 6 is improved. Further, refer to Figure 1 and Figure 4 A top cover 7 is installed on the inner side wall of the end of the stealth cover 6 away from the connecting component 3. A hole is opened on the top cover 7 to serve as a mast lifting and lowering movement channel. Through the structure of the top cover 7 and the reinforcing ribs 8, it is ensured that the stealth section 2 can withstand the headwind resistance when it is not exposed to the water surface, and can also withstand the wave impact force when it is exposed to the water surface for work.

[0027] Reference Figure 4 The cover body includes a first cover body and a second cover body that are coaxial and integrally formed, and the top cover 7 is located on the top of the first cover body; the cross-section of the first cover body gradually decreases in the direction away from the top cover 7, and the cross-section of the second cover body gradually increases in the direction away from the top cover 7, so as to form a structure in which the middle part of the outer wall of the cover body is inclined inward.

[0028] The inner tilt of the middle of the outer wall of the cover can improve its stealth performance. The threaded holes on the cover surface used to connect with the reinforcing ribs 8 and the top cover 7 are filled and leveled with radar absorbing putty after the fasteners are installed to avoid metal exposure and reduce radar stealth performance.

[0029] The included angle between the side surface of the first cover body and its bottom surface is 3° to 4°, and the included angle between the side surface of the second cover body and its bottom surface is 3° to 4°.

[0030] This kind of angle control is adopted to ensure that the stealth cover 6 can absorb, lose and deflect the incident radar waves when it is working above the water surface. In other words, the comprehensive application of appearance stealth (inward angle control) and material stealth measures (using radar stealth functional composite materials) makes the stealth cover 6 have an extremely low RCS.

[0031] Furthermore, the combined mast fairing also includes an adjustment washer 10 located at the installation gap between the annular groove and the annular boss. The adjustment washer 10 and the stealth section 2 are formed of the same material.

[0032] After the inner connecting sleeve 9 and the outer connecting sleeve 11 are repaired and tested, the thickness of the adjustment gasket 10 is determined according to the gap between the load-bearing section 1 and the stealth section 2 so that there is no gap between the load-bearing section 1 and the stealth section 2.

[0033] Reference Figure 5The connection surface between the inner connecting sleeve 9 and the outer connecting sleeve 11 is a three-dimensional inclined surface (the structure of the annular boss and the annular groove). In order to reduce the difficulty of processing and assembling the connection surface, the annular boss has multiple protrusions protruding outward (multiple protrusions are arranged in the circumferential direction, and the protrusions are provided with threaded holes). The annular groove is provided with multiple card slots adapted to the protrusions. The protrusions and the card slots cooperate to snap-connect the annular protrusions and the annular grooves. Through the snap-connection between the two, the tight fit between the inner connecting sleeve 9 and the outer connecting sleeve 11 is ensured in one direction, and the coaxiality of the load-bearing section 1 and the stealth section 2 in the height direction is ensured in another direction. Finally, the load-bearing section 1 and the stealth section 2 are connected by fasteners. The connecting component 3 tightly connects the load-bearing section 1 and the stealth section 2 into a whole, and its structural strength is high.

[0034] The installation process of this combined mast fairing is as follows: First, the optoelectronic mast 12 is installed in the bearing section 1, and then the stealth section 2 and the connection assembly 3 are assembled, so that there is no need to open a large opening on the top cover 7 for the structure of the lower part of the optoelectronic mast 12 to pass through. After the connection is completed, the countersunk holes on the surface of the bearing section 1 and the stealth section 2 for screw installation are filled and leveled with radar absorbing putty. In this way, the appearance of the combined mast fairing is smooth and streamlined, without protruding structures and no metal exposed, which is not only beneficial to the hydrodynamic performance of the fairing, but also beneficial to the radar stealth performance.

[0035] A slider is provided at the lower part of the optoelectronic mast 12, which forms a sliding fit with the guide rail 5. The optoelectronic mast 12 can be raised and lowered along the guide rail 5, and the load of the optoelectronic mast 12 is transmitted to the load-bearing section 1 through the guide rail 5. The optoelectronic mast 12 is lowered when not in operation and is stored in the mast fairing as a whole. It is raised when in operation and partially exposed outside the top cover 7 of the mast fairing. In order to ensure the observation distance of the optoelectronic mast 12, it needs to extend a certain height above the water surface. Therefore, the stealth section 2 of the mast fairing is also exposed above the water surface. The stealth section 2 has an extremely low RCS through the appearance design and the application of radar stealth materials, and is not easily detected.

