A fire killed the crew of the secret Russian nuclear submarine "Losharik" (Transl)

Gordon ^ | 02JUL2019 | Staff

[AdmSmith]

Izvestia 5NOV2016:

What is “Harmony”

The key element of Harmony is robotic autonomous bottom stations (ADS), which are covertly installed on the seabed by special submarines.

At the depth of the base station, it develops fixed multi-element and multimeter bottom hose hydroacoustic antennas. Stations can conduct passive hydroacoustic reconnaissance by simply listening to what is happening around, trying to detect the characteristic noises of nodes and mechanisms of ships and airplanes. ADS can also emit a special active sound signal that detects and classifies surface and underwater targets.

Several ADS units are combined into a single network capable of uncovering the underwater and surface situation on an area of with a radie of hundreds of kilometers

The control equipment of the ground station processes the information received by the sonars and sends it to the command center. For this, the product has a special pop-up buoy that transmits data via communication satellites.

The source of the power supply is the unique lithium-polymer batteries with a control and monitoring system that maximally adapt the power consumption to the operating modes of the bottom stations. With a length of just over 30 cm, the nominal capacity of one battery is 28 A/h (Not sure what they mean here), and the nominal voltage is from 58 to 80 volts. The power source operates at temperatures from -10 to +45 degrees.

At the command of the control point, the ADS independently collapses all antennas, lowers the communications buoy and returns to the submarine.

“The carrier of autonomous bottom stations-robots can serve as a special purpose submarine Sarov,” says Dmitry Kornev, editor-in-chief of the Militaryrussia Internet project. - It has been repeatedly reported that Sarov is undergoing tests of some underwater robots. Judging by the photographs of this submarine, multimeter cylindrical structures are loaded onto it, which, after testing with the help of special deep-water captures, lifts the star ship from the bottom. Most likely, in the future, diesel Sarov will be replaced by nuclear Belgorod and Khabarovsk, the construction of which has recently begun. These boats, along with the Sarov, were also mentioned several times as carriers of underwater robots.

ADS is quite expensive products. Therefore, they will be made reusable, - says military historian Dmitry Boltenkov. - For their maintenance, special workshops are needed where it is possible not only to replace the batteries, but also to check the work of the most complex electronic systems, as well as the mechanical assemblies and mechanisms of the station. The slightest malfunction and costly ADS will be lost.

https://iz.ru/news/647107

[Nateman]

I never figured he would make it through power school (I would say that is about the same level of difficulty as a Physics BS.)

Having done both I'd say the Physics degree is harder. It involves concepts that are strange, like Quantum Mechanics , boring like Matrices , and the worst for me was differential equations. I never did get a handle on solid state physics.

[AdmSmith]

There is a lot of info in these two videos from the farewell ceremony in St. Petersburg
https://russian.rt.com/russia/video/647588-lyudi-idut-ceremoniya-proschaniya-podvodniki

https://russian.rt.com/russia/video/647644-peterburg-prostilis-s-podvodnikami

[AdmSmith]

Is this what happened?:

This is a schematic diagram of the nuclear deep-water station: light - external case. It is no different from any other submarine. But the internal durable consists of seven titanium spheres, of which five are compartments for the crew, and two for the reactor and turbo-gear unit, essentially the engine. The team does not even have access to them. The fire occurred in one of the residential areas: there are batteries located below the deck.

“Apparently, flammable gases started to be emitted already in the battery itself. The crew of such a boat was provided with portable breathing devices. This is essentially an insulating gas mask. But they are designed to work for a maximum of 15-16 minutes. During this period, the fire will be completely extinguished failed “, - explains the chief editor of the magazine” Arsenal of the Fatherland “, a member of the expert council of the military-industrial commission of Russia Viktor Murakhovsky.

According to experts, the automatic fire extinguishing system worked, but its power was not enough to put out the flames. And the crew had to fight the fire manually.

“When a fire breaks out in one of the compartments, in order to save the ship, you have to batten the inter-compartment hatches, and even sacrifice a part of the crew to save the ship as a whole. Hodarenok.

To batten ourselves inside the burning compartment is, without doubt, a heroic deed. The families of the dead will be taken care of by the Ministry of Defense.

