B-90 Sarov
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The B-90 Sarow (also project 20120 ) is an experimental submarine with which the Russian Navy wants to test the interaction of diesel-electric propulsion and nuclear facilities.
prehistory
For some time there have been rumors about a nuclear kilo allegedly under construction . In September 2007 this top secret submarine with the name Sarow was briefly found on the website of the sponsored city of Sarow - an embarrassing oversight that was immediately corrected and followed by official denials everywhere. Two months later, however, it is now unequivocally clear that the Sarov really does exist.
Technical specifications
If you follow the sources available so far, the following picture emerges:
- Length: 72.6 m
- Width: 9.9 m
- Draft: 7 m
- Displacement: 2300/3950 ts
- Immersion depth: 300 m
- Speed: 10/17 kn
- Dive time: 45 days
draft
The design for project 20120 was developed by Rubin since 1989 . Construction began (?) At the "Krasnoye Sormowo" in Nizhny Novgorod , where some of the first nuclear submarines of the Soviet Navy were built. Later the hull was brought to the White Sea on inland waterways and the Sarov near Sevmasch was completed and pulled out of the building hall on December 14, 2007.
Outwardly, the new building is supposed to resemble the submarines of the Kilo-I-class (there are no photos yet), but with a diving displacement of 3950 ts it is significantly larger than this (3050 ts) - presumably due to the addition of an additional hull section. The specialty is not the size, but the drive system. For the first time in the history of submarine construction, the Sarow combines diesel-electric and nuclear propulsion . The new submarine has the conventional diesel engines and battery banks known from the Kilo class submarines . In addition to this, electricity is also generated by a nuclear plant.
If one follows the speculations that are currently circulating about the Sarov , then it is obviously not a conventional reactor in submarine construction, in which the heat of the radioactive process generates steam , which then drives turbines . Rather, what is used is a so-called radionuclide battery (radioisotope thermal generator, RTG). Here , the temperature resulting from radioactive decay acts directly on different metals in a closed system , between which electrical voltage then arises ( thermoelectricity , Seebeck effect). An RTG does not generate steam, but directly electricity and thus basically functions like a battery. The main advantage is the possibility of miniaturization of such a system, which only uses the heat generated by the radioactive decay of certain elements ( plutonium , strontium ), but not the nuclear fission of conventional reactors . A type WAU-6 RTG is used on board the Sarow . This supplies around 600 kWh of electrical energy.
The process is by no means new. RTGs have been used in international space travel for decades . They provide power to satellites that are too far from the sun to use solar sails effectively (e.g. the Voyager 1 and Cassini spacecraft ). In the former Soviet Union, RTGs were also used for the long-term power supply of navigation marks in remote areas that were not accessible at all times ( Arctic ) - heavily criticized by environmentalists. For the first time, however, such a system is now being used to generate electricity in a warship . It is unclear whether Russia is treading a new path exclusively for submarine propulsion, or whether RTG may even see a way for fully electric propulsion for surface units as well.
reporting
The administration of the Russian city of Sarov accidentally disclosed the secret project of the newest Russian submarine on the official city website on September 6, 2007. There they reported about the visit of the commander of the Sarov submarine , Sergei Kroschkin, as well as the number of the submarine project 20120 and tactical and technical data.
future
As a single boat, the Sarow will initially be a test platform for submarine weapons and systems, as well as the propulsion system, of course. Their design is made for a long service life and specifically allows for short-term upgrades and modifications. The first test drives were announced for 2008.
Web links
- "Russia Completes New Experimental 'Diesel-Nuclear' Submarine", industrywatch.com, December 2007 ( Memento from December 25, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- Oops - Russians post 'secret' sub plan on web , September 13, 2007
- Russia Developing Top-Secret Submarine-Paper , javno, September 12, 2007
- B-90 Szarov - Az oroszok nem túl titkos kém-tengeralattjárója - pictures of the submarine , November 6, 2014
Footnotes
- ^ Peter Lobner: Marine Nuclear Power 1939-2018. Lyncean Group, 2018. p. 366.
- ↑ Secret Russian submarine exposed on the Internet - Kommersant rian.ru (September 12, 2007)