January 19, 2017

Lithium-ion Batteries for New Japanese Submarines. Soryu Table.

Outline of a Lithium-ion Battery for a Japanese submarine. This is from a January 2017 article on wispywood2344’s blog, at http://blog.livedoor.jp/wispywood2344/archives/2017-01.html .
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Submarine Matters looks at Japanese submarines in detail with periodic updates (for example on August 26, 2016). The following is the latest update followed by the SORYU TABLE. The Japanese Navy (JMSDF) is highly likely to be the first Navy to use Lithium-ion Batteries (LIBs) on its diesel-electric submarines. At the same time these new submarines, known as Soryu Mark 2s, will not use the existing Stirling AIP systems.

The first Soryu Mark 2 (with LIBs, no AIP) carries Soryu program number “27SS” (see table below). Construction of 27SS at the MHI shipyard in Kobe began in 2015. 27SS might be launched this year (2017) (with LIBs being inserted after launch?). With such a new battery technology for submarine use 27SS will undergo many more trials/tests and exercises than usual, It may be commissioned by 2020.

The arrangement of batteries, including LIBs, has many implications and affects, influencing:
-  a submarine’s overall arrangement of all the other large internal items (fuel tanks, command center 
   location, diesel placement etc)
-  balance/buoyancy of the submarine
-  ease of removing old LIBs and placing in new ones
-  electronic control of function and performance of the 100s of batteries used
-  particularly avoiding runaway heat buildup in battery groups
-  emergency measures
-  minimising the batteries' electromagnetic emissions out of the sides and bottom of the submarine
   (with implications for indiscretion)

NEW INFORMATION

Some interesting new information on 27SS’s LIB arrangement and many other details appeared in January 2017 on wispywood2344’s blog at http://blog.livedoor.jp/wispywood2344/archives/2017-01.html. The information is by way of a Japanese Freedom of Information request possibly made by wispywood2344.


According to wispywood2344, 27SS shall be equipped with 2 battery module groups.

A.  Each group consists of 16 rows x 20 columns, adding up to 320 batteries per group x 2 totals 640
      batteries.

But, Anonymous thinks 27SS shall be equipped 2 possible different arrangements for the battery module groups.

B.  The 2 battery module groups, will consist of 12 rows x 28 columns, adding up to 336 batteries x 2
      totalling 672 batteries, OR

C.  12 rows x 24 columns, adding up to 288 batteries x 2 totalling 576 batteries.

By placing SORYU in the top left Search Box you will notice a wealth of information on Japanese submarines kindly provided to Submarine Matters.


SORYU-Oyashio TABLE as at March 13, 2017
SS
No.
Build No
Name
Pennant
No.
MoF approved amount ¥ Billions & FY
LABs, LIBs, AIP
Laid Down
Laun
-ched
Commi-ssioned
Built
By
5SS Oyashio
8105 Oyashio
SS-590/ TS3608
¥52.2B FY1993
LABs only
 Jan 1994
Oct 1996
Mar 1998
 KHI
6SS-15SS
Oyashios
10 subs
8106
-8115
various
SS-591-600
¥52.2B per sub
FY1994-FY2003
LABs only
 15SS Feb
2004
15SS
Nov
2006
15SS
Mar 2008
 MHI
&
KHI
16SS
Soryu Mk 1
8116
Sōryū
SS-501
¥60B FY2004
LABs + AIP
Mar 2005
Dec 2007
Mar
2009
MHI
17SS
8117
Unryū
SS-502
¥58.7B FY2005
LABs + AIP
Mar 2006
Oct 2008
Mar
2010
KHI
18SS
8118
Hakuryū
SS-503
¥56.2 FY2006
LABs + AIP
Feb 2007
Oct 2009
Mar
2011
MHI
19SS
8119
Kenryū
SS-504
¥53B FY2007
LABs + AIP
Mar 2008
Nov 2010
Mar
2012
KHI
20SS
8120
Zuiryū
SS-505
¥51B FY2008
LABs + AIP
Mar 2009
Oct 2011
Mar
2013
MHI
No
21SS
No 21SS built
22SS
8121
Kokuryū
SS-506
¥52.8B FY2010
LABs + AIP
Jan 2011
Oct 2013
Mar
2015
KHI
23SS
8122
Jinryu
SS-507
¥54.6B FY2011
LABs + AIP
Feb 2012
Oct 2014
7 Mar 2016
MHI
24SS
8123
Sekiryū
SS-508
¥54.7B FY2012
LABs + AIP
KHI
25SS
8124
Seiryū
SS-509
¥53.1B FY2013
LABs + AIP
22 Oct 2013
12 Oct 2016
Mar? 2018
MHI
26SS
8125
SS-510
LABs + AIP
2014
?
Mar 2019?
KHI
27SS First
Soryu Mk 2
8126
SS-511
LIBs only
2015
2017?
Mar
2020
MHI
28SS  Second
Soryu Mark 2
8127
SS-512
¥63.6B FY2016
LIBs only
2016?
2018?
Mar 2021?
KHI
29SS First of
New Class
?
?
¥76B FY2018
LIBs only
?
?
2023?
MHI?
Table courtesy of exclusive information provided to Submarine MattersLABs = lead-acid batteries, AIP=air independent propulsion, LIBs=lithium-ion batteries. ¥***B = Billion Yen.

