Located by the East Coast of the Netherlands is Delft University of Technology, a school that aims to send new human-powered submarine teams to the biennial International Submarine Races held at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division. The event is hosted by the Future of Underwater Research and Education and welcomes teams from around the world and across the United States to the U.S. Navy’s longest tow tank facility.
At the David Taylor Model Basin in West Bethesda, Maryland, teams like the Wasub IX have developed their vessel from scratch. The process of creating a one-man propeller submarine is no easy task. Dhijs Haenen, Eindhoven University of Technology student and pilot of the Wasub IX, explained that his body had to be molded into the structure of his team’s submarine before properly constructing the full-scale hull.
“Inside the submarine it is very crammed,” Haenen said. “The only thing that fits is my body and my index fingers to steer. We started with a 3D scan, where you stand in a full body 3D scanner in a specific pose and they make a 3D model of you that’s exact in every detail. That helps us see if and how it would fit inside the sub and if there is enough room for range and motion.”
Financial manager and co-race captain Viren Mirchumal said this year’s submarine is different from previous ones because it was designed to accommodate the body attributes of him and Haenen, which has not previously been done.
Wasub IX has also added an electronic steering system to their hull, but are vigilantly watching it due to its sensitive nature.
“When you get high speeds, our electronic steering system gets more difficult to control. So, we are tuning that right now to help it become less sensitive,” Haenen said. “When I was inside the sub on a time trial run, I was constantly overcorrecting the steering and swerving a bit.”
The team was fortunate enough to test their one-man propeller sub in three different pools, inside and outside, before arriving at the David Taylor Model Basin thanks to their sponsors. The deepest dive the team recorded was a 13-foot dive in their sponsor’s small pool. On the other hand, the team’s most successful test run came at an Olympic swimming pool, which was 164 feet long and 9 feet deep.
“It was just enough for the pilot and divers to get used to diving, communication and peddling,” said operations manager and co-race captain Charlotte Struigk.
After having completed a few time-trial runs, Haenen admitted that he was worried at first by the tow tank’s limited visibility.
“It is very dark when you’re not near the light,” Haenen said. “The light gives you some depth perception and you can see where you are as long as you stay on track. When you finish the course and the lights stop, however, there is no point of reference, but you have to keep calm.”
The team is composed of 25 team members from different universities including Delft University of Technology, Eindhoven University of Technology and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Wasub IX reached a top speed of 6.4 knots at the races, the fastest in the competition as of mid-day June 27.