James Cameron, director of the Titanic film, once dove in a submersible to the deepest point in the ocean. So he has connections within the community of submersible designers. Regarding the loss of the Titan, Cameron gave an interview in which he said that he had heard second hand reports from people in the Titan support crew who said that the vessel encountered problems, aborted its dive, dropped ballast, and was attempting to ascend at the moment of the implosion. So the people on board knew what was happening, they probably heard sounds of the hull beginning to strain, although the implosion itself would have been instantaneous.
The hull consisted of a carbon fiber tube with titanium endcaps, one of which served as a door (which could not be opened from inside) and contained the porthole.
I watched this that shows the making of the hull. So it seems that it’s carbon fibre over a metal cylinder. I don’t know if that cylinder is titanium but it doesn’t seem like the hull was pure carbon fibre. That cylinder is nowhere near thick enough for anything but the base for the carbon fibre though so it’s not like it would offer anything but squish in an emergency. But I did find this very interesting (and terrifying somehow):
James Cameron, director of the Titanic film, once dove in a submersible to the deepest point in the ocean. So he has connections within the community of submersible designers. Regarding the loss of the Titan, Cameron gave an interview in which he said that he had heard second hand reports from people in the Titan support crew who said that the vessel encountered problems, aborted its dive, dropped ballast, and was attempting to ascend at the moment of the implosion. So the people on board knew what was happening, they probably heard sounds of the hull beginning to strain, although the implosion itself would have been instantaneous.
By all accounts, carbon fiber doesn’t “strain”. It does its thing great right up until it fails catastrophically.
Which is why they used acoustic sensors to monitor the carbon fiber’s integrity instead of strain gauges. They absolutely would have had warning.
Was the hull made purely of carbon fiber?
The hull consisted of a carbon fiber tube with titanium endcaps, one of which served as a door (which could not be opened from inside) and contained the porthole.
I watched this that shows the making of the hull. So it seems that it’s carbon fibre over a metal cylinder. I don’t know if that cylinder is titanium but it doesn’t seem like the hull was pure carbon fibre. That cylinder is nowhere near thick enough for anything but the base for the carbon fibre though so it’s not like it would offer anything but squish in an emergency. But I did find this very interesting (and terrifying somehow):
https://youtu.be/4O5F4ZVlIac?t=660
Hmmm… still not sure…
The Titan Tragedy—A Deep Dive Into Carbon Fiber, Used for the First Time in a Submersible
OceanGate shows a metal tube around which the carbon fiber filament is wound but it may be a mandril removed after hardening of the composite.
I’ll be damned, you’re right, the carbon fiber was wound around a metal tube. My bad.