Nuclear Submarines Research Articles

Safeguards and the Nuclear-Powered Submarines of the NNWS: there is no gap; there is a first time | Submarinos de Propulsão Nuclear dos NNWS e as Salvaguardas da AIEA: Não Há Lacuna; Há Uma Primeira Vez

Is there a gap in the Nuclear Weapons Nonproliferation Regime related to nuclear material for the propulsion of submarines by Non-nuclear Weapons States? This question arises with the steady advancement of the Brazilian nuclear-powered submarine program and within the AUKUS strategic partnership. This article argues that there is no such gap since the IAEA’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreements (CSA) addresses this issue. What happens is that no Special Procedures models for this kind of nuclear material have yet been elaborated. The article proceeds in three steps. Firstly, it focuses on the discussion regarding the existence of such a gap. Then, it addresses the CSA signed by Australia and Brazil. The final remarks present the inferences regarding this kind of gap. Received on: 30 Apr. 2023 | Accepted on: 18 Nov. 2023

India’s Quest for Defence Indigenisation: A Case Study of the Indian Navy

India, like all major military powers, has been making sustained attempts at indigenously meeting its defence requirements. However, when one looks at the macro picture, it is apparent that the country has had limited successes in inducting defence platforms or weapon systems that are indigenously designed, tested, manufactured and inducted into the military. There have been some exceptions to this like the HF-24 Marut fighter jet, the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, the Main Battle Tank Arjun, Leander class frigates, Indigenous Aircraft Carrier Vikrant, Kolkata and Vishakhapatnam class destroyers and the Arihant nuclear submarine. While these examples only prove the general rule, they also point out India’s relative success in creating domestic capacity to build naval platforms. As India embarks on the path of Atmanirbharta (self-reliance), it is crucial for the political and military decision-makers to understand what, why and how the above-mentioned projects, particularly the naval ones, became successful, so that their success can be replicated elsewhere. The article attempts to understand the reasons behind the Navy’s successes. These successes have been the result of an institutionalised—as opposed to an individual-centric—approach by the Navy to create in-house design capabilities, organisational structure, planning procedure, capacity building efforts and linkages with other stakeholders like naval Defence Public Sector Units, Defence Research and Development Organisation and other scientific establishments and industry. This has made the Indian Navy more successful as compared to the other two services of the Indian military when it comes to designing, testing, constructing and inducting indigenous naval platforms.

AUKUS: a Commonwealth perspective

ABSTRACT The Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) partnership arose because of Australia’s need to replace its ageing submarine fleet, opting for nuclear-powered submarines to be built with American and British assistance. Perceptions of a deteriorating strategic situation vis-à-vis China were a major factor in this decision. Through AUKUS, the United Kingdom will also acquire additional submarines and expand its strategic role in the Indo/Asia-Pacific region. In addition to the submarine plan, AUKUS has a focus on the development of advanced defence technology. AUKUS has significant implications for Asian and Pacific Commonwealth countries, with their responses reflecting their strategic outlooks and perceived defence needs,

Transparency of the Oceans, a Threat to the Future of Nuclear Submarines

Transparency of the Oceans, a Threat to the Future of Nuclear Submarines

Exposure levels for carbon monoxide in nuclear submarine atmosphere

This work proposes exposure limits for carbon monoxide in the nuclear submarine environment. Linear and non-linear forms of the Coburn-Foster-Kane equation were used to evaluate carbon monoxide exposure for an environment with low oxygen content, different exposure times and crew physical activity levels. We evaluated the 90-day Continuous Exposure Guidance Level, 24-h and 1-h Emergency Exposure Guidance Levels and 10-day and 24-h Submarine Escape Action Levels. The results showed that the concentration of carbon monoxide in the environment must not exceed 9 ppm for the 90-day Continuous Exposure Guidance Level, 35 ppm for the 24-h Emergency Exposure Guidance Level, 90 ppm 1-h Emergency Exposure Guidance Level, 60 ppm for the 10-day Submarine Escape Action Level and 80 ppm for the 24-h Submarine Escape Action Level. Comparing these values with those established by the National Research Council for the United States Navy, the limits proposed by this work are verified to be lower, which may indicate a risk to the health of the crew. They also show the impact of the crew's level of physical activity on the formation of carboxyhemoglobin.

