The design is to recreate a submarine, sized down, to test its oxygen-producing systems. The submarine creates its own supply of oxygen for the crew to breathe. The oxygen is produced by the electrolysis of the seawater the submarine travels through. The water molecule, H2O, is split up into its constituent molecules of oxygen and hydrogen. The oxygen goes into the ship’s oxygen banks to be bleed off as needed to maintain levels for breathing while the hydrogen created from the process is expelled overboard.
The plentiful supply of sea water and electricity makes hydrolysis of water the obvious method for oxygen generation. Sea water must first have all electrolytes removed by a combination of evaporation and deionization. Theoretically, one liter of water can yield 620 liters of oxygen, so, even with less than 100% efficient electrolysis, large volumes of oxygen are easily produced. Submarine atmosphere oxygen concentration is maintained at 21 ± 2%.
Our goal is to experiment with the methods already used in creating the electricity for hydrolysis to test how efficient it is. We then will experiment with different ways to harness energy to find a more efficient way for the submarine to run. We will use a type of water propeller to make the water push it and that motion would be harnessed for energy. This and other energy harnessing methods will be experimented.
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