Tests of the first anaerobic power plants. "Kalina" is a fifth-generation Russian submarine with an air-independent power (anaerobic) installation (VNEU). The principle of operation of gas turbine power plants
Render of a submarine of the Amur-950 project with an anaerobic power plant
Central Design Bureau MT "Rubin"
A promising Russian anaerobic power plant, which is planned to be installed on the experimental submarine of project 677 "Lada" and the new non-nuclear submarine of the Kalina project, will receive a double-capacity battery. According to Mil.Press FlotProm, electric power the improved battery will be one hundred kilowatts instead of 50 for the current sample. The development and testing of a new battery for anaerobic power plants of submarines is planned to be completed by 2020.
Modern diesel-electric submarines have several advantages over larger nuclear submarines. One of the main such advantages is the almost complete noiselessness of the course in a submerged position, since in this case only quiet electric motors powered by batteries. Recharging of these batteries is carried out from diesel generators in the surface position or at a depth from which it is possible to set the snorkel, a special pipe through which air can be supplied to the generators.
The disadvantages of conventional diesel-electric submarines include the relatively short time that the ship can spend underwater. At best, it can reach three weeks (for comparison, in nuclear submarines this figure is 60-90 days), after which the submarine will have to surface and launch diesel generators. An anaerobic power plant, which does not require outside air, will allow a non-nuclear submarine to stay submerged for much longer. For example, a submarine of the Lada project with such an installation can be under water for 45 days.
A promising Russian anaerobic power plant will use hydrogen for operation high degree cleaning. This gas will be received on board the ship from diesel fuel by reforming, that is, converting the fuel into hydrogen-containing gas and aromatic hydrocarbons, which will then pass through the hydrogen recovery unit. Then the hydrogen will be supplied to the hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells, where electricity will be generated for engines and on-board systems.
Battery BTE-50K-E on the test bench
Krylov State science Center
The battery, otherwise known as an electrochemical generator, is being developed by the Central Research Institute of Marine Electrical Engineering and Technology. This battery, which generates electricity through the reaction of hydrogen and oxygen, was named BTE-50K-E. Its power is 50 kilowatts. The power of the improved battery will be one hundred kilowatts. New battery will be part of the power modules of promising non-nuclear submarines with a capacity of 250-450 kilowatts.
In addition to the electrochemical elements themselves, otherwise known as hydrogen fuel cells, such modules will include hydrocarbon fuel converters. It is in them that the process of reforming diesel fuel will take place. As one of the developers of the new battery told Mil.Press FlotProm, the hydrocarbon fuel converter is currently under development. Earlier it was reported that the development of an anaerobic power plant for submarines is planned to be completed before the end of 2018.
In February last year, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology on the development of a compact four-stroke piston unit for catalytic methane reforming and hydrogen production. New units can be chained together, thereby increasing the hydrogen yield. The installation is quite compact and does not require strong heating. The reactor operates on a four-stroke cycle. On the first stroke, methane mixed with steam is fed into the cylinder through valves. In this case, the piston in the cylinder smoothly lowers. After the piston reaches the bottom point, the mixture supply is blocked.
On the second stroke, the piston rises, compressing the mixture. At the same time, the cylinder is heated to 400 degrees Celsius. In conditions high pressure and heating, the reforming process takes place. As hydrogen is released, it passes through the membrane, which stops carbon dioxide, also formed during reforming. Carbon dioxide is absorbed by the adsorbent material mixed with the catalyst.
On the third stroke, the piston descends to its lowest position, sharply reducing the pressure in the cylinder. In this case, carbon dioxide is released from the adsorbent material. Then the fourth stroke begins, in which the valve opens in the cylinder, and the piston begins to rise again. During the fourth stroke, carbon dioxide is squeezed out of the cylinder into the atmosphere. After the fourth measure, the cycle begins again.
Vasily Sychev
Indistinguishable in the depths of the sea, almost silent and, most importantly, completely autonomous. That is what the non-nuclear submarine Lada will be like. This opportunity will be provided to the boat by the latest anaerobic - air-independent power plant (VNEU). It will save the ship from the need to constantly float to the surface to recharge the batteries and replenish the air supply necessary for the operation of diesel generators in a submerged position. Thanks to the new units, "Lada" will be able to be submerged for up to several weeks, without betraying its presence.