The AUKUS Anvil: Promise and Peril

The nascent Australia–United Kingdom–United States security partnership, known as AUKUS, aims to secure for the Royal Australian Navy from the US and the UK a capability in nuclear-powered submarines to bolster allied deterrence in the Pacific. The partnership’s strategic loft and immense ambition have already afforded it almost mythical status. But its pathway is hardly free of potential obstacles, which include limited defence-industrial capacities, production delays, personnel shortfalls, cost overruns and geopolitical change. If AUKUS is seen as strengthening the strategic linkage between the US and Australia, as an American endorsement of a close ally, and as Britain’s claim to great-power status, unravelling it would likely have the reverse effect. As the project unfolds, and particularly as divisive issues become more urgent, maintaining political and strategic alignments among the three capitals will inevitably become more challenging.

Progress with the regulation of radiation safety during recovery and removal of spent nuclear fuel from the site for temporary storage at Andreeva Bay on the Kola Peninsula.

In the 1960s, a shore technical base (STB) was established at Andreeva Bay on the Kola Peninsula, in northwest Russia. The STB maintained nuclear submarines and the nuclear icebreaker fleet, receiving and storing fresh and spent nuclear fuel (SNF) as well as solid and liquid radioactive waste (RW). It was subsequently re-designated as a site for temporary storage (STS) for SNF and RW. Over time, the SNF storage facilities partly lost their containment functions, leading to radioactive contamination of workshops and the site above permitted values. The technological and engineering infrastructure at the site was also significantly degraded as well as the condition of the stored SNF. At present, the STS Andreeva Bay facility is under decommissioning. This paper describes progress with the creation of safe working measures for workers involved in site remediation and SNF recovery operations, including the determination of safe shift times in high radiation areas, as part of overall optimization of safety. Results are presented for the successful application of these measures in the period 2019-2021, during which time significant SNF recovery and removal operations were completed without incident. Significant important experience has been gained to support safe removal of remaining SNF, including the most hazardous degraded fuel, as well as recovery of other higher level RW and decommissioning of the old storage buildings and structures.

AUKUS: When naval procurement sets grand strategy

Traditionally, a grand strategy lays out the trade-offs a state must make in pursuit of security, thereby setting all aspects of foreign policy, from trade deals to defence budgets. This essay argues that the trade-offs embodied in a deal as complex, expensive, and long-lasting as AUKUS will manifest themselves in Australia's grand strategy for decades to come. Going forward, Australia's naval procurement decisions will shape its grand strategy, rather than vice versa. The essay makes three related points. First, Australia's costly reneging on France in favour of the US is the most important aspect of the deal to date. Even if these nuclear submarines are never built (a not entirely remote possibility), this shift in investment will determine Australia's approach to the world for a generation. Second, understanding this approach requires acknowledging that arms deals, even between allies, are tough, zero-sum negotiations requiring all parties to give up something of value. Given this, the essay makes the final point that Australia, and any other country entering AUKUS in the future, will pay in autonomy as much as in dollars.

Legal Regulation on Nuclear-Powered Ships Activity in Indonesian Waters Territory

On 17 September 2021, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States signed the AUKUS agreement legitimizing the ownership and development of Australian nuclear-powered submarines. This has direct implications for Indonesia, which has a strategic position as a trade route. In response to this, Indonesia has taken several political steps at the regional level as well as in multilateral forums. This research is intended to analyze legal steps that can be taken by Indonesia to regulate the navigation and safety of nuclear-powered submarines considering that international maritime law instruments do not accommodate these concerns. Through a normative legal approach, using the theory of Critical Legal Studies and the Concept of Legal Politics, this research finds that Indonesia needs to regulate provisions for the navigation and safety of nuclear-powered submarines at the national level.

