Navy Taps Battelle Life Saving Curtains For Submarines

Since 06-28-04

From NSL UPDATE 04-09-04

The anti-submarine command will focus on defending against the small, quiet ships of a post-

DEFENSE DAILY 8 APR 04

Navy Taps Battelle Life-Saving Curtains For Submarines

 By Ann Roosevelt

Naval Sea Systems Command recently completed an $850,000 order for Battelle's lifesaving lithium hydroxide curtains for the U.S. submarine force, the lab said yesterday. By late this year, every submarine in the fleet will have 400 of the new life-saving curtains developed and produced by Columbus, Ohio-based Battelle that removes hazardous carbon dioxide that can build to life-threatening levels in the atmosphere of a disabled sub, improving the crew's ability to survive while awaiting rescue. Each sub will carry eight kits.

Each kit will have 50 curtains, 400 nylon wire ties and two sets of operating instructions, James Worthington, a project manager in Battelle's equipment development group and one of the four inventors of the curtain, said in an interview with Defense Daily. Since 1963, he said, the Navy's "intention was always to keep a submarine crew alive for three days--by the end of that time rescue assets could be on top of the submarine and able to take survivors off."

But as a result of the Russian submarine Kursk disaster, and a U.S. Navy review, the service went from storing 150 canisters of lithium hydroxide cans aboard subs to 370 cans, planning on keeping crews alive for seven days to provide for rescue. The air we breathe typically has six to seven-tenths carbon dioxide.

Subs try to maintain an atmosphere at or below one percent, he said. "In an emergency... [submarines] attempt to keep [carbon dioxide] at or below three percent, sort of the magic boundary, where the typical person starts having trouble with [carbon dioxide] toxicity or poisoning." An unexpected bonus from the patented curtains is that heat is generated by the chemical reaction from the lithium hydroxide absorbing carbon dioxide, which can reach around 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

Since temperatures at the ocean floor are around zero, hypothermia is a serious threat for sailors on a disabled sub. Lacing several curtains together using grommets along the edge of the fabric, sailors can create a heated enclosure. The 7.5 foot curtains, which cost $19 each, are a patented design using a polypropylene fabric to contain lithium hydroxide crystals.

The curtains resemble air mattresses, made of five sealed channels that allow passive absorption of carbon dioxide while preventing caustic lithium hydroxide dust from escaping and irritating submariners lungs and skins.

Traditionally, lithium hydroxide crystals are stored in cans aboard submarines and used I hopper fans if the sub has power. If not, the crystals are spread on the decks and equipment, but a caustic dust can damage lungs and skin.

After the sinking of the Russian submarine Kursk, Battle researchers saw a critical need, but it was difficult to find the correct material, Worthington said, often because they couldn't tell companies what they were doing, though they had some specific needs, for example, the material had to breathe, to get the absorption going."

The solution came from Kimberly Clark [KMB], with a very small pore size, needed to trap the dust, he said. Following tests by Battle, the Navy Submarine Medical Research Laboratory and a successful use in the Navy's submarine survival exercise SURVIVEX 2003, the service decided to buy the new equipment.

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