Nikolai Kirillov, a designer from St. Petersburg, has developed a scheme for a new small nuclear submarine with a revolutionary power plant. He proposed abandoning liquid metal coolant in favor of a compact water-organic system with a Rankine cycle.
The main feature of the development is a single power compartment where the reactor, turbine, and generator are integrated. Through this arrangement, Kirillov expects to significantly reduce the size and mass of the submarine.
The document states that the submarine's displacement could be less than 3000 tons — the level of small multi-purpose nuclear submarines.
Instead of traditional water vapor, it is proposed to use an organic coolant — toluene or pentane. This scheme allows for reducing pressure and temperature in the system, decreasing the mass of pipelines and the reactor vessel, and also reducing the load on the turbine.
Another feature of the project is a controllable pitch propeller, installed directly on the turbine shaft. This allows changing the direction of movement without reversing the unit itself.
For now, this is a patent development — there is no information about the construction of a real submarine.