Energy loss assessment of a two-stage pump under natural flow in the marine cooling system based on entropy production theory

Natural flow conditions are commonly used in the cooling systems of modern high-speed vessels and nuclear submarines. When the vessel's speed satisfies the requirements, it relies on its kinetic energy to supply seawater to the condenser in the cooling system. Under natural flow conditions, the pump is not driven, and the rotor will be “stuck” or rotated passively by the inlet flow shock. The local energy loss caused by the blade tip leakage vortex, surface separation flow, and wake flow significantly impact the system’s performance. Entropy production is an irreversible dissipation effect caused by the energy transfer process. According to the second law of thermodynamics, the entropy production theory can effectively characterize the intensity of local energy loss under natural flow conditions. In this study, the variation law of hydraulic loss and passive rotational speed under different flow rates of a two-stage pump were obtained by natural flow experiments. Moreover, the generation mechanism of intense energy loss under different natural flow conditions was investigated based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and entropy production theory. The results show that the entropy production induced by turbulent kinetic energy (TEP) is dominant, averaging 71.8%, followed by the wall entropy production (WEP), about 26.1%. The contribution of viscous dissipation entropy production (VDEP) can be negligible. When the impeller is “stuck” at low flow rates, entropy production is mainly from the flow separation near the blade and the flow shock region close to the guide vane back. The total entropy production of the guide vane accounts for 78%, higher than the impeller. However, when the impeller rotates passively at high flow rates, the energy loss inside the impeller is dominant, about 62%. The energy loss occurs around the blade wake region and the high velocity-gradient region near the guide vane. The flow field patterns between the two stages are similar, but the energy loss in the impeller and guide vane of stage Ⅱ is much higher. The TEP and WEP of the two impeller stages differed by 14% and 10%, respectively, and the guide vane of the two stages differed by 8% and 3%, at a flow rate of 196.8 m3/h.

Kehadiran Kerjasama Keamanan Trilateral AUKUS bagi Asia Tenggara: Memaknai Perbedaan Sikap Negara Anggota dan Relevansi ASEAN

The phenomenon of the AUKUS (Australia-United Kingdom-United States Partnership) trilateral security pact has caused a polemic within ASEAN. Australia's involvement in AUKUS gives Australia the right to have eight nuclear-powered submarines, reaping the pros and cons of ASEAN countries. Vietnam and the Philippines tend to support, while Indonesia-Malaysia oppose Australia's decision. Ideally, ASEAN, which has declared itself a nuclear-free zone in the SEANWFZ (Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone), does not support Australia's decision. This paper aims to analyze the effect of different responses from ASEAN countries to ASEAN centrality as regionalism in Southeast Asia. Based on the analysis conducted with the realism perspective, it was found that the differences in the responses of ASEAN countries did not affect the centrality of ASEAN. This is based on two things, firstly the response of countries that support Australia's policy is a spontaneous response to the security situation of countries involved in the South Tiongkok Sea conflict, the two ASEANs are still relevant as a foothold for the foreign policy of ASEAN member countries, especially on the policy of the Nuclear Free Zone. For this reason, ASEAN is still relevant in the security constellation in the region.

A Constructivist Analysis of the Establishment of the AUKUS Security Pact and its Implications for Regional Stability in the Indo-Pacific

This article attempts to shed light on AUKUS formation based on constructivist perspective and its implications for regional stability in the Indo-Pacific. Using a qualitative approach with a case study method, this article found that the formation of AUKUS is strongly influenced by two fundamental elements of constructivism: identity and interests. Identity refers to the shared ideas among the Anglo-Saxon nations (including Canada and New Zealand). Nevertheless, New Zealand tends not to join AUKUS due to its commitment to non-proliferation, while Canada seems to contribute nothing to the nuclear submarine program. The interests of the AUKUS alliance are: the US desires to strengthen its hegemony in the Indo-Pacific and rebalance China’s domination; the UK craves to become the first European country to enhance alliance cooperation in the Indo-Pacific after Brexit; and Australia’s willingness to modernize its military capability and affirms its commitment to which allies it counts on in the future. The implications of establishing AUKUS might include: undermining the status quo in the region concerning a nuclear-free zone, weakening existing cooperation agreements and reducing mutual trust between traditional allies, and bringing catastrophe to the region by triggering an armed race. Keywords: AUKUS; China; Constructivism; Indo-Pacific; Regional Stability