[0036] The combined mast fairing provided by the present invention has the following beneficial effects: 1. The two-stage structure of the load-bearing section 1 and the stealth section 2 is adopted. The stealth section 2 that is exposed to the water surface during operation is designed to be radar stealth. The RCS of the shroud is greatly reduced through the large-angle inward tilt design and the application of radar stealth functional composite materials. 2. The stealth section 2 and the load-bearing section 1 are connected by an embedded connection assembly 3, which keeps the outer surface of the fairing smooth without protruding structures such as flanges, has good connection strength, and does not affect the hydrodynamic performance of the fairing; 3. The combined mast fairing has the advantages of simple structure, easy implementation and good stealth.

[0037] The present invention also provides an underwater vehicle.

[0038] Reference Figure 6 In this preferred embodiment, an underwater vehicle includes a combined mast fairing and an optoelectronic mast 12, and the optoelectronic mast 12 is disposed on the combined mast fairing. The specific structure and beneficial effects of the combined mast fairing are referred to the above embodiment and will not be described in detail here. The slider of the optoelectronic mast 12 is installed in cooperation with the guide rail 5 of the bearing section 1 of the combined mast fairing.

[0039] The above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the patent scope of the present invention. Any equivalent structural transformations made using the contents of the present invention's specification and drawings, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A combined mast fairing, characterized in that: It includes a load-bearing section, a connection component and a stealth section connected in sequence, wherein: The bearing section includes a streamlined base and a guide rail located inside the streamlined base, the connecting assembly includes an inner connecting sleeve and an outer connecting sleeve, the outer connecting sleeve is embedded in the interior of the stealth section and connected to the stealth section by fasteners, the streamlined base is sleeved on the outside of the inner connecting sleeve, the inner connecting sleeve is provided with an annular boss on the side facing the streamlined base, the outer connecting sleeve is provided with an annular groove matching the annular boss on the side facing away from the stealth section, the annular groove of the outer connecting sleeve is sleeved on the annular boss, the fasteners pass through the openings on the stealth section, the outer connecting sleeve and the annular boss to fasten the three together, and the stealth section is formed of a composite material with radar stealth function.

2. The combined mast fairing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer openings on the load-bearing section and the stealth section for fasteners to pass through are filled with radar absorbing putty. The radar stealth functional composite material includes a reflective layer and a functional layer formed outside the reflective layer. The reflective layer is formed by carbon fiber epoxy resin prepreg, and the functional layer is cross-compositely formed by multiple layers of quartz fiber epoxy resin prepreg and absorbing metamaterial film. The streamlined matrix is ​​compositely formed by epoxy resin and glass fiber.

3. The combined mast fairing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The stealth section includes a hollow stealth cover and a reinforcing rib installed in the middle of the inner wall of the stealth cover. A through hole for a fastener to pass through is opened at one end of the cover body close to the connecting component.

4. The combined mast fairing according to claim 3, characterized in that: A top cover is installed on the inner side wall of the end of the stealth cover away from the connecting assembly, and a hole is opened on the top cover to serve as a mast lifting movement channel.

5. The combined mast fairing according to claim 4, characterized in that: The cover body includes a first cover body and a second cover body that are coaxial and integrally formed, and the top cover is located on the top of the first cover body; the cross-section of the first cover body gradually decreases in the direction away from the top cover, and the cross-section of the second cover body gradually increases in the direction away from the top cover to form a structure in which the middle part of the outer wall of the cover body is inclined inward.

6. The combined mast fairing according to claim 5, characterized in that: The included angle between the side surface of the first cover body and its bottom surface is 3° to 4°, and the included angle between the side surface of the second cover body and its bottom surface is 3° to 4°.

7. The combined mast fairing according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes an adjusting washer located at the installation gap between the annular groove and the annular boss.

8. The combined mast fairing according to claim 7, characterized in that: The adjusting washer and the stealth section are formed by the same material.

9. The combined mast fairing according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The annular boss has a plurality of protrusions extending outward, and the annular groove is provided with a plurality of slots adapted to the protrusions. The protrusions and the slots cooperate to snap-connect the annular boss and the annular groove.

10. An underwater vehicle, characterized in that: The invention comprises the combined mast fairing as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, and further comprises a photovoltaic mast, wherein the photovoltaic mast is penetrated through the combined mast fairing.

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