Virginia Class Submarine: The Virginia class submarine is a type of nuclear powered fast attack submarine that is in service

with the US navy. It is the newest class of submarines in the US navy, and is designed for a broad range of missions in the open ocean and close to shore. This submarine was designed from the keel up for multimission and near land operations. General Specification: Displacement: 7900 tonnes Length: 115m Beam: 10.36m Speed: +25 knots Designed for stealth and manoeuvrability Engineered for maximum design flexibility Can spend 3 months underwater without surfacing Dives to 240 m 21 torpedo tubes x 4 12 vertical launch system tubes Crew: 113 officers and crew

Sail Position: The effects of getting the design and position of the sail wrong are potentially enormous, the wrong size, shape and weight of sail can greatly impact on the submarines overall performance. The sail position on the Virginia class submarine is positioned quite forward of midships. This is because positioning the sail forward reduces the interference drag from the sail, compared if it was positioned closer to midships. This is something to consider as studies suggest that the sail contributes between 15%-30% of the bare hull drag. To combat flow separation from the sail on the Virginia it is quite thin and closer to the bow as well. Having the tower forward is practical in terms of the general arrangement of the design as well, as it enables divers to enter and exit the water aft of the sail, which is a lot safer than entering and exiting in front of the sail as you can be hit by it if moving. Like in older designs the periscope had a major factor in the location of the sail, but now all the visualisation equipment is digital, this doesnt matter. Forward Hydroplane Position: There are two areas where forward hydroplanes can be positioned on submarines. These are either on the sail or coming through the main body of the submarine. Both areas have their advantages and disadvantages. The Virginia class submarines have their hydro planes positioned coming through the hull. The hydroplanes on the Virginia class are bow mounted hydroplanes, they are located further from the centre of gravity, hence there is a greater moment for the force to act on midships, and therefore depth control is more accurate with these types. Bow mounting gives better control especially on the teardrop hulls where the bows tend to rise near the surface. They also provide more rapid diving. Extended, they are liable to be damaged and so are often retractable.

Arguments for locating the fore planes on the sail of the submarine are: Improved performance of the spherical sonar array in the bow because the fore hydroplanes generate noise Bow mounted hydroplanes can be damaged during docking of the submarine.

Penalties for placing the fore planes on the fin are: Operating gear takes up space in the fin where room badly is needed for the masts, Ice breaking performance is decreased At periscope depth the planes are close to the surface so their performance is adversely affected by the surface turbulence and finally The hydroplanes are closer to the centre of gravity and are thus less effective.

The major disadvantage of having bow mounted hydroplanes is the interference they create by noise and disturbance near the bow mounted sonar unit, however this can be overcome, as over approximately 12 knots the planes are no longer needed to control the depth of the submarine, so they can be retracted. This is also useful when docking. When compared to the submarine that we have designed, the fins are located in the sail compared to through the hull. And the sail is closer to midship. This is mainly because of practicality for the build in terms of layout, and influence from other submarines. A diagram of the Virginia class submarine can be seen below in figure 1.

Figure 1.

Propulsion: The propulsion on the Virginia class sub is a pump jet propulsor, this style of propeller significantly reduces cavitation which allows for faster and quieter operations. As can be seen in figure 2.

Figure 2.

http://www.heiszwolf.com/subs/tech/tech01.html http://www.dsto.defence.gov.au/publications/3442/DSTO-TR-1622.pdf http://warships1discussionboards.yuku.com/topic/17974/RN-Sub-Hydroplaneshttp://media.defenseindustrydaily.com/images/SHIP_SSN_Virginia_Class_Cutaway_lg.jpg http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA470163 http://www.fas.org/programs/ssp/man/uswpns/navy/submarines/ssn774_virginia.html