Shallow-draft watercraft

Abstract: The invention relates to a shallow-draft watercraft having the ability to withstand impact stresses caused by upwardly travelling water movement corresponding to a shock factor (CF) of up to about 1.5. The watercraft comprises at least one superstructure, which is intended to be located above the surface of the water, at least two pontoons which float on the water, and devices for supporting the superstructure. The watercraft is characterized in that the pontoons are gas-tight and gas-filled and of a substantially cylindrical and elongated configuration. The pontoon walls include several layers of material, of which at least one layer inwardly of the outermost layer is a reinforcing layer. The reinforcing layer includes threads which are wound in at least three directions, wherein the material layers are disposed so that the pontoons are rigid with regard to bending, transversely acting forces and axial rotation, provided that an overpressure prevails within the gas-filled pontoons. The superstructure supporting devices rest on the pontoons, essentially transversely to the longitudinal axis of the pontoons.

Description: The invention relates to a shallow-draft watercraft which is capable of resisting impact stresses created by upwardly-travelling water masses corresponding to a shock factor (CF) of up to about 1.5. The watercraft includes at least one superstructure which is intended to lie above the surface of the water, and at least two, water-buoyant pontoons which float in the water, and means for supporting the superstructure. The watercraft is particularly useful for mine-removal work and as a depth charge trap, but can also be used beneficially for research and other purposes involving the use of underwater detonations, for instance in the underwater construction of industrial plants and tunnels. Shallow-draft watercraft comprising pontoons and a superstructure are previously known and one such vessel in the form of a sailing catamaran is described and illustrated in U.S.-A 3,473,502. This vessel is constructed as a lightweight boat which can be dismantled quickly and easily for transportation and storage. The pontoons are constructed from thin-gauge material capable of withstanding a given desired pontoon gas pressure, and may comprise rubber, vinyl plastic and similar polymeric material. It will be obvious that such vessels are not suitable for the extremely difficult areas of use indicated in the introduction. The shock factor CF is a measurement of stresses resulting from an underwater detonation. The factor CF is calculated from the charge weight W expressed in kg for an equivalent TNT-charge and the distance r expressed in m in accordance with the relationship CF = (W) 0.5 · r -1 The shock factor CF is a measurement of the energy per unit area of the upwardly travelling shock wave caused by the detonation and is a good indication of the damage effect on objects present beneath the surface of the water. Lightweight, shallow-draft water vessels are greatly influenced by motion or movement of the surface of the water. This movement, or motion, is composed of two effects, gravitational heaving, where the shock wave is reflected against the water surface, and surface heaving caused by expansion of the gas globe created by the detonation. These two magnitudes of fares are directly proportional to the square of the shock factor. A watercraft that is constructed to resist a high shock factor when sweeping pressure mines is described in U S -A-3,340,843. The construction is a lattice-work structure of mutually connected tubular parts whose hollow interiors are filled with a liquid with the intention of enhancing shock resistance. A series of buoyant cells are arranged in the upper part of the lattice-work structure. Each of these buoyant cells is comprised of an inner rubber container, an intermediate protective layer of elastic, porous fabric, and outer casings in the form of steel-wire nets, these nets being welded firmly to the upper horizontal parts of the lattice-work structure. The bottom of the vessel is covered with panels made of a rigid, flexible and resilient material, the intention being that these panels shall resist the shock waves through the inherent resiliency of the panels. In other words, the construction is based mainly on the rigidity, although also on the resiliency of the actual bottom panels themselves, said panels being mounted in direct contact with the rigid lattice structure. It will be obvious to one of normal skill in this art that a vessel of this nature will not withstand an unlimited number of powerful shock waves of magnitudes in the order of CF = 1-1.5, despite its sophisticated design, and that the lattice structure will be subjected to damage and - even worse - the instrumentation and devices necessary for mine-removing operations or the like and forming an important part of the vessel payload will also be subjected to damage. The object of the present invention is to provide a watercraft which is able to resist impact stresses caused by upwardly travelling water movement corresponding to a shock factor CF of up to about 1.5, while shielding the vessel payload, in the form of instruments and other devices and possibly also its crew, from serious disturbance or damage as a result of such powerful stresses caused by water motion. The invention is characterized to this end by the features of claim 1; preferred features are set forth in the following Claims. The watercraft is thus equipped with gas-filled and gas-tight