Why did Titan implode? Check out the 3 main mistakes in submersible design Olhar Digital

Although federal investigators say it could take up to 18 months to figure out why the Titan actually imploded, some weaknesses in the submarine’s design are already apparent, according to the New York Times.

Understand below the three main weaknesses of the diving project that imploded during a visit to the depths of the ocean on June 18th.

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fragile format

The first point raised by the engineers interviewed by the newspaper concerns the design of the capsule that carried the passengers. Usually, submersibles adopt a spherical shape because it distributes the compressive force evenly across the hull.

However, Titan has integrated a pill format. As a result, although the submarine carries more passengers, the design is inferior when it comes to withstanding the compressive forces at the seabed.

In this direct comparison it is possible to differentiate between the project hulls Titan and Alvin. Image: The New York Times / Playback

In addition, it is important to know that about 4 km deep in the sea where the Titanic is located every square centimeter of a submersible is subjected to a pressure of three tons. That is, it is a print that is actually capable of deforming materials.

By changing the fuselage geometry from a bullet to a long tube, it would have been necessary to use a stronger and thicker material to withstand such pressure, explained Tim Foecke, a retired forensic metallurgist. According to him, if there were two hulls of the same material and thickness, the larger one would flex first.

Cheap but insufficient

The second reason mentioned is related to the material used in the hull. While engineers used titanium to build the Alvin Submersible — a submersible that has completed more than 4,500 dives since 1973 — OceanGate used carbon fiber for most of the hull.

According to experts, titanium is strong against compression and tension. Carbon fiber, on the other hand, resists tensile forces more effectively—that is, it resists pulling before breaking, but deforms when pressed or compressed.

Engineers managed to halve the weight of Titan compared to Alvin (Image: Handout/OceanGate)

In addition to the economy in manufacturing the submarine, the choice of material allowed the weight of the Titan to be reduced to less than a ton compared to more than two tons of the Alvin.

“This weight reduction allows us to carry a significantly larger payload that allows us to carry five crew members,” OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush said in a company press release last year.

Join the challenge

Another point raised by the interviewed engineers concerns the connection of dissimilar materials. In the case of Titan, the fuselage was designed to be glued together with titanium hemispherical ends.

However, different materials react differently to the compression force. Therefore it is a real challenge to seal the connection between the carbon fiber and the titanium.

According to experts, carbon fibers would compact on the sea floor faster than titanium, which would put stress on the adhesive bond. To make matters worse, moisture and sea salt could have contributed to the degradation of the carbon fiber and the glue used in the joint, explained Kedar Kirane, a mechanical engineer who specializes in damage, fracture and fatigue in fiberreinforced composites.

About the New York Times.

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