water inlets on ship

Not really an aviation topic, but at least naval.

Was looking at a book on the Iowa class battleships. Went through the
engineering section and saw the design of the engines. A thought came
to mind - where does the cooling water come from or are they single pass
engines with the steam exhausted overboard. That sounds grossly
inefficient and makes more sense to have a closed loop design with
cooling water.

Is there a set of scoops below the waterline or some type of flush
opening below the waterline to draw in seawater for cooling? Or is it
all "fresh" water that has been drawn through the evaporators.

Is the system similar on any ship? (There, finally a tie into aviation
if a carrier uses a similar powerplant)

Thanks in advance

MAH

"mah" wrote in message ...
Not really an aviation topic, but at least naval.

Was looking at a book on the Iowa class battleships. Went through the
engineering section and saw the design of the engines. A thought came
to mind - where does the cooling water come from or are they single pass
engines with the steam exhausted overboard. That sounds grossly
inefficient and makes more sense to have a closed loop design with
cooling water.

Is there a set of scoops below the waterline or some type of flush
opening below the waterline to draw in seawater for cooling? Or is it
all "fresh" water that has been drawn through the evaporators.

Is the system similar on any ship? (There, finally a tie into aviation
if a carrier uses a similar powerplant)

Thanks in advance

MAH

My experience was Aviation and it's been a while since I studied the boiler
cycle for my Surface Warfare Specialist designation. I did locate this
document which gives some details:
http://www.chemistry.usna.edu/navapp...0Treatment.pdf and answers
some of your questions.


Larry
AECS (AW/SW/MTS)
USN 'in a previous life'

It has been a long time since I studied a steam plant -like at OCS in 1962,
but there are indeed "condensers" on the bottom of the ship that convart the
steam back to water and feed it back to the boiler for re-use.

Probably one of our "black shoe" brethren can give us a better
details/explanation.

tc
"mah" wrote in message ...
Not really an aviation topic, but at least naval.

Was looking at a book on the Iowa class battleships. Went through the
engineering section and saw the design of the engines. A thought came
to mind - where does the cooling water come from or are they single pass
engines with the steam exhausted overboard. That sounds grossly
inefficient and makes more sense to have a closed loop design with
cooling water.

Is there a set of scoops below the waterline or some type of flush
opening below the waterline to draw in seawater for cooling? Or is it
all "fresh" water that has been drawn through the evaporators.

Is the system similar on any ship? (There, finally a tie into aviation
if a carrier uses a similar powerplant)

Thanks in advance

MAH

"mah" wrote...

Is there a set of scoops below the waterline or some type of flush
opening below the waterline to draw in seawater for cooling? Or is it
all "fresh" water that has been drawn through the evaporators.

Is the system similar on any ship? (There, finally a tie into aviation
if a carrier uses a similar powerplant)

The "sea chests" or water intakes are on the bottom of the hull. Same for
virtually any modern steam-powered ship (including aircraft carriers). How that
water is distributed and used differs among ships.

"mah" wrote in message ...
Not really an aviation topic, but at least naval.

Was looking at a book on the Iowa class battleships. Went through the
engineering section and saw the design of the engines. A thought came
to mind - where does the cooling water come from or are they single pass
engines with the steam exhausted overboard. That sounds grossly
inefficient and makes more sense to have a closed loop design with
cooling water.

Is there a set of scoops below the waterline or some type of flush
opening below the waterline to draw in seawater for cooling?

Yes seawater for the condensers is drawn in below the waterline
and discharged the same way

Or is it
all "fresh" water that has been drawn through the evaporators.


That would require more throughput than is available

Is the system similar on any ship? (There, finally a tie into aviation
if a carrier uses a similar powerplant)


Pretty much. Even gas turbine and diesel ships need cooling water
and nuclear power is just a diiferent way of boiling water.

Keith

keith- Pretty much. Even gas turbine and diesel ships need cooling water
and nuclear power is just a diiferent way of boiling water. BRBR


But cooling water for the nukes is a closed system, yes? I know they still take
on water to make for drinking and the cats, but for cooling of the nuke power
plant, that doesn't go over the side-or does it??
P. C. Chisholm
CDR, USN(ret.)
Old Phart Phormer Phantom, Turkey, Viper, Scooter and Combat Buckeye Phlyer

If I recall my Naval science 101 taught by Lt. Tom "Truxton" Calhoon. The steam
plants that we studied were the 600 and 1200 PSI power plants which is what
most of the Naval ships use. The steam that is boiled for the boilers is a
closed loop system. Nothing is lost other than leaks and a steam leak at 600 or
1200 PSI is a big deal. Like your cars cooling system it is a closed loop
system, if stuff leaks out you see the car on the side of the road. Now there
are scoops on the bottom of the ships hull, sea chests that are used to help
return the steam back to water.

In a nuc it is the same, you still need sea water too cool the hot water back
to water. Keeping the radioactive stuff on one side and the cool stuff on the
other. I think that is how we cased the soviets subs is that they were not
clean and had a leak in the system.


After Enterprise hit Bishops Rock in 87 the divers brought up pieces of the
rock from the sea chests. It isn't uncommon for there to be fish and other
things stuck in them and they do sometimes require a diver to clean them out.

Sparky

Elmshoot wrote:
If I recall my Naval science 101 taught by Lt. Tom "Truxton" Calhoon. The steam
plants that we studied were the 600 and 1200 PSI power plants which is what
most of the Naval ships use. The steam that is boiled for the boilers is a
closed loop system. Nothing is lost other than leaks and a steam leak at 600 or
1200 PSI is a big deal. Like your cars cooling system it is a closed loop
system, if stuff leaks out you see the car on the side of the road. Now there
are scoops on the bottom of the ships hull, sea chests that are used to help
return the steam back to water.

In a nuc it is the same, you still need sea water too cool the hot water back
to water. Keeping the radioactive stuff on one side and the cool stuff on the
other. I think that is how we cased the soviets subs is that they were not
clean and had a leak in the system.


After Enterprise hit Bishops Rock in 87 the divers brought up pieces of the
rock from the sea chests. It isn't uncommon for there to be fish and other
things stuck in them and they do sometimes require a diver to clean them out.

Sparky

Dead fish, seaweed, mud, trash bags, and a pair of live sharks are just
a few things that I've cleaned out of main engine condenser inlets in my
time. We were able to keep one of the sharks alive in the engine room
for about a week between Alameda and Hawaii using a washtub and fresh
sea water from a condenser drain.

The one thing that did surprise me was surprised that passing volcanic
ash from Mt. Penatubo through the condensers on the Lincoln left them as
clean and shiny as they were at Newport News when we christened the
ship. Although the ash did erode away the zinc's.

ALV

It isn't uncommon for there to be fish and other things stuck in them and
they do sometimes require a diver to clean them out.

....Or those nice little venomous sea snakes that inhabit the South China
Sea. Watching out for these was always a big deal whenever a ship had to
put a diver over the side in that part of the world.

--
Mike Kanze

"The hot dog is the reductio ad absurdum of American eating. The Sicilian
in the ditch, though he may never be President, knows better: he puts a
slice of onion between his slabs of bread, not a cartridge filled with the
sweepings of abattoirs."

- H. L. Mencken (1926)

Hooray for the start of ballpark franks and Major League Baseball this week!


"Elmshoot" wrote in message
...
[rest snipped]

"Mike Kanze" wrote in message
...
Hooray for the start of ballpark franks and Major League Baseball this
week!


We don't have professional baseball here. We have the Colorado Rockies.

Tex