pontoons. The pontoons are generally cylindrical and elongated and the pontoon walls are comprised of a plurality of layers of material, of which at least one layer disposed inwardly of the outer layer is a reinforced layer. This reinforcing layer comprises fibres or threads which are wound in at least three directions. The reinforcement is tensioned by filling the pontoon with gas to a predetermined overpressure, the gas used preferably being compressed air. The material layers of the pontoon wall are preferably disposed so that the pontoons will be rigid with respect to bending, transverse forces and axial rotation (twisting), provided that an overpressure prevails within the gas-filled pontoons. The devices which support the vessel superstructure rest on the pontoons, generally transversely to the longitudinal axis thereof. Preferably, at least one of the layers of the pontoon walls is comprised of a polymeric material, for instance synthetic rubber. In this case, the layer can be chosen to render the pontoon impervious to gas. However, it is also possible to achieve gas-imperviousness, and therewith the desired pretensioning, with the aid of separate rubber bladders which are brought into abutment with a reinforcing wall which, in itself, is not impervious to gas. The reinforcing layer preferably includes a yarn or roving (fibre cable) having a high modulus of elasticity and also being creep-free. The reinforcing layer is preferably constructed from aramide fibres. Aramide fibre yarn is strong, rigid and light in weight and will not stretch when subjected to load over long periods of time. Aramide fibres are today used as a general rubber reinforcement, when extra strong and flexible constructions are required. The vessel superstructure is supported by devices which are usually provided with a saddle-shaped part which rests on the pontoons and partially surrounds the same. In this regard, it is important that neither the superstructure nor the superstructure-supporting devices will abut the pontoons in a manner which prevents the same from bending in the transverse direction. Thus, there shall be no longitudinally extending beams or other parts which lie against the pontoons or are located close to the upper surfaces thereof. The pontoons are best secured to the supporting devices by bands, straps or the like arranged around the underside of the pontoons. This reduces the risk of the superstructure being jolted from the pontoons in heavy swells or as a result of similar powerful motion caused by an underwater detonation. The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompany drawing, in which Figure 1 is a schematic illustration of the shallow-draft watercraft as seen from one side; Figure 2 illustrates forces acting on the pontoons; Figure 3 is a longitudinal view of pontoon supporting devices; Figure 4 illustrates horizontal depression or indentation of the pontoons; and Figure 5 illustrates schematically the behaviour of the watercraft when subjected to powerful upwardly travelling water movements. Figure 1 illustrates a watercraft 10 constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention. The watercraft 10 comprises a superstructure 11 in the form of a simple lattice structure and a load 12 present in the superstructure 11. The superstructure 11 rests on and is supported by devices 13 that rest on one pontoon 15, of which devices only two are shown in the Figure. The lower part of respective devices 13 is saddle-shaped 14 and partially surrounds the pontoon 15 on which the devices support. The pontoons 15 are impact absorbing elements which are rigid under normal loads but which yield resiliently to overload pressure. The internal pressure P o of the pontoons 15 is greater than atmospheric pressure P a , so that pressure P equals P o -P a , where P a is atmospheric pressure, and pretensions the reinforcement in the walls of the pontoon 15. The superstructure 11 is supported by a membrane tension S which, as shown, acts along the edge of the saddle 14 and produces a highest supporting force F max = 2DS where D is the diameter of the pontoon 15. The tension S for a pontoon which is not subjected to bending stresses is S = PD/4 and hence the supporting force is at most F max = ½ PD 2 for a narrow saddle 14, whereas for a saddle having width B the force equals PDB. Figure 3 is an illustration in the cross-direction of the watercraft which shows the lower part of the superstructure 11 supported by the supporting device 13 whose lower part 14 is semi-circular in shape and partially embraces the pontoon 15. When the pontoon 15 is subjected to bending loads caused by acceleration of the mass in response to upwardly directed water movement, the tension S will decrease and the pontoon 15 will ultimately yield around a line on its underside and the reinforcement on the upper side will buckle so that the tension S will be equal to 0. The tension acting on the width of the saddle 14, i.e. the ring tension, is not affected by the bending load. When the pontoon 15 is secured to the saddle 14 by means of a band (not shown) extending around the underside of the pontoon, the same phenomenon occurs in the case of a downwardly acting force resulting from inertia forces from the co-oscillating water mass. The downwardly acting force, which is in the same order of magnitude as the displacement, holds back the pontoon 15. When a shock wave strikes the pontoon, the underwater part of the pontoon is pressed in, causing the internal pressure P to rise rapidly. Occurrent accelerations are controlled