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Simulation of Ship’s Systems for Decision Support to Damage
Control on the Collins Class Submarine
Richard Stacewicz Veronica Jeleniewski-Boere
Department of Defence Defence Science and Technology
Organisation
Aeronautical and Maritime Research Laboratory Maritime Platforms
Division
PO Box 4331 MELBOURNE VIC 3001
Keywords:
Simulation, damage control, submarine, decision aid, real-time
display, ship’s system, training
ABSTRACT: The control of fire and damage to equipment on a
submarine is critical to the survival of the boat and crew. The
enclosed environment of a submarine dictates that a rapid response
to an incident is vital, to ensure the operational viability of the
boat and the safety of the crew.
The submarine’s systems, as well as the submarine’s operation
and damage control procedures, are simulated on a computer. This
simulation supports and enhances the implementation of the
decisions needed to combat the spread of fire, smoke and equipment
failure. The simulation also provides the commanding officer with a
real-time display of the operational status of the boat.
As well as supporting the submarine in fulfilling its mission,
the simulation can also be used on-shore to train the officers and
crew to be better prepared to perform their duties.
1. Introduction The operational effectiveness of a submarine
depends
on the timely response to damage. Efficient damage control is
essential to ensure the safety of the boat and its crew, and to
enable the boat to survive whilst maintaining its fight, manoeuvre
and float capability [1]. To survive, the crew must be able to
quickly:
• identify the location and extent of damage • contain and
control damage • reconfigure systems instantly • maintain fire
power and mobility On the Collins Class submarine, the damage
control
headquarters (HQ1) is responsible for maintaining an up-to-date
picture of the submarine, damage incidents, availability and use of
resources, effectiveness of containment and restoration action [2].
The HQ1 coordinates damage control activities and is expected to
achieve priorities set by the Commanding Officer.
Damage and casualty information is written manually on an
incident coordination board and incident card. The display of
damage and equipment-related information on incident boards, with
manual updating methods, does not provide realistic and correct
assessment of damage effects. In the absence of decision-making
aids, damage assessment is dependent on the level of expertise
within HQ1 and the ability to analyse displayed information and
relay actions and procedures for containing the incident [3].
Simulation of the submarine’s systems and equipment will provide
HQ1 with a more realistic assessment of the total damage control
scenario. The simulation will also coordinate more realistically
the
availability of equipment and systems so that the resulting
limitations on the submarine’s ability to fight, move and float can
be determined more accurately.
2. Current damage control system The incident coordination board
presently used by HQ1 for monitoring damage control displays:
• the general arrangement of the boat, hatches, doors and
valves
• the halon and aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) fire
suppression systems
• the location of emergency breathing monitoring equipment and
portable air tanks
• the location of thermal imaging cameras • the location of
first aid stations and AFFF refill
stations • the location of support party personnel • the status
of communication allocations • the status of equipment
unavailability
Typical incidents that can occur onboard the submarine
include:
• fire • flood • high pressure air burst • hydraulic burst •
hydraulic failure • toxic gas • emergency stations • collision
dived and surfaced • communication failure • electrical
distribution failure Various books and manuals are used by HQ1
during
damage control incidents. The immediate actions,
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recovery actions and follow up actions are outlined in the
operating procedures book [4]. The procedures for isolating systems
and equipment are outlined in the kill card manual [5]. The ship’s
information book contains the description and schematics of all the
equipment and systems onboard the vessel [6].
The current damage control system is labour intensive and relies
on records of damage and casualties being manually written and
displayed on an incident board. This method, besides being slow,
can lead to inaccuracies due to human error [3].
3. Simulation of decision support to damage control
The management of damage control on a submarine can be improved
by using a computerised method of recording, displaying, analysing,
evaluating and monitoring the damage control environment [7].
The Commanding Officer needs an overview of the actual and
expected capabilities of the submarine while the HQ1 focus their
attention on maintaining the required capability. The status of the
submarine is displayed on the Ship’s Status screen as shown in
Figure 1. The status is displayed in an easily, understood form
using coloured buttons for rapid interpretation and evaluation.
Operational capability is displayed using a green colour,
unserviceability in red, impaired operation in orange while a
maintenance condition is shown in a grey colour. The buttons in the
menu box are used to navigate to other modules of the platform
management system. The report button displays a text report on the
status of systems, equipment and personnel.
The Incident Coordination Board screen as shown in Figure 2 is
used to record incidents reported during the damage control
operations. The buttons at the top of the screen are used to record
the incidents occurring in a compartment. The outline of the
submarine is used to navigate to each compartment. The status of
equipment in each compartment can also be noted by selecting the
location of the item on the plan of the compartment.