Non-nuclear submarines are driven by motors using electricity stored in batteries. However, the battery charge does not last long. Movement in the combat patrol zone at a speed of 2-4 knots in a submerged position can last a maximum of four days; while the batteries are discharged by 80%. And it takes two days to recharge them. When driving with maximum speed Batteries are generally discharged in a matter of hours. After that, they have to be recharged using a diesel engine, which needs air to work. That is, the boat must necessarily surface to recharge the batteries, thereby completely unmasking itself.
It is for this reason that more boat crews died during the Second World War than were destroyed by depth charges or mines in a submerged position. The boats that floated to the surface became an easy target for enemy aircraft loitering over the sea. And often, fleeing from an air strike, the crew made an emergency dive, without even having time to close the hatch of the cutting shaft.
An anaerobic, or air-independent engine, is an engine that does not need atmospheric air. The ship may not constantly float to the surface for recharging, which means it will go unnoticed by the enemy. 
The pioneers in the world development of VNEU are the Germans with the submarine of the U-212/214 project. In 2014, the French defense company DCNS announced its success in creating similar systems. The installation created by her is intended for submarines of the Scorpene type. Another DCNS project, a larger submarine known by the names "SMX Ocean" and "Shortfin Barracuda", was selected by the Australian Navy for its program. However, the Swedish boat HSwMS Gotland is considered the most successful and dangerous. This ship has become a real legend. And not the Swedish, but the American fleet.
The ship is built of low-magnetic steel. On board are 27 compensating electromagnets, which completely exclude the detection of the ship by magnetic anomaly detectors. Thanks to the all-mode electric motor and vibration protection of mechanisms, Gotland is practically indistinguishable by locators even in close proximity to American ships. The boat blends in with the natural heat and noise background of the ocean. But the most important thing is that she, armed with 18 torpedoes, may not surface for up to 20 days.
The most advanced Russian non-nuclear submarines of project 636.3 "Varshavyanka" were called "black hole" for low noise and secrecy. Today they are armed with the most advanced torpedoes and cruise missiles"Caliber". The former are capable of sinking any ship or even an aircraft carrier. The second is to destroy a coastal target at a distance of up to 2.5 thousand kilometers. But, like the ships of the Second World War, the Varshavyanka is often forced to surface to recharge its batteries, which means that the crew of such a ship will always be vulnerable in a long confrontation. 
The newest Lada submarines are replacing the Varshavyanka. Today in the Navy the first submarine of this project "St. Petersburg" is already on combat watch. The second - "Kronstadt" will be handed over to the fleet in 2018. The third - "Velikie Luki" is still on the stocks of the shipyard. It is assumed that the boat following it will be launched already with a domestic anaerobic power plant. According to its characteristics, it will differ significantly from those on Western ships. Two design bureaus traditionally engaged in the design of submarines are working on this today: the St. Petersburg Marine Engineering Bureau "Malachite" and the Central design department marine equipment "Rubin".
The details of the project are still under wraps. It is known that the Russian development is based on steam reforming with an electrochemical generator based on solid-state elements. Already created it industrial model. Of the fundamental technologies, it implements the production of hydrogen from diesel fuel, the creation of an electrochemical generator that extracts hydrogen from hydrogen electricity and waste disposal of the first cycle. That is, the one that is obtained during the reaction of CO2. This fundamentally distinguishes Russian system from foreign analogues, since it is not necessary to carry a supply of hydrogen on board. It is produced directly in the plant by reforming diesel fuel. Professor of the Academy of Military Sciences Vadim Kozyulin says that the appearance of air-independent ships will seriously increase the combat potential of diesel-electric submarines. The main place of their application is inland seas with shallow depths. This is the Baltic, Black, Caspian or South China.
But the most promising was the direction associated with the conversion of chemical energy directly into electrical energy, without the combustion process or mechanical movement, in other words, with the generation of electrical energy in a silent way. It's about about electrochemical generators. In practice, this method has found application in modern German submarine U-212. The layout of the anaerobic power plant is shown in Figure 12.
