2024-05-03 08:28:33
Last summer, the story of how the OceanGate submarine Titan went missing with five people on board during an expedition to explore the wreckage of the Titanic.
It was initially feared that the submarine had lost power or was otherwise unable to return to the surface, prompting a massive search and rescue operation over several days, but it turned out that the vessel had imploded just hours after setting sail, killing all on board .
An implosion is the opposite of an explosion – the pressure moves from the outside in, not the inside out – but the consequences are similar.
In a new article published žurnale „Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences“ (PNAS), researchers at the University of Houston (USA) have revealed what could have gone wrong with the submarine’s design to cause such a catastrophic failure.
Thin-walled structures like the Titan had the ability to withstand high pressures, but are vulnerable to thin-walled buckling. A perfectly shaped cylinder should theoretically be quite strong, but any manufacturing defects can cause the structure to bend under lower forces than expected.
Using computer simulations and highly complex mathematical calculations, the researchers predicted the average buckling force of a flawed structure.
“We derived equations that predict the buckling resistance of structures based on related parameters, including their defect shapes and distributions,” said Roberto Ballarini, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Houston. – The equations created taking into account the parameters describing the flaws showed the average resistance to bending of the structures.”
“It should not be forgotten that the strength and stiffness of the material from which it is made also affects the resistance of the structure to bending damage,” added R. Ballarini.
These simulations may reveal why the Titan, a submarine made of carbon fiber and titanium, imploded.
“Its integrity may have been compromised by damage to the hull material that accumulated over the many trips it made before implosion. The body material of the Titan was carbon fiber composite. It is well known that under the action of high water pressure load, the fibers of such composites are sensitive to micro-bends and can delaminate from the matrix surrounding them, R. Ballarini explained. “If Titan’s hull had suffered such extreme pressure damage, its stiffness and strength would have been greatly reduced, which, together with the inevitable geometric defects in its manufacture, could have contributed to its implosion.”
Parenting page “Newsweek”.
2024-05-03 08:28:33