Pete

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

http://blog.livedoor.jp/wispywood2344/archives/2017-01.html is highly recommended.

Anonymous said...

Hi Pete

Heavy LIBs (770kg) shown in the figure must be anchored to the pedestal. I assumed approach for anchoring as follows. First, a battery module comsisted of 8 single cells, where bottom two positions are empty, is placed on the pedestal. Next, the battery module is anchored to the pedestal by bolts using the bottom empty positions. After anchoring a battery module, 2 single cells are fixed in the bottom two positions. That is why the bottom two cells seems to be put in and out as shown in the figure.

As extra space for anchoring is required in this approach, adoption of the central aisle on the keel, LIBs-front facing the aisle, and 6-6 row LIBs-arrangement across the aisle is reasonable.

Regards

Pete said...

Hi Anonymous [ at 22/1/17 4:43 AM]

From "where bottom two positions are empty,".

1. Are empty positions efficient?

2. is "empty" better than having all positions being used by cells?

3. Might thoses two positions being empty allow for better temperature control? or

4. Other necessary forms of battery control?

Regards

Pete

Anonymous said...

Hi Pete

From "where bottom two positions are empty"?

From Japanese Indutrial Standard (JIS) for LIBs installation in ships [1] and pictures of prototype LIBs of JMSDF, I estimated the instrallation process of LIBs, because any equipment needs proper installation. JIS requires anchoring of LIBs by bolts and nuts, but, I could not find position for bolting ouside of the battery module. It means that bolting is conducted inside and bottom of the battery module. Space for work is needed in bolting. If the bottom two positions are occupied by two single cells, we cannot use instruments for bolting.

[1] One of requirements for installation is ”battery sytems shall be anchored in the robust structural elements of ship by bolts and nuts.”

1. Are empty positions efficient?
Yes
2. is "empty" better than having all positions being used by cells?
Yes
3. Might thoses two positions being empty allow for better temperature control? or
There may be enough space inside of battery module, because widith of single cell is considerably narrow..
4. Other necessary forms of battery control?
Sorry, I do not know

Regards

Anonymous said...

Hi Pete

From "where bottom two positions are empty"?

From Japanese Indutrial Standard (JIS) for LIBs installation in ships [1] and pictures of prototype LIBs of JMSDF, I estimated the instrallation process of LIBs, because any equipment needs proper installation. JIS requires anchoring of LIBs by bolts and nuts, but, I could not find position for bolting ouside of the battery module. It means that bolting is conducted inside and bottom of the battery module. Space for work is needed in bolting. If the bottom two positions are occupied by two single cells, we cannot use instruments for bolting.

