Magnetohydrodynamic propulsion systems for submarines offer several significant advantages over conventional propeller propulsion systems. These advantages include the potential for greater stealth characteristics, increased maneuverability, enhanced survivability, elimination of cavitation limits, greater payload capability, and the addition of a significant emergency propulsion system. These advantages can be obtained with a magnetohydrodynamic propulsion system that is neutrally bouyant and can operate with the existing submarine propulsion system power plant. A thorough investigation of magnetohydrodynamic propulsion systems for submarine applications has been completed. During the investigation, a number of geometric configurations were examined. Each of these configurations and mounting concepts was optimized for maximum performance for a generic attack class submarine. The optimization considered each thruster individually by determining the optimum operating characteristics for each one and accepting only those thrusters that result in a neutrally buoyant propulsion system. The results of this detailed optimization study show that the segmented, annular thruster is the concept with the highest performance levels and greatest efficiency and offers the greatest potential for a practical magnetohydrodynamic propulsion system for attack class submarines. The optimization study results were used to develop a specific point design for a segmented, annular magnetohydrodynamic thruster for an attack class submarine. The design point case has shown that this thruster may be able to provide the necessary thrust to propel an attack class submarine at the required velocity with the potential for a substantial acoustic signature reduction within the constraints of the existing submarine power plant and the maintenance of neutral buoyancy. This innovative magnetohydrodynamic propulsion system offers an approach for submarine propulsion that can be an important contribution to the development of the submarine force of the next century.
