Titanic tourist sub goes missing sparking search

[makar0n]

Yes, but I wonder if it could also have become unseated/shattered during the implosion. Not sure if we'd expect to see any deformation in the titanium around it if that was the initial failure point. The absence of any large pieces of the carbon fiber hull section might indicate that whether or not that was the failure point, it was reduced to pieces. Frankly I'd think the top three candidates are fatigue in the carbon fiber hull, a failure in one of the bonds between a titanium ring and the carbon fiber hull, and the viewport.

This interview is just full of nope for me ... oh, so that crackling noise is just weaker carbon fibers in the hull breaking under water pressure? I would have noped right the hell out after hearing that explanation.

OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush talks Titan sub's design, carbon fiber hull, safety and more in 2022 interviews

"Sunday Morning" correspondent David Pogue talked in Summer 2022 with the man behind the creation of the submersible that catastrophically imploded, killing five, during a June 2023 dive to the wreck of the Titanic.

www.cbsnews.com

He laughs a lot. Like either a madman or somebody hiding something. And his recipe for any issues is "we will just surface". I suppose nobody told him teleportation is not a thing yet. Plus the whole "we are explorers, adventurers, scientist, mission specialist" - sure, you are just bunch of rich people, going down to a graveyard to see dead rich people. And as it turns out, join them too.

POGUE: How dangerous is it?

RUSH: I don't think it's very dangerous.

A classic "Hold my beer"™ moment.

RUSH: The key thing we've done with the pressure vessel is, it's made of carbon fiber.

Carbon fiber is a great material. It's better than titanium. It's better than a lot of other materials.

 

[Hoyden]

... sure, you are just bunch of rich people, going down to a graveyard to see dead rich people. And as it turns out, join them too.

So, it was rich people going down to a graveyard to see dead poor people. The rich survival rate (first class) was 62% (rich women - 97%). Only 25% of third class passengers survived. Interestingly, second class male passengers had the lowest suvival rate at only 8%.

 

[chillyinCanada]

 

[O-ring]

He laughs a lot. Like either a madman or somebody hiding something. And his recipe for any issues is "we will just surface". I suppose nobody told him teleportation is not a thing yet. Plus the whole "we are explorers, adventurers, scientist, mission specialist" - sure, you are just bunch of rich people, going down to a graveyard to see dead rich people. And as it turns out, join them too.




A classic "Hold my beer"™ moment.

I can't believe you like money too. We should hang out.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I've now read a report and then the video above, have said that the Titan's last communication with the surface was telling them that there was a problem (?) and that they were surfacing . . .

 

[Akimbo]

The viewport would have been blown out if the hull failed. It was made to withstand external pressure, not internal

Off the top of my head, I would think that the end-bell/hatch would have blown off before the viewport blew out, but the shock wave and near instantaneous steam blast can do strange things. For those that haven't followed the physics of implosions, they typically occur in milliseconds. The hyper-rapid compression of the gas flashes to steam due to the "heat of compression" or Charles' Law.

Even though the carbon fiber hull is the most suspect, the viewport itself is a close second. There were many complaints and warnings from experienced engineers that the port was not rated for that depth using conventional acrylic viewport calculations. Here is a diagram of a typical submersible viewport from the O-rings for Divers thread:

Sectional view of a conical Acrylic pressure-seating viewport for a deep submersible rated for 1,000 M or 3,281' working depth. Similar ports are used for decompression chambers. The O-Ring only functions at very shallow depths, enough for the pressure to create a metal to plastic seal. ​

 

[plaamook]

Something creepy about trusting an o ring in that situation. Wow.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Something creepy about trusting an o ring in that situation. Wow.

That was my first thought when I saw the o-ring in the diagram, but the text underneath clarifies that it only operates as a seal when the submersible is at shallow depths, and a more substantial seal is made between the viewport and the hull at high pressure.

 

[lermontov]

i guess the pressure of the plug effect on the window might push the housing apart or if to moved put an disproportionate stress on one side

 

[Dan]

That was my first thought when I saw the o-ring in the diagram, but the text underneath clarifies that it only operates as a seal when the submersible is at shallow depths, and a more substantial seal is made between the viewport and the hull at high pressure.

At high pressure, the tapered surface would be the seal face.