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In a message dated 10/30/2009 9:17:47 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
vbra676539@aol.com writes:
My alternative is to divide each tank at the midpoint Hi Vance. Early on in my design/model testing phase I tried a couple of
configurations with saddle tanks. I was already committed to the saucer shape
and made some sheet metal ballast tanks shaped a bit like Manta Ray wings.
What I discovered with the model was when only one side tank was
flooded ( had a pin hole leak in the weld ) the sub flipped on it's side.
With a cylindrical hull it may not go all the way over, but it seems like it has
no advantage. I considered ( on paper only ) making ballast tanks with 4
sections but figured it would add too much complexity with all the thru-hulls
and valves.
On a K boat design which is very stable, the tower adds a measure of safety
with it's extra free board.
The saucer shape by itself is much less stable. With no tower it just
gets that more critical to design the tanks and their locations to overcome the
natural tendency to wobble and flip.
Still, the basic concepts of "center of gravity" and "center of
buoyancy" need to be adhered to. There is some leeway there but my thought is
that flooding just one side has little advantage.
What are you trying to achieve ?
Frank D.
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