Identification of coverage of quality assurance program for maintenance naval base to the Brazilian conventional nuclear-powered submarine

The purpose of this study is to identify the coverage of quality assurance program (QAP) to be applied on a Maintenance Naval Base to the Brazilian conventional nuclear-powered submarine. Based on literature review and documents collected at the Angra I nuclear power plant, located in Brazil, it was possible to determine the coverage of QAP for a Brazilian Naval Base that will perform maintenance services on a conventional nuclear-powered submarine. The data were complemented by 6 interviews with specialists from nuclear sector. Regarding the countries that have nuclear-powered submarines, QAP implemented in their Maintenance Bases are confidential information. Another finding, based on the field research, showed that the QAP existing at the Angra I surpassed the 13 requirements established by Standard CNEN-NN-1.16 (Quality Assurance for the Safety of NPP) and, according to the interviewees, can be adapted for the Naval Maintenance Base of the Brazilian Navy. Thus, this study points out 25 requirements that can be used for the establishment of a QAP for the Naval Base in the operation phase of the conventional nuclear-powered submarine; The lack of technical standards and academic literature on the development of QAP, this study can serve as a guideline for the development of a QAP for Maintenance Naval Bases of Nuclear Submarines by the countries interested in this military technology.

THE TERM COMBINATION AND THE METAPHOR IN THE OFFICIAL BUSINESS DOCUMENT: COGNITIVE ASPECT

THE TERM COMBINATION AND THE METAPHOR IN THE OFFICIAL BUSINESS DOCUMENT: COGNITIVE ASPECT

AUKUS: The Regulation of the Ocean and the Legal Dangers of Working Together

Abstract On 16 September 2021, the leaders of Australia, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US), announced the AUKUS arrangement, a security agreement which provides a framework for nuclear-powered submarine technology to be shared by the US and the UK with Australia, as well as other forms of new military technology. This article explores the legal im-plications of this alliance and the increase in technological sharing and maritime cooperation it promises. It first provides an overview of the AUKUS arrangement, situating it within the long history of cooperation be-tween these three countries. It then considers how international law regu-lates the sharing of maritime military technology, contrasting the significant constraints on sharing nuclear technology with the minimal restrictions on sharing non-nuclear technology. Lastly, the legal implications of States working closely together on the ocean are addressed. While there might be military and strategic advantages to this close collaboration, when and how States might be complicit in the international wrongs of partner States and the challenge that can be posed by legal interoperability are explored.

THE NEO-REALISM IN AUKUS

Indo-Pacific is a very crucial region as many of defense activities from many countries are happening here. As the U.S., United Kingdom and Australia see the importance of the region they then created an alliance to create a free and open Indo-Pacific and make it as a region that is free from coercion and respects human rights. This security arrangement also will provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines for their defense capabilities. However, this raised concern among many parties that believed there are personal reasons behind the establishment of AUKUS. In short, AUKUS is a media to achieve and protect their national interest. This is in line with neo-realism theory that believed the main goal of every states is to survive and they will create alliances in crucial time. Hence, this paper will discuss the neo-realism in AUKUS. This paper is using a qualitative-descriptive method to better explain neo-realism in AUKUS.