by the maximum bearing strength, which is also utilized during the first part of a blasting sequence when the shock wave is reflected against the free surface of the water and gives rise to cavitation. The shock wave also strikes the underwater part of the pontoon and presses in said part so as to reduce the volume thereof. This depression of the pontoon is illustrated in Figure 4, which illustrates pressure and area in a rest state and when subjected to the effect of a shock wave respectively, as indicated by the upwardly directed arrows. Bending of the pontoon around the support legs as a result of this compression and the forces of the shock wave is illustrated schematically in Figure 5. Depression of the pontoon reduces the enclosed area A by the sum Δ A and is closely related to heaving resulting from reflection of the blasting wave against the water surface and is therefore proportional to (CF)² and inversely proportional to the inner pontoon pressure. In turn, depression of the pontoon results in a relative reduction in volume which increases the total pressure at rest P o . The enclosed air mass oscillates at a frequency which corresponds to one wavelength of twice the pontoon length, about 15 Hz. It is the overpressure P which gives the membrane tension P + P a = P o ( 1 - Δ A/A) -1.4 since depression of the pontoon takes place at adiabatically. Depression in the semi-submerged pontoon is estimated to be d = Δ A/D = const. CF 2 /P o . The supporting capacity of a saddle is PD²/2, since the pontoon wall is relieved of load by the prevailing atmospheric pressure P a . The pontoon is now subjected to a weight which presses the pontoon down into the water to an extent equal to half the diameter of the pontoon. Occurring acceleration a m/s² can then at most be (supporting capacity)/(weight) for each saddle. The weight is ρ π D 2 1/8 where 1 m is the pontoon length loaded by a saddle and is the density of the water. A series expansion of the expression for P + P a gives the following acceleration value a max = 0.0013 ( P + const.(CF) 2 )/1. P can be ignored in the case of high shock loads and the expression is written as a max = const.(CF) 2 /1. It can be calculated from these expressions that an inventive watercraft will suitably have a length l of about 15 m, a width of about 7 m and capable of supporting a mass m of about 2,500 kg on each support leg. Example An inventive watercraft constructed on an experimental scale and having a length of 3 m, a width of 2m and a pontoon diameter of 0.6 m and a total weight of 800 kg was subjected to the effect of shock waves emanating from the underwater detonation of a series of explosive charges. During these experiments, recordings were made of the acceleration in the superstructure, the internal pontoon pressure and the forces occurring in two support legs. The sequence of happenings was filmed with highspeed cameras and also with video cameras. The shock pressures achieved in the experiments corresponded to CF 1.5-2 for a full-size watercraft, i.e. around and above the contemplated specifications for an inventive watercraft. The experiments showed that when the mean value of the first 50 ms is used, the acceleration signal, force signal, pontoon pressure signal and high speed film give approximately the same values for the occurrent acceleration at these levels of the shock factor CF.

Claims: A shallow-draft watercraft capable of withstanding impact stresses caused by outwardly travelling water movements corresponding to a shock factor (CF) of up to about 1.5, said watercraft comprising at least one superstructure which is intended to be located above the surface of the water, at least two pontoons floating in the water, and devices for supporting the superstructure, characterized in that the pontoons are gas-tight and gas-filled and are of an essentially cylindrical and elongated configuration; in that the pontoon walls are comprised of several material layers of which at least one layer located inwardly of the outermost layer is a reinforcing layer; in that the reinforcing layer includes threads which are wound in at least three directions; in that the material layers are disposed so that the pontoons are rigid with regard to bending, transversal forces and axial rotation, or twisting, provided that an overpressure prevails within the gas-filled pontoons; and in that the superstructure-supporting devices rest on the pontoons, generally transversely to the longitudinal axis of the pontoons. A watercraft according to Claim 1, characterized in that at least one of the material layers is comprised of a polymeric material, for instance rubber. A watercraft according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the reinforcing layer includes yarn or roving having a high modulus of elasticity and exhibits freedom from creeping, for instance aramide fibre. A watercraft according to any one of Claims 1-3, characterized in that the pontoon supporting devices include a saddle-shaped part which rests against the pontoons and partially embraces the same. A watercraft according to any one of Claims 1-4, characterized by bands, straps or like devices which secure the supporting devices to the pontoons and which are intended to take-up forces which act downwardly from the pontoons to the saddle-shaped part.

Inventors: SOEDERQVIST ROLF, STRIFORS HANS CHRISTER, SOEDERQVIST, ROLF, STRIFORS, HANS CHRISTER, Söderqvist, Rolf
Applicants: TRELLEBORG IND AB, TRELLEBORG INDUSTRI AB
Application year: 1992
Main classification: B63G7
IPC codes: B63G7, B63B1, B63B7