Tourist Submarine Destined to Endanger Its Passengers aboard the Titanic Replica
Read All About It: The Sunken Titan - A Year of Mystery, Half a Truth
Can you believe it's been nearly a year since OceanGate's Titan submersible mysteriously vanished? Seems like yesterday, right? Following a week of relentless searching, experts concluded that the sub most certainly imploded, sadly taking the lives of everyone onboard. Fragments and potential human remains were ultimately retrieved, but that was pretty much it for the Titan submersible. But thanks to someipsy-daisy new research, we might finally understand the freaking horror show that took place beneath the abyssal waves. Or at least... it looks like we knew all along. The Titan was doomed from the start, my dear reader.
According to the Independent, a posse of brainiacs from the University of Houston and the University of Minnesota have been toiling away to create a computer model predicting when tiny imperfections would cause materials to... buckle, I think was the term. They recently published their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. While their research wasn't geared specifically towards the Titan submersible, the lead author Roberto Ballarini didn't hesitate to discuss the findings' implications concerning the Titan's catastrophic design. Here's the gist of it:
The material they used for the Titan's hull was carbon freaking fiber composite. Now, carbon fiber is strong, lightweight, and all that, but underneath a crap-ton of pressure – as you might find at the bottom of the ocean – guess what? That brittle bad boy is just asking for cracks. And who wants cracks? I sure as hell don't! If the Titan's hull experienced those cracks, its rigidity and strength would've tanked faster than a used car at a spam convention. Add to that the wobbly geometric imperfections introduced during its initial construction, and you've got yourself a kneecap destined for a dislocated joint – or a submersible turned turtle.
Here's a pro tip from an expert who knows what's up: building a submersible outta carbon fiber is about as bright as buying a used car without test-driving it first. Sadly for us, OceanGate's founder Stockton Rush is no longer around to be held accountable for putting lives at risk like that. And he wasn't exactly coy about his disregard for safety, either. Rush once stated with surprising nonchalance, "At some point safety is just bloody waste." And get this – he'd even spelled out known issues to a YouTuber.
Ultimately, instead of playing it smart, sticking to the books, and following established engineering and safety standards, ol' Rush forsake all that simply to be different and save a few bucks. Sounds like the typical 'screw you' move from a douche canoe, doesn't it? What a price to pay for empty vanity. And it's a damn shame he wasn't the only one aboard when the sub exploded like a firecracker at a pyrotechnics convention. The others who perished didn't deserve what he did to them.
Originally appeared on Jalopnik.
Enrichment Insights:
As it turns out, there are several known design issues with the Titan submersible, some of which were confirmed by experts:
- The Titan's hull was a problematic combination of carbon fiber and titanium. Carbon fiber is prone to cracking under compressions, and the usage of titanium may cause defects by combining two materials with different properties.
- Unlike most submersibles, the Titan was built as a cylindrical vessel to accommodate more passengers. This unusual shape compromised its ability to handle immense pressure at deep-sea depths.
- Lack of proper safety inspections and regulations allowed the vessel to operate without thorough checks, despite warnings from experts like David Lochridge, who was eventually fired for expressing concerns about the submersible's safety.
- Additional technical flaws included errant plunge holes, o-ring grooves, galvanic corrosion risks from the mixed metal, and flammable interior materials that potentially caused catastrophic fires.
These design and operational issues combined resulted in the disastrous implosion of the Titan submersible.
- The material used in the Titan submersible's hull, carbon fiber composite, is known to buckle under immense pressure, a factor likely contributing to its catastrophic disintegration.
- The unique cylindrical shape of the Titan submersible, designed to accommodate more passengers, may have compromised its ability to handle deep-sea pressure, increasing the risk of disaster.
- Inadequate safety inspections and regulations may have allowed the Titan to operate without thorough checks, despite warnings from experts like David Lochridge, who was eventually fired for expressing concerns about the submersible's safety.
- Further technical flaws in the Titan submersible included errant plunge holes, o-ring grooves, risks of galvanic corrosion from the mixed metal, and flammable interior materials, all of which might have contributed to the tragic implosion.
