WATER PISTON PROPULSOR FOR AN ADVANCED MARINE CORPS AMPHIBIAN

The Water Piston Propulsor (WPP) is a promising candidate propulsion system for advanced Marine Corps amphibious vehicles. Significant weight and volume reductions are the primary advantages of the WPP system versus the more conventional propulsion technologies used at the present time. WPP thrust is produced by porting high pressure combustion gases into water filled channels of a rotor. Gas expansion results in the expulsion of water from the downstream end of the rotor channel creating thrust. If the thermal loss is not excessive, this method of converting thermal energy directly into thrust would eliminate a conventional marine drive transmission and provide volume and weight savings in integrating it into this particular application as well as other marine vehicles. Specifics of the system and its implementation into an advanced Marine Corps assault amphibian are discussed.