The ship’s manuals are accessed in the Collins On-Line screen as
shown in Figure 3. Selecting the title of the book accesses the
books. For example, on opening the kill card book, an interactive
table of contents is displayed as shown in Figure 4. On selecting
the title of a chapter or topic, the contents page of that section
is displayed as shown in Figure 5. Selecting any topic from a
content page immediately displays an interactive screen as shown in
Figure 6.
The status of systems and related equipment involved in damage
control actions is recorded in the kill card manual and monitored
using the appropriate status colour coding. A typical display
displaying the various stages of isolation of the high pressure air
system during damage control is shown in Figure 6. The status
information recorded on these pages is immediately updated on the
Ship’s Status and Incident Board screens.
Damage control is also monitored using system schematics as
shown in Figure 7. The status condition of a system is also
recorded and displayed using the
colour coding for easy understanding and interpretation. The
status condition recorded on any schematic is also immediately
updated in the Ship’s Status, Incident Board and Kill Card
screens.
Assessment of the consequences of damage and isolation of
systems is assisted by the provision of an interactive simulation.
An example of an interactive simulation is shown in Figure 8. These
simulations can be used to gain an appreciation of the damage
control situation, the implications of the main incidents and their
likely development, and the planning of appropriate
countermeasures
4. Conclusion The value of a computerised platform
management
system is its high level of contribution to the performance,
safety and survivability of the submarine.
The paper has shown that the incident board currently used in
the Collins Class submarine can be replaced by an interactive
computer display system which also uses simulation of decision
support to damage control.
This computerised damage control allows the status of systems,
subsystems and their ancillary equipment to be presented to the
damage control headquarters and the Commanding Officer in a clear,
concise and functional manner.
The use of interactive systems has been shown to provide
Officers with the current (actual) as well as predicted
capabilities of systems in the submarine. This enables them to
improve the quality of their decisions to ensure the performance,
safety and survivability of the Collins class submarine.
5. Acknowledgments The authors thank Mr Simon Graham for his
contribution to software development and Mr Brian Crowley for
graphics design. Appreciation is also expressed to Chief Petty
Officer Gary ‘Chook’ Fowler, Submarine Sea Training Group, HMAS
Stirling, for his collaboration on technical design and systems
validation. The encouragement and support of Mr Peter Hugonnet,
SUBSAFE Manager, New Submarine Project is gratefully
appreciated.
6. References 1. Slaven G., K. Sixsmith and S Garner.
Electronic
damage control information displays: an evaluation. Paper 23,
Fourth International Naval Engineering Conference and Exhibition.
Surviving the War. (April 1998)
2. Australian Book of Reference 5993. Collins Class Submarine
Damage Control Manual.
3. Patnaik S. K. and A. P. Raghina. Battle damage control system
–an effective tool for surviving war. Paper 23, Fourth
International Naval Engineering Conference and Exhibition.
Surviving the War. (April 1998)
4. Australian Book of Reference 6009. Collins Class Submarine
Operating Sequencing Procedures.
5. Collins Class Submarine Kill Cards Manual 1998 6. Australian
Book of Reference 6284. Collins Class
Submarine Ship’s Information Book.
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7. Verhaart A. and W. van der Zwan. Simulation of systems
availability as a management tool to improve survivability – a tool
for ship design and operation. Paper 12, Fourth International Naval
Engineering conference and Exhibition. Surviving the War. (April
1998)
7. Author Biographies Richard Stacewicz graduated from RMIT
University
with B App Sc (Chemistry) in 1972. He is currently working on
the modelling of the spread of smoke in
naval vessels and the design and development of computerised
platform management systems for the Collins Class submarine.
Veronica Jeleniewski-Boere graduated from the RMIT University
with B App Sc (Metallurgy) and then completed an M Sc (Metallurgy)
at Melbourne University in 1981. She is currently working on the
modelling of the spread of smoke in naval vessels and the design
and development of computerised platform management systems for the
Collins Class submarine.
Figure 1: Status of the boat displayed on the ship’s status
screen.
Figure 2: Incidents recorded on the incident board screen.
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Figure 3: Ship’s books accessed in the Collins On-Line
screen.
Figure 4: The table of contents displayed by selecting the title
of a book in Collins On-Line.
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Figure 5: Access to system isolation procedures and system
schematics.
Figure 6: Display of the status of the high pressure air system
using colour coding.
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Figure 7: Use of a schematic to display the status of the high
pressure air system.
Figure 8: An interactive simulation of the main bilge
system.