As soon as the investigation is over, and it may take about a month, the boat will be towed to the factory.

source:

[AdmSmith]

http://xn——ctbsbazhbctieai.ru-an.info/%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8/%D1%83%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0-%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%B8-14-%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B8%D0%B1%D1%88%D0%B8%D1%85-%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2-%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%B2%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B8-%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%84%D1%83/

[AdmSmith]

July 8. /TASS/. Russia’s defense contractors are forced to be on a tight budget due to the heavy debt burden, Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov said at the Innoprom international industrial exhibition on Monday.

“The industrial sector that manufactures products is starving as it services financial institutions that produce nothing and are only meant to ensure the process of manufacturing process management and product introduction. Meanwhile, they (financial institutions) have profit multi-fold higher than manufacturers,” he emphasized.

“We have repeatedly asked President to clean the loan portfolio. Various mechanisms may be used,” Deputy PM added.

Earlier he said that the loan portfolio of defense contractors currently exceeds 2 trillion rubles ($31.3 bln).

Borisov expressed hope that the next meeting of the defense commission in September 2019 would focus on the issue of loans for defense contractors.
https://tass.com/defense/1067621

I guess that they found some cash to fix the subs.

[AdmSmith]

It is believed that the station AC-12 (AC-31 - my comment) is equipped with its own subordinate vessel - the mini - submarine “RUS”, which has a subdued depth of 6 180 meters.

The dead officers belonged to the elite of the Navy. Deep Water Special Forces. Absolutely unique, there are fewer of them on Earth than astronauts, and they solve comparable tasks, only not in space, but under water.

Have you noticed that half of them have naval dynasties there, and two guys have fathers - submariners, Heroes of Russia. And now in the same family there are two Heroes - father and son (posthumously). What is there in three of the 14 - three orders of Courage, and another six - one each. And this is all on the same submarine, in a team of 14 people!

https://topcor.ru/10039-gibel-jekipazha-as-31-rossija-poterjala-unikalnyh-specov.html

[AdmSmith]

The only civilian on board, in all likelihood, was a representative of the Sevmash plant, which builds submarines, and carried out the adjustment of mechanisms, a sailor familiar with the circumstances of the state of emergency notes. The servicemen do not set up the equipment themselves, they only exploit it, he explains, and the specialists of the manufacturers carry out the maintenance work. “The ship went to sea, they had to work out some tasks. I assume that it was a training exit for checking the readiness of the ship, ”the submariner notes.

The commission raises questions about the cause of the explosion in the compartment where the battery was located

This, most likely, is a lithium rechargeable battery, as it was thought to be absolutely safe, said another experienced submariner. “Not a single serious accident on these batteries in all 45 years (No 45 can not be correct - my comment) of existence of such submarines,” he stresses. The lithium battery is a backup power source on this nuclear submarine, explains another former submariner.

The nuclear reactor at the AC-31 is of low power, it is located in an absolutely hermetic compartment and is controlled remotely, (My comment: What do they mean remotely?) the submariner explains. “Therefore, there could be no nuclear explosion. But if you do not batten down the nose compartment, the fire would spread to the boat carrier, and we would face the death of a much larger number of people and, possibly, the death of both ships - Losharika and Moscow Region, he adds.

Another source of RBC also has two versions of the causes of the explosion. It could have been provoked either by a short circuit or by “some kind of external influence” - “a collision with an external object,” which resulted in water entering the battery. “If water enters the battery, it begins to emit chlorine, and this leads to overheating and an explosion,” said a source familiar with the work of the submarines.

It is also possible that a short circuit caused the fire, he says. “It is possible that there was an excess of [concentration] of oxygen in terms of parameters and from a short circuit an explosion of gas occurred. It depends on whether electrochemical regeneration systems are there, ”he continues.

At Losharik there are manipulators, searchlights, an echo sounder system - they make it possible to measure the bottom relief by reflecting sound, simulate it on a monitor and develop a route, continues another RBC interviewee familiar with the investigation into the incident.

