Why dont nuclear submarines produce superheatd steam?

Question

No they produce saturated steam not superheated.

I know they have boilers and that they produce steam but why do they not produce superheated steam which is more efficient than saturated steam.

Believe me they do not produce superheated steam they produce saturated steam. Im not asking about how a turbine works. Thats obvious.

Well done Richard

Answer 1

In order to superheat steam, you must add additional heat after the steam is formed. In the case of a nuclear reactor, the steam is formed in a boiler fed by hot water, and as the steam is formed it is drawn out of the boiler and into a distribution system. You would have inject additional heat after the steam left the boiler in order to reach a level of superheat.

Answer 2

Since nuclear power on a submarine is not about maximum efficiency there is little need to complicate the steam system by going with super heated steam. There is more than enough energy available with out trying to squeeze out the last drop of energy.

All make up water for the steam system must be made by desalting sea water. To run a super heated steam system you need almost pure water. Making this from sea water entails a lot more steps that just making water good enough for a saturated steam system.

Any impurities in the boiler feed water that can be deposited on the super heater tubes pose a serious corrosion or "hot spot" problem. With saturated steam that is now a consideration.

Answer 3

They do. That's how a nuclear powerplant works. The steam turns turbines to create electricity and rotational energy for the propellers.

But they don't exhaust superheated steam. A nuclear powerplant is a closed system. The water (or other coolant) becomes radioactive through contact with the core, so it is isolated from the rest of the world. It is forced through coils that heat up other water or thermoconducting liquid and that is what is used to run the turbines.

Answer 4

Keep in mind that water vapor is a gas. And a gas underwater is a bubble. And bubbles make noise. Noise that other submarines can detect.

Most modern submarines are carefully designed to avoid bubble formation on their propellers, steering surfaces, and so on. They certainly aren't going to ruin all that by letting steam out in the water!

Any steam produced by the equipment is carefully kept inside the works and recycled in as quiet a manner possible. This may also explain why the plant itself is not in an 'optimal' configuration... being quiet is more important than producing the maximum amount of power.

Answer 5

The steam is used to turn a turbine which produces the power needed to heat,light,move the sub.

Answer 6

What bones said. Nuclear submarines, air craft carriers, and power plants work on the principle of the steam engine. The difference is instead of using wood or coal to create the steam they you nuclear reactions.

Answer 7

If I had to guess, which I do, I would say that the amount of cooling that they get from surrounding sea water depends on the surface area of hot pipe they can expose to the outer hull, that would mean that heavier pipe able to hold higher pressure would dissipate heat more slowly. It is likely a trade off.

Answer 8

What? Dude...what do you think makes them go? I don't think anyone will tell you how they actually work though...that part's classified.

Answer 9

They do, that is what drives their turbines.