The electromechanical generator is based on fuel cells. In fact, it is a rechargeable battery with constant recharging. The physics of its work is based on a process that is the reverse of the electrolysis of water, when electricity is released when hydrogen combines with oxygen. In this case, the energy conversion occurs silently, and the only by-product of the reaction is distilled water, which is quite easy to find use in a submarine.
According to the criteria of efficiency and safety, hydrogen is stored in a bound state in the form of a metal hydride (an alloy of metal in combination with hydrogen), and oxygen is stored in liquefied form in special containers between the light and durable submarine hulls. Between the hydrogen and oxygen cathodes are polymer electrolyte membranes of proton exchange, which act as an electrolyte.
The power of one element reaches 34 kW, and the efficiency of the power plant is up to 70 percent. Despite the obvious advantages of the developed fuel cell installation, it does not provide the required operational and tactical characteristics of an ocean-class submarine, primarily in terms of performing high-speed maneuvers when pursuing a target or evading an enemy torpedo attack. Therefore, Project 212 submarines are equipped with a combined propulsion system, in which batteries or fuel cells are used to move at high speeds under water, and a traditional diesel generator, which includes a 16-cylinder V-shaped diesel engine and synchronous alternator. Diesel generators are also used to recharge batteries - a traditional element of non-nuclear submarines. The electrochemical generator, consisting of nine fuel cell modules, has a total capacity of 400 hp. With. and ensures the movement of the submarine in a submerged position at a speed of 3 knots for 20 days with noise levels below the level of natural sea noise.
Combined power plants
Recently, combined power plants have become popular. Initially, combined power plants gave rise to the desire to provide warships at the same time with high speed for combat and a large cruising range for operations in remote areas of the oceans. In particular, the combination of boiler-turbine and diesel power plants appeared on the German cruisers of the Second World War. In the 1960s, gas turbines appeared on ships, which, due to their efficiency and operating characteristics, could only be used for a short time and at high speeds. To compensate for this shortcoming, they began to be combined with a boiler-turbine (COSAG) or diesel (CODAG) power plant. Somewhat later, the so-called marching gas turbines appeared, which required afterburner turbines (COGAG). Only the appearance of all-mode gas turbines made it possible to move to a homogeneous gas turbine power plant.
There are even unique combinations of CODEAG power plants (diesel-gas turbine with full electric propulsion), which is found on the frigate " Duke» British Royal Navy. When it was created, the designers proceeded from the need to provide an ultra-low noise level at low speeds when using a towed sonar antenna, as well as a quick transition from low speed to high speed. The installation includes two gas turbines with a total capacity of 31,000 hp. s., two DC propulsion motors with a capacity of 2000 liters each. s., built into the propeller shaft lines and powered by four diesel generators with a total capacity of 8100 liters. With. Such a main power plant operates in four modes: low speed with a minimum noise level when the main gearboxes are turned off; high speed during operation of gas turbines on propellers through gearboxes together with propulsion motors; intermediate speed during operation of one gas turbine for one propeller and one propulsion motor for another propeller with the gearbox off; maneuvering when using only diesels. The propellers work in reverse only from the propeller motors.
that is, unlike the internal combustion engine, the engine internal combustion, where the working fluid is simultaneously combustible fuel inside the cylinder, in Stirling the fuel burns outside, heats the working fluid (air) inside the cylinder, and then, as usual, the crank, etc.
in this article, I didn’t see the actual main positioned chip, anaerobicity, that is, just as an internal combustion engine needs oxygen for combustion, the same combustion process is used in stirling, that is, oxygen is still needed
just burning is transferred from the inside to the outside and that's it. Well, Stirling also burns constantly, and not in an explosive impulse, as in an internal combustion engine, hence its noiselessness, which is useful for a submarine. But that's all the pluses
I thought that instead of burning, some other exothermic chemical reactions would be used, for example, with the participation of water instead of oxygen, which is logical, there is a lot of oxygen around on land, and water itself under water.