There are several anti-submarine frontiers: Faro-Icelandic and North Cape - Bear Island, through which Russian boats sail, explains the submariner who served in this region. We are talking about sensors, hydrophones, from which there is a signal, fixing the passing objects. When active operations of the fleet begin, “Losharik” goes ahead of the other boats and cuts off these sensors so that subsequent ships can pass unnoticed, he explains, noting that this is only one of the functions of the manipulators on such a submarine.

https://www.rbc.ru/society/09/07/2019/5d22fb699a79475dc02884e8

[AdmSmith]

The fact that it was the lithium battery that exploded off the coast of Severomorsk was confirmed by Fontanka five structurally unrelated sources. According to our data, the thermal acceleration of the battery led to a voluminous fire, followed by a series of explosions. Killed personnel nasal compartments. The shock wave was of such strength that it was felt on the boat carrier. The device at the time of the explosion was in the process of docking with it. The survivors battened down the central compartment, completed the docking, jammed the nuclear reactor and evacuated to the BS-136 Orenburg. Fearing further explosions and spreading fire to the carrier, the crew of the mother boat flooded the vehicle, for this very reason, on arriving at the base in Severomorsk, the bathyscaphe was completely filled with water

As explained by the “Fontanka” source in the Main Command of the Navy, in addition to the atomic reactor, electric propulsion devices are installed on the deep-sea apparatus. They are used for precise maneuvering and dynamic positioning under water. Such accuracy is important when docked with a boat carrier. These same thrusters are not powered from the reactor, but from the battery. It is well known that lead-acid batteries are used in the submarine fleet. According to our publication, a lithium battery was installed relatively recently. In any case - exactly after the repair mentioned in open sources in 2012.

According to the interlocutors “Fontanka”, the situation got out of control when the device was “attached” to the boat carrier. A short circuit at the time of docking led to an instantaneous discharge of the battery, and its thermal acceleration. Electrochemical processes provoked an explosion (according to another source, there were several of them) and spontaneous combustion.

According to experts, the height of the force of the flame at the time of the explosive depressurization of a battery of this capacity reaches several meters, and the decontamination of a lithium battery by volumetric chemical quenching systems or water is inefficient, as the battery itself emits combustible substances and oxygen. “A burning lithium battery can only be cooled,” explained Fontanka on condition of anonymity.

“In addition, lithium-ion technologies have advantages in another, not very recent, issue - fire safety. As already mentioned, LIA does not emit hydrogen, which distinguishes this type of battery from lead-acid and nickel-cadmium batteries. So lithium-ion does not require special gas removal systems, ventilation and maintenance. Thus, they are safe and convenient to use, ”wrote Korabel.ru last June .

The Novosibirsk-based Liotech company calls itself the only Russian manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries. The creators of the SPARK system are Rosnano and Rosimushchestvo. The name is obliged to the abbreviation of the term “Li-ion technology”, says the company’s official website. The scale of solidity is supported by releases about the trolley buses with Liotech batteries, which “have been carrying passengers through the streets of St. Petersburg, Tula, Barnaul, Novosibirsk, throughout the Republic of Crimea and in Argentina since 2014”.

https://www.fontanka.ru/2019/07/08/098/

This is likely the reason for what happened.

[AdmSmith]

and if it was flooded with salt water it will take a long time to repair it.

[AdmSmith]

The Fontanka article was skeptical to Liotech: The Novosibirsk-based Liotech company calls itself the only Russian manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries.

and they are correct: another company is maked batteries for space applications http://saturn-kuban.ru/produktsiya/akkumulyatornye-batarei/
and more are described here https://www.eriras.ru/files/antipov_sovet_18_10_18.pdf

This article from 2011 gives a historical background:
Taking into account the strategic importance of the domestic mass production of high-capacity lithium-ion batteries, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin in 2002-2003 instructed a number of ministries and departments to work out the issue of creating such a production. It was decided to organize the production of batteries on the basis of JSC Research and Production Center Rigel (JSC RPC Rigel), which is located on the territory of JSC Battery Rigel (JSC AK Rigel).
http://www.unionexpert.ru/index.php/2011-08-07-02-55-51/item/434-technological-breakthrough

2014:

TsBB Rubin has successfully conducted a test cycle of lithium-ion batteries for non-nuclear submarines, the company's general director Igor Vilit told reporters on Friday.

