Major systems required for the diesel power plant are fuel, air, intake, 

 exhaust, waste heat removal, engine control and instrumentation, electrical 

 power control and instrumentation, and engine starting. Seawater cooling 

 can be used with plants equipped with a freshwater loop to protect the equip- 

 ment against seawater contamination. 



A wide variety of commercial equipment is available for diesel power 

 plants and will not substantially change the power plant design data. Present 

 equipment is capable of maintaining a steady-state voltage regulation of 1% at 

 the low power levels and a much narrower limit at the high power levels. 

 Steady-state frequency can be held within 3% with standard speed-governing 

 equipment and within 1/2% with electronic frequency-sensing equipment. 



Surface Plant Hulls 



The selection of hull shapes for surf ace- tendered generator plants was 

 based on the following considerations: continuous operation under extreme 

 weather conditions; unattended deployments for long periods of time; and 

 safety of the generator plant, associated systems, and load module. The 

 environmental sea-air conditions established previously required the surface 

 plant to withstand 150-mph winds, 60- foot waves (breaking), and 10-knot 

 ocean currents. 



Since the surface plant is to be unmanned, all systems must be 

 automated. For example, trim and compensation systems for the surface 

 hull would be controlled by radio or other suitable means. Safety is of the 

 utmost importance to protect the integrity of the entire system and to assure 

 continuity in the supply of electrical power 



Surface Hull Concepts. The use of a floating instrument platform 

 (FLIP) type ship was considered as a surface plant hull. Although it would 

 provide an excellent surface plant, it was eliminated from further analysis 

 because of excessive cost. Similarly, use of a Fleet submarine was eliminated 

 due to high cost. Nomad-type buoys were investigated, but such buoys 

 exhibit resonant motion, which would be detrimental to a surface plant. The 

 possibility of using a submerged surface plant to eliminate the effects of the 

 sea-air interface was also investigated. Such a plant would have to be sub- 

 merged at least 100 to 200 feet, requiring a snorkel mast of equivalent height. 

 A snorkel mast of this height was not considered structurally feasible, and if 

 it were it would induce surface effects on the submerged plant. The snorkel 

 mast could be seriously damaged by refueling or by other vessels. The 

 submerged plant would also have a higher hull cost and a higher deployment 

 cost. For these reasons, it was also eliminated from further investigation. 



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