I don't know, pour it into the cylinder or outside it, well, at least quicklime, yes, pour water, convert the generated heat into rotation
why claim an anaerobic engine and still use oxygen
further, if we develop the idea - the project uses an electric motor as the main marching motor, and the stirling will only be needed to recharge the batteries, so isn’t it easier then to focus on the means of directly obtaining EMF through chemical reactions without mechanics?
This reminded me of how, in the summer, in a country house without light, I connected a 220 inverter to a car battery, to which I connected energy-saving light bulbs, on LEDs, in which there is a low voltage. Then it dawned on me that it was stupid to first increase the voltage from 12 to 220, and then it drops again in the light bulb, I made a home-made LED for 12v and the battery began to last three times longer ..
In Soviet times, dry-charged batteries were made in Podolsk, on the plates of which a composition corresponding to the charged state was pressed lead battery. Such a battery can be stored in a warehouse for a very long time and be charged, then the buyer pours electrolyte into it and immediately puts it on the car. Load, for example, dry plates with electrolyte onto the submarine, which are consumed during the movement and replaced with fresh ones, and then loaded in the dock new material, as fuel, and the spent one is unloaded and regenerated under factory conditions into a new dry-charged one. All. No double conversion with steam locomotive efficiency, no oxygen, really anaerobic circuit.
Well, with a lead-acid battery, this is just an offhand idea, you can come up with a much more perfect process, for example, on lithium, this is still minus weight and minus dangerous acid
Russian developers have begun testing an anaerobic power plant for advanced diesel-electric submarines; ground prototypes are being tested. This, according to RIA Novosti, said the President of the United Shipbuilding Corporation Alexei Rakhmanov. According to him, in the near future, the developers - the Rubin Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering, the Malachite Marine Engineering Bureau and the Krylov State Research Center - also plan to create a marine prototype of an anaerobic installation.
Modern diesel-electric submarines have several advantages over larger nuclear submarines. One of the main such advantages is the almost complete noiselessness of the course in a submerged position, since in this case only quiet electric motors powered by batteries are responsible for the movement of the ship. Recharging of these batteries is carried out from diesel generators in the surface position or at a depth from which it is possible to set the snorkel, a special pipe through which air can be supplied to the generators.
The disadvantages of conventional diesel-electric submarines include the relatively short time that the ship can spend underwater. At best, it can reach three weeks, but usually does not exceed 7-10 days. After that, the submarine needs to surface and start diesel generators. An anaerobic power plant, which does not require outside air, will allow a non-nuclear submarine to stay submerged for much longer.
Testing of the Russian anaerobic power plant for submarines is planned to be completed before the end of 2021. In parallel with its development and testing, specialists are evaluating the economic component of the project - how expensive the installation will be in mass production, how much it will cost to operate and maintain, and many other aspects. “Any work should have economic sense. As soon as we see it, we will implement it,” Rakhmanov replied.
A promising Russian anaerobic power plant will use highly purified hydrogen for operation. This gas is planned to be obtained on board the ship from diesel fuel by the reforming method, that is, the conversion of fuel into hydrogen-containing gas and aromatic hydrocarbons, which will then pass through the hydrogen recovery unit. The hydrogen will then be fed into hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells, where electricity will be generated for engines and on-board systems.
Fuel cells are being developed by the Central Research Institute of Marine Electrical Engineering and Technology. Hydrogen batteries that generate electricity through the reaction of hydrogen and oxygen are called BTE-50K-E. The power of one such element is 50 kilowatts. The power of the improved battery will be 100 kilowatts. The new battery will be part of the power modules of promising non-nuclear submarines with a capacity of 250-450 kilowatts.
In addition to the electrochemical elements themselves, such modules will include hydrocarbon fuel converters. It is in them that the process of reforming diesel fuel will take place. The hydrocarbon fuel converter is still under development.
At the end of September, the Admiralty Shipyards shipyard launched the Kronstadt diesel-electric submarine, the first serial ship of Project 677 Lada. The submarine is expected complete a series of tests and will be transferred Russian fleet until the end of 2019. Project 677 in the future provides for the installation of anaerobic power plants on submarines. In addition, such power plants are planned to be used on advanced diesel-electric submarines of the fifth generation of the Kalina project.