At that depth, it amounted to a large bomb exploding, but in reverse as an implosion. If the depth was 3000 ft. or more, that actually amounts to more than 100 ATM = 1.47 ksi = 10.13 MPa = 101.33 Bars = 1469.65 lbs-force/in^2
It's absolutely astonishing this happened. There was no backup safety plan. And not even a safety tether from the support vessel above! To me this would have been the easiest back up in case something happened. With that safety tether, an optical communication line could have been rigged.
I suspect the failure occurred along any of the 17 bolts of the hatch. The repeated use for deep diving would have a cycling effect between extreme pressure (compression) differentials on structural material. Any removable part is the likely place for such catastrophic failure to occur.
My understanding is this submarine was used previously on 25 occasions. Also, I understand a thick-walled acrylic (7" thick) was used for the port window. Was the yield strength of acrylic the best material to use? It's obvious to me just by the lack of any back-up safety plans that other 'short-cuts' were made. The repeated compression/decompression around the bolt holes may have caused material fatigue and micro-cracking that was not properly examined and caught. This seems to be the most likely spot for failure to occur. These deep dive voyages was a suicide waiting to happen. The visibility at that level is most likely very poor. So the purpose of seeing a ship wreck like the Titanic was akin to a myopic man seeing the tail of an elephant, but not the entire massive beast. For $225,000, along with the possibility of not even finding the Titanic, and poor visibility, I can't understand the insane motive. It's clear the passengers were convinced to believe it was all an adventure it was not.
At that depth, it amounted to a large bomb exploding, but in reverse as an implosion. If the depth was 3000 ft. or more, that actually amounts to more than 100 ATM = 1.47 ksi = 10.13 MPa = 101.33 Bars = 1469.65 lbs-force/in^2
It's absolutely astonishing this happened. There was no backup safety plan. And not even a safety tether from the support vessel above! To me this would have been the easiest back up in case something happened. With that safety tether, an optical communication line could have been rigged.
I suspect the failure occurred along any of the 17 bolts of the hatch. The repeated use for deep diving would have a cycling effect between extreme pressure (compression) differentials on structural material. Any removable part is the likely place for such catastrophic failure to occur.
My understanding is this submarine was used previously on 25 occasions. Also, I understand a thick-walled acrylic (7" thick) was used for the port window. Was the yield strength of acrylic the best material to use? It's obvious to me just by the lack of any back-up safety plans that other 'short-cuts' were made. The repeated compression/decompression around the bolt holes may have caused material fatigue and micro-cracking that was not properly examined and caught. This seems to be the most likely spot for failure to occur. These deep dive voyages was a suicide waiting to happen. The visibility at that level is most likely very poor. So the purpose of seeing a ship wreck like the Titanic was more similar to a blind man seeing the tail of an elephant, but not the entire massive beast. For $225,000, along with the possibility of not finding the Titanic, and poor visibility, I can't understand the insane motive. It's clear the passengers were convinced to believe it was safe diving on this submarine.