The pressure hull for an in-situ power plant would be cylindrical, with 

 external frames and hemispherical heads on each end. External frames allow 

 smooth internal surfaces for use as a heat exchanger. The top hemispherical 

 head would be used for all the electrical penetrations and an access hatch. 

 Main power, plant monitoring and control, and battery cable penetrations 

 would be required, with a number of spare or blank penetrations provided 

 for power and instrumentation. The access hatch would be large enough to 

 accept a small submersible for underwater servicing or maintenance of the 

 power plant. An alternative to the access hatch could be a bolted hemispher- 

 ical top, which would make it easier to replace large equipment and refuel the 

 reactor. However, a more complete analysis of these two methods in terms 

 of equipment size would be required if replacement or refueling was defined 

 as a plant requirement. 



The pressure hull for the 600-foot depth has been estimated as 

 1/2-inch HTS steel plate and for the 6,000-foot depth as 1-5/8-inch HY 130 

 steel plate. Typical hull designs are shown in Figure A-3. These hull estimates 

 allowed for factors of safety of at least 1.5 on yeilding and 2.0 on buckling. 

 An increased hull weight of 10% was included in the plant design to allow the 

 use of the hull as a heat exchanger. The hull would be used for condensing 

 steam. 



The arrangement of the power plant is the same for both operating 

 depths, 600 and 6,000 feet. The characteristics of the load module were 

 undefined. Preliminary characteristics of a 100-kw plant are listed in 

 Table A-1. The plants would normally operate with the axis oriented ver- 

 tically. However, full power could be obtained with the plant at 15 degrees 

 from the vertical. The plant could be transported in nearly the horizontal 

 position. 



Table A-1. Characteristics of Preliminary In-Situ Power Plant 



Operating 



Depth 



(ft) 



Outside 



Diam, Less 



Frames 



(ft) 



Overall 



Length 



(ft) 



Hull 

 Material 



Weight (lb) 



Displacement 

 (lb) 



Buoyancy 

 (lb) 



Hull 



Machinery 



Total 



600 

 6,000 



10 

 10 



36-1/2 

 36-1/2 



HTS 

 HY 130 



34,000 

 93,000 



122,000 

 122,000 



156,000 

 215,000 



1 66,500 

 166,500 



+ 10,500 

 -48,500 



96 



