A New Beefed Up Engine
The Navy is in the process of ditching its 1968-design Nimitz-class carrier, a class near and dear to my heart, for the new and improved Ford-class supercarrier. While the new class is not equipped with lasers and a waterslide per my request, there are some pretty neat upgrades. One of these upgrades is a beefed up engine.
The U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford is expected to be commissioned in 2016 and will replace the Enterprise, which was retired in 2012. Don't worry though, the third planned Ford-class carrier will take up the name Enterprise, at least until the Starship Enterprise (NC-1701) is commissioned in 2245. Interesting fact, the first space shuttle, Enterprise, was originally slated to be called Constitution until Gerald Ford stepped in and asked that the shuttle be named Enterprise. I digress . . .
The coolest feature, at least to this ex-nuke, is the carrier's new A1B reactor. Bechtel Marine Propulsion designed the Ford's reactor plant, beating out Westinghouse and General Electric which designed almost all of the Navy's past reactors. It seems the Navy is also using Bechtel to design the reactor plant for the new SSBN set to replace the Ohio-class ballistic missile boats.
The Ford class will feature two of the A1B reactor plants and produce approximately three times the amount of electricity generated by the A4W reactor plant used in Nimitz class carriers. Some of this additional capacity will power the new electromagnetic catapult system (bye bye steam). For comparison purposes, the two A4W reactor plants used in Nimitz class carriers produce 1100MW and generate 260,000 shaft horsepower. What is really impressive is that the A1B has 50 percent fewer valves, piping, pumps, condensers, and generators! Fifty percent! This lends to a projected two-third reduction in watch standing requirements and significantly less maintenance. Wooo hooo! Maybe soon we can get these reactors down to a size that I can strap on the back of a DeLorean and travel back to the future.
So let's recap:
- 460 B.C.: Democritus comes up with a crazy notion that matter is made up of basic particles that he calls "atoms."
- 1905: Einstein publishes his paper on Special Relativity including mass-energy equivalence and E=MC² posits that mass can be converted to energy.
- 1932: James Chadwick discovers the neutron.
- 1938: Otto Hahn and Lise Meitner accidentally discover nuclear fission.
- 1942: Chicago-Pile 1, the first man-made reactor, achieves criticality.
- 1954: Admiral Rickover gets the looney idea to put a nuclear reactor in a submarine and the USS Nautilus (SSN-571) is put to sea.
- 1960: The U.S.S. Enterprise (CVN-65) is launched, becoming the first nuclear powered aircraft carrier (Eight Reactors?!?! Yikes!!).
- 2016: The U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) is set to be commissioned with the new Bechtel Marine Propulsion A1B reactor plant.
- ????: Nuclear powered spacecraft allow us "to boldly go where no man has gone before!"*
First published, December 18, 2014, "The Most Powerful Ford Ever Built" was written by Thomas Goering, Jr. "Tommy" served in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Nimitz as a Nuke Electronics Technician.
*The phrase, "to boldly go where no man has gone before" is a famous line from the original Star Trek television series.
Page written and maintained by NCCM Thomas Goering, USN (Retired).
If you are seeking information about joining the Navy, feel free to contact me.
