this post was submitted on 28 Jun 2023
327 points (97.1% liked)
World News
32367 readers
591 users here now
News from around the world!
Rules:
-
Please only post links to actual news sources, no tabloid sites, etc
-
No NSFW content
-
No hate speech, bigotry, propaganda, etc
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Subs have dual hulls so they can fill the void between them with water to sink, or air to float, but they don’t dive anywhere near as deep. Most regular naval subs operate above 800 meters. They only have to be below the surface of the water for stealth, not at the bottom of the ocean.
This craft was a single hull design as far as I’m aware, designed with a rigid hull to try and counteract the pressure at the bottom.
Yeah, double hull might not be correct for what I'm trying to describe, as I know the Titan used ballast weights to sink rather than flooding void spaces. But in every picture I've seen of the thing so far, the outer layer looks like it was a sort of shroud to protect against more conventional sources of damage (read: bumping into shit). I could be entirely wrong about that, and should probably have refrained from commenting.
Yes, from what I’ve seen, I think that is a correct assessment. They had the carbon fibre “pressure hull” with titanium end caps, and a shroud around the outside, probably to help pretty it up, and hide wiring and protect from minor damage and such. Please don’t refrain from commenting, it’s how we learn more. I’ve always had an interest in submersibles even as a young one, so while I wished the Titan had survived, I think there were too many cowboy-style design decisions made, probably for economics rather than safety (obviously not the way to go at 4KM down).