Preliminary Study on the Application of Heat Pipe Reactor in Unmanned Underwater Vehicles

¹ College of Nuclear Science and Technology, Naval university of engineering, Wuhan, Hubei, China
² College of Mechanical and Power Engineering, China Three Gorges University, Yichang, Hubei, China

^* Corresponding author’s email: chenyuqing301@163.com

Abstract

At the beginning of the 21st century, due to the re-proposal of the United States space exploration program, heat pipe reactors once again received widespread attention from researchers. With their long lifespan, high energy density, and inherent safety features, they exhibit promising prospects for application in space nuclear reactors, land-based mobile nuclear power sources, and deep-sea unmanned equipment exploration. Consequently, they represent an ideal novel energy source for unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs). This article selected the SUBOFF submarine model as a basis to calculate UUVs’ navigation resistance at various speeds using the 1+k method. By comparing the converted UUVs navigation power demand with that of traditional batteries and heat pipe stacks’ output power, it was concluded that heat pipe reactors offer superior power supply and endurance capabilities. Subsequently, based on the structural characteristics of the heat pipe stack, this study summarized battery advantages and characteristics while also addressing construction and development aspects of heat pipe stack energy systems. Furthermore, the key technologies that need to be overcome in the application of heat pipe stacks in UUVs are introduced. Through the formula of heat transfer limit of heat pipe, the factors that limit the heat transfer performance of heat pipe are analyzed, and the positive correlation among the number of heat pipe, heat transfer limit and heat transfer power was obtained. Finally, the challenges faced by the future application of heat pipe stacks in UUVs were pointed out.