Underwater solar panels

[outsider]

3 pedals to drive? That's way too complicated for 'Muricans ... invents the automatic transmission.

2 pedals to drive? That's 200% more pedals than people can safely keep track of! ... invents single pedal EV's with auto braking.

Self-driving cars ... zero pedals.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Self-driving cars ... zero pedals.

Another

 

[outsider]

Geez, you guys are a tough bunch. Some dude wants to put solar panels on his RV and everyone is praising him.

The US Navy wants to put some solar panels on their nuclear subs and y'all are all hating on them!

What do you expect them to do? Add a water wheel?

 

[Daddy Tanuki]

Geez, you guys are a tough bunch. Some dude wants to put solar panels on his RV and everyone is praising him.

The US Navy wants to put some solar panels on their nuclear subs and y'all are all hating on them!

What do you expect them to do? Add a water wheel?

dude, i walk about yokosuka naval base and I see a bunch of fat little pigs that cannot fit through a scuttle... a bunch of worthless titfucks that if they actually had to defend the US against an ocean going power would shit their pants while the upper brass worked on their individual excuses for why they lost while trying to hold onto their rank.... to see them waste money on shit that does not work, will not work and cannot work by the very laws of physics makes one say WTF? the energy that is transmitted in the wavelengths that solar panels work are negated by anything more than an inch of water.... barnacle and worm tubes be damned the water itself would stop the energy form being produced, its just more stupidity pushed by idiots that believe they can wage war with solar powered vehicles.

 

[Daddy Tanuki]

Geez, you guys are a tough bunch. Some dude wants to put solar panels on his RV and everyone is praising him.

The US Navy wants to put some solar panels on their nuclear subs and y'all are all hating on them!

What do you expect them to do? Add a water wheel?

have you even considered what putting any panels on a submarine would do? under water drag, the inability to stop sonar signals due to the hard composition of the panels how about the through hull holes required to bring the power in? how do you seal that up at 600' of dive depth? so may stupid things to address that jsut the thought of thinking about all of them boggles my mind. we already have the most advanced and powerful drive system that will ever be installed in an underwater craft for at least the next 50 years, and that is nuclear power anything else is a pipe dream.

 

[Rednecktek]

On the other hand, just for argumrnt's sake...

I work in the merchant navy and since the dawn of time things like barnacles and algae and growths have been an issue. The current solution to this is some pretty nasty copper based paints and divers with air powered orbital sanders cleaning the hull every couple years between blasting and repainting every 5 years in shipyard. You can also see fuel consumption going up as you get more and more drag on the hull.

Now, if there's this new coating that prevents growth AND it actually works, then the cost savings in labor and paint world wide PLUS the cost savings in fuel (where tenths of a percent are a big deal) AND the reduction in carbon footprint (because that's the next Big Thing) all add up to a pretty big game change.

Usable on subs? Probably not. Usable on drones? Probably not. Usable on buoys gathering weather data? Yes please. Cutting down on chemical leach/environmental damage/ air pollution/ fuel consumption? Yes Please!!

 

[outsider]

So, you're opposed to the Navy's plan to equip each new multibillion dollar sub with two (2) Renogy 100 W panels?

(Full disclosure, I was joking above, and also now.)

 

[Daddy Tanuki]

On the other hand, just for argumrnt's sake...

I work in the merchant navy and since the dawn of time things like barnacles and algae and growths have been an issue. The current solution to this is some pretty nasty copper based paints and divers with air powered orbital sanders cleaning the hull every couple years between blasting and repainting every 5 years in shipyard. You can also see fuel consumption going up as you get more and more drag on the hull.

Now, if there's this new coating that prevents growth AND it actually works, then the cost savings in labor and paint world wide PLUS the cost savings in fuel (where tenths of a percent are a big deal) AND the reduction in carbon footprint (because that's the next Big Thing) all add up to a pretty big game change.

Usable on subs? Probably not. Usable on drones? Probably not. Usable on buoys gathering weather data? Yes please. Cutting down on chemical leach/environmental damage/ air pollution/ fuel consumption? Yes Please!!

agreed one of my ongoing bread and butter contracts is the hull cleaning and inspection of naval tugboats and pusher boats (we do civilian as well) we record, clean, inspect, replace zincs, and then photo record for the final inspection noting deficiencies and corrective actions needed. companies like Maersk pay a reasonable amount to keep hulls clean just for fuel savings... that and not needing to dry dock as often for re coating of the hulls.

biggest pain in the backside is cleaning out trunks and intakes... especially on the navy tugs that sit tied up for months at a time, only going out for an hour hear or there.... in the warm months they get clogged with barnacles and seegrass so quickly its amazing. 4-6's of growth in 6 months is average for the yokosuka/yokohama area. ships like You ride on move so the growth is slower but i bet you still get a hull cleaning every 2-3 months depending upon locaiton and condition.

 

[Rednecktek]

ships like You ride on move so the growth is slower but i bet you still get a hull cleaning every 2-3 months depending upon locaiton and condition.

Our company is cheap, only every 2 years.

So, you're opposed to the Navy's plan to equip each new multibillion dollar sub with two (2) Renogy 100 W panels?

(Full disclosure, I was joking above, and also now.)

Friends of the military industrial complex don't let friends buy Renogy.

Besides, you can go on Temu, Alibabaexpress, or Amazon and get flexible 600w panels that are only about 2ft square. That would be enough to run a sub on the surface if you covered the deck with them.

And you can charge your phone right from the controller on the conning tower!

 

[Joe Delaney]

Seems to be a whole lot , I'm not sure, is it anger? against the navy.
The navy's new crew less manta ray sub is a game changer, in the same way that reaper drones are. Destroy a billion dollar foreign asset without risking American lives is the way of the future war.
with no need for air or food, they are a formidable threat.
regarding all the questions about drag of solar panels and thru hull fittings
I think DARPA will have thought of that

 

[Daddy Tanuki]

Seems to be a whole lot , I'm not sure, is it anger? against the navy.
The navy's new crew less manta ray sub is a game changer, in the same way that reaper drones are. Destroy a billion dollar foreign asset without risking American lives is the way of the future war.
with no need for air or food, they are a formidable threat.
regarding all the questions about drag of solar panels and thru hull fittings
I think DARPA will have thought of that
View attachment 246782

while this is submersible its not a Sub in the normal parlance... so yes thru hull fittings are not as much of an issue with it, it might even be able to come up and sit on the surface long enough to charge...which is long enough for a targeted missle to take it out.