These batteries significantly increase the submarine's submarine autonomy and are distinguished by a long service life, since they do not require complex maintenance.

Now in the Russian submarine fleet used batteries, the validity of which is limited, and the cost, according to expert estimates, reaches 300 million rubles.

According to the former general director of the TsBB Rubin, Andrei Dyachkov, lithium-ion batteries can increase the time the boat is under water at least 1.4 times, but the potential of the technical idea is only used by 35-40%

https://www.arms-expo.ru/news/science/tskb-rubin-litievye-batarei-dlya-podlodok-proshli-ispytaniya/

and next the Soviet question: Who should be blamed?

[AdmSmith]

The former head of the special purpose underwater work committee under the government of the Russian Federation, vice-admiral, doctor of technical sciences, professor Tengiz Borisov, on air at the NNS, questioned the accuracy of the versions of what happened. According to him, the cause of the explosion and ignition in the deep-sea apparatus of the Russian Navy AC-31 was the human factor.

Most likely, there was an explosion of hydrogen in the compartment, which was collected as a result of the battery operation. This is, unfortunately, the result of a human factor. Hydrogen exploded and they died almost instantly.
https://nsn.fm/incident/vitse-admiral-oproverg-ofitsialnuu-versiu-tragedii-losharika
If we assume that he knows about the present design we should as well that this into consideration:

Batteries with metallic lithium electrodes presented safety issues, as lithium is a highly reactive element; it ignites when exposed to water with formation of lithium hydroxide and hydrogen gas.

The question is did they use that type of Lithium battery or what type of battery releases hydrogen?

One is lead acid battery, it can release hydrogen, but as well S2O and H2S but the last two smells a lot.

Time will tell.

[AdmSmith]

A summary in English by Pavel Felgenhauer:

https://jamestown.org/program/losharik-submersible-disaster-handicaps-russian-naval-operations/

[AdmSmith]

OT - This is about X-RAY http://www.hisutton.com/Spy%20Subs%20-%20X-RAY.html
and the problem they had with sloppy Russian production for graphite for the ventilation system (in Russian):

http://oosif.ru/o-kapitane-1-ranga-shabaline-n.g.

[AdmSmith]

Fontanka19JUL2019:
Russian subs have silver-zink batteries, but as they expensive the are being replaced bi Li-ion batteries.

One of the persons in the Li-battery company said that it was madness to have such batteries in the subs.

https://www.fontanka.ru/2019/07/18/117//

[AdmSmith]

They were perhaps looking for this (2018 article) :

A nuclear-powered Russian missile remains lost at sea after a failed test late last year, and Moscow is preparing to try to recover it, according to people with direct knowledge of a U.S. intelligence report

Crews will attempt to recover a missile that was test launched in November and landed in the Barents Sea, which is located north of Norway and Russia. The operation will include three vessels, one of which is equipped to handle radioactive material from the weapon’s nuclear core. There is no timeline for the mission, according to the people with knowledge of the report.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/21/russias-nuclear-powered-missile-that-putin-claimed-had-infinite-range-is-currently-lost-at-sea.html

[AdmSmith]

Continuing this never ending story

Kommersant 23JUL2019 summary below:

During the docking with the carrier sub, smoke appeared in the battery compartment of the AC-31.

Problems may have arisen in the AC-31 electrical system, which uses currents up to 1000 amps, and even a small cable defect could lead to heating and subsequent melting of the insulation. This should not represent a great danger for the crew as it was docked to the carrier sub and all could evacuate to the carrier sub.

However, the Submarine Survival Guide requires all crew member to remain in the compartment in case of fire and deal with an emergency situation. Leaving a burning compartment without an order is a criminal offense.

After working for 40 minutes they ran out of fire extinguishers (Freon) and oxygen.

As they are unable to get deliveries of silver-zinc batteries from Ukraine, they replaced the batteries with

Li-ions from Rigel in St. Petersburg (see my post #171 above)

https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4039718

[AdmSmith]

According to https://flot.com/nowadays/strength/as-31/
The AC-31 has a reactor of 15000 hp. If that is the electrical power, it is abut 11 MWe. Assume that the thermal efficiency of the ractor is 20 % then it is about 5 MWth.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks AdmSmith.

[GOPJ]

Thanks