[1] One of requirements for installation is ”battery sytems shall be anchored in the robust structural elements of ship by bolts and nuts.”

1. Are empty positions efficient?
Yes
2. is "empty" better than having all positions being used by cells?
Yes
3. Might thoses two positions being empty allow for better temperature control? or
There may be enough space inside of battery module, because widith of single cell is considerably narrow..
4. Other necessary forms of battery control?
Sorry, I do not know

Regards

Pete said...

Hi Anonymous [at 22/1/17 8:54 PM]

Thankyou for your responses.

I have no doubt that when the launch of 27SS occurs (at MHI Kobe shipyard) there will be increasing international industrial interest in 27SS's first use of LIBs for submarine.

Regards

Pete

Anonymous said...

Hi Pete [23/1/17 7:46 PM]

As electrical current induces stray magnetic field, which provides distortion of geomagnetic field to be possiblily detected by MAD, minimization of stray magnetic field shoud be taken into account in arrangement of modern convensional submarine.

Minimization of stray magnetic field will be achieved by partial cancellation of magnetic field through alternative arrangement of two battery modules with opposite current loop. So, for the n-row by m-column array of battery modules, n and m are even numbers, and for the submarine with two battery sections, m is multiples of four.

Though close packed arrangement of battery modules [1] without the pedestal in terms of minimization of stray magnetic field and lowering of gravity center, I suppored arrangement with the pedestal because of installation and maintainance. But I can not find data or idea which supports my proposal, as arrangement of battery module is top secret or as my proposal is wrong.

[1] http://jproc.ca/rrp/rrp2/oberon_battery_and_electrical.pdf
C.F.’O’ CLASS SUBMARINES
Page 11.2 (Fig.11.01 Battery compartment – typical aarangement)
Page 11.16 (Fig.11.06 Arrangement of cell group water cooling connections)

Regards

Pete said...

Hi Anonymous [at 26/1/17 10:24 PM]

Interesting details. I'll use them for an article next week.

Regards

Pete

Anonymous said...

Hi Pete

I used to assume that LABs exchange is conducted by using both vertical and horizontal hydraulic jacks. This idea may be wrong [1]. Then, there is no the pedestal and battery modules for LABs are arranged in fully closed packing manner. LIBs may adopt nearly same arrangement. I am sorry.

Refernce [1] provides detail information on LABs, and we can understand that LIBs are perfectly different from LABs. The former needs fire extinguishing system including gas cylinder and piping, instead of ventilation system and water cooling system for the latter.

[1] http://jproc.ca/rrp/rrp2/oberon_battery_and_electrical.pdf
C.F.’O’ CLASS SUBMARINES, Page 11.26,
“C. Cell Lifiting Gear: Sick cells are removed from batteries by cell liting gear . Each submarine carries its own lifting gear.”

Regards

Anonymous said...

Hi Peter

Currently, there are two insighs into LIBs for submarine.

First, it takes quite long time to develop LIBs and great deal of effort tward establishment of their safety and reliability. I think in modern quality control system, theoretical approach assisted by computer simulation provides elucidation of failure mode and prediction of life time. But, these theoretical results still need validation through pratical use or experiment which takes time.

Second, battery system replacement from LABs to LIBs is never easy job. This replacement process includes elimination of ventilation system and water cooling sytem, total change of electrical system, installation of gas cylinder and piping for fire extinguishing, weight balancing, and so on. So, LIBs dictated optimum design is recommended rather than LABs-to-LIBs replacement in LABs submarine.

Regards

Pete said...

Hi Anonymous [at 28/1/17 4:39 PM]

No problem. Not knowing exactly how LIBs will be installed in 1 up to 3 years is a standard problem of prediction.

I will use your 28/1/17 4:39 PM info in a future article.

Also interesting would be guessing how the Chinese might fit their LABs or future LIBs in Songs and Yuans. Maybe the Chinese use Russian-Kilo methods?

Regards

Pete