Studies on the effects of cryogenic cooling on microstructure and mechanical properties of plasma arc welded SS 316

The stainless steel of grade 316 has significant use in nuclear engineering, aerospace industry and submarines and has become a material of choice due to its diversified properties. While welding this material, the heat input supplied weakens the fusion zone by grain growth, widening the heat-affected zone (HAZ), reducing yield and tensile strengths, and introducing distortion. Therefore, to address these issues, this study investigated the effect of cryogenic cooling during the welding process of thin sheets of SS 316 to improve the microstructure, mechanical properties, and reducing the distortion of the welded material. The keyhole mode plasma arc welding process was used to weld in a single pass without using filler with three different cooling methods. The microstructures, microhardness, and tensile properties of cryogenically and conventionally cooled weld samples were investigated at room temperature. The microstructural behavior of samples was characterized by metallurgical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The SEM Analysis reveals γ austenite and δ ferrite phases in conventionally welded test samples. M23C6 is formed in small amounts from δ ferrite, surrounding the δ ferrite on grain boundaries. In cryogenic cooled samples, delta ferrite is detected on grain boundaries of the austenitic matrix. Additionally, traces of (Cr, Fe)2 N are also revealed in specific cryogenic cooled samples due to liquid nitrogen impingement. In gel cooled samples, M23C6 is shown due to comparatively prolonged duration of cooling, and the results reveal that the liquid nitrogen and thermo gel improved average grain size up to 83.53% and 66.84%, respectively, as compared to an average grain size of conventional plasma weld. The reduction in HAZ is observed to be about 43.38% and 7.92% for liquid nitrogen cooled and thermo-gel samples, respectively, compared to conventional weld. Moreover, the tensile and yield strength of liquid nitrogen-cooled weldments increased up to 22.28% and 28.96%, respectively, while for gel-cooled welded sample, a 10.50% improvement in tensile strength and 3.10% in yield strength was observed. Furthermore, a reduction of 75% in distortion is achieved for welded samples with liquid nitrogen cooling.

Comparison of Two Methods for Obtaining the Variabilities in a FRAM Model of a Combined Nuclear Facility Project

This study presents a method for inferring the potential variabilities that need to be computed in a model developed using the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) by means of adapting a questionnaire used in the Resilience Analysis Grid method. The proposed method, called in this study the indirect method, is compared to the technique prescribed in FRAM to acquire variabilities for each system’s functions in the specific case of a FRAM model for obtaining a nuclear-powered submarine and its land support facility, hereinafter called the Combined Nuclear Facility (CNF). It should be noted that this model encompasses the design, the nuclear licensing process, and the construction of the CNF and aims to help to point out weaknesses in nuclear safety. The results show that 55.17% of the variability data obtained from both methods was identical (by exploratory data analysis), and a chi-square test of independence, conducted between method type and variability category, displayed that there was not a statistically significant association between method type and variability category. Thus, the null hypothesis cannot be rejected, and variability category and method type are independent of each other. Additionally, a qualitative comparison of a FRAM instantiation is presented using variabilities from the two methods, which resulted in small differences that apparently do not affect the overall result of the FRAM analysis. Therefore, it is concluded that the indirect method used to obtain information on the variability of functions of the model for obtaining the CNF is adequate.

An Exploration of the AUKUS Trilateral Partnership

On September 15, 2021, the US, UK, and Australia launched the Trilateral Security Partnership (AUKUS) in reaction to China’s increasing influence in the Indo-Pacific area. In reaction to China’s growth, this “small multilateral framework” based on “shared values” seeks to bolster US hegemony in the area by boosting military capability projection in the Indo-Pacific region. It is an example of the international nuclear non-proliferation system returning, which weakens it, causes disagreements among ASEAN nations, and upsets the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific area, all of which have a detrimental effect on the regional security situation. However, there are some fragile ties between the US and its allies, and the US-created AUKUS alliance’s prospects are dim given the lengthy and unpredictable time it takes for nuclear submarine cooperation to take hold.

Cardiac biosignal in confined nuclear submarine patrol: Heart rate variability a marker of adaptation

Cardiac biosignal in confined nuclear submarine patrol: Heart rate variability a marker of adaptation