DEADLY FLAW
Titanic sub’s shoddy DIY design may have caused it to ‘implode like a soda can’ after parts GLUED together, say experts
THE shoddy DIY design of the doomed Titan sub may have led to the catastrophic implosion at the bottom of the Atlantic, experts said.
Brits Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood all tragically died on board on June 18 - along with Stockton Rush, the OceanGate CEO, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
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Now, engineers trying to uncover how the dive to the Titanic wreck ended in disaster have told how the design of the sub could have led to the implosion.
Rush came up with the sub's unique design - hoping it would become a new industry standard.
The unusual pill-shaped hull was made with a carbon fibre shell and glued to titanium rings on either end - a cheaper option which meant more passengers could fit inside.
OceanGate managed to slash the typical costs involved in building a submersible, creating a lightweight vessel that was easy to transport.
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But experts have branded the design as risky.
They compared the sub to the Alvin - a US government research sub that has completed more than 4,500 deep sea dives since 1973 - with no accidents.
Alvin was sphere-shaped - the industry standard and better suited to deep-sea pressures - and constructed using titanium.
Titanium is more expensive - but sturdier.
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Tim Foecke, a retired forensic metallurgist, told the he was "very surprised" by the construction of Titan as titanium can withstand more compression and tension.
Under deep-sea pressures, carbon fibre compresses quicker than titanium - adding pressure to the joints holding the sub together.
The pill-shape of the sub meant pressure was not distributed evenly - and increased the risk of it collapsing in a similar way to a can being crushed.
Meanwhile, the spherical shape of Alvin - the industry standard - allows for pressure to be distribution evenly, lowering the risk of it imploding under the water.
Engineers also raised concerns about the way Titan was put together with a mishmash of carbon fibre and titanium.
The two materials change shape at different rates of pressure under water - which makes it challenging to keep everything in tact at the same time.
Alfred McLaren, a retired Navy submariner, said the materials "have different coefficients of expansion and compression - and that works against keeping a watertight bond".
Kedar Kirane, a mechanical engineer, said moisture or sea salt could have also worn down the hull's carbon fibre and the glue holding the parts together - creating another potential weak spot.
Dr Jasper Graham-Jones, of Plymouth University, previously told The Sun how cracks may have been a major contributing factor to the Titan's demise.
Referencing the large window onboard, he said: "Cracks would have formed.
"They might not have been seen at first, but they start to become a little bit bigger each time before becoming a critical crack and failing."
Dr Graham-Jones explained following the salvage of the wreck, investigators will begin to look for a cause of disaster in locations where cracks are usually found.
Typically, he said, this could be at joints of the vessel and where the greatest flexing is occurring.
But certain patterns of cracks on the vessel and their locations can signify what exactly went wrong - and when.
Dr Graham-Jones said: "The crack could be brittle, or ductile, and related to fatigue and de-lamination.
"By scanning under an electron microscope, you can see the fatigue and confirm the speed and direction of the cracks."
Experts told The New York Times that the way the sub was dragged out to sea could have also damaged the vessel and led to the catastrophic implosion.
The Alvin travels on a dedicated ship fitted with custom winches, hangars and a machine shop - and a large crane places it into the ocean.
Arnie Weissmann, editor-in-chief of Travel Weekly, took an OceanGate voyage in May - using the same Polar Prince mothership.
He said: "I thought the sub and platform were being tossed around pretty roughly."
The OceanGate sub vanished with five people on board less than two hours into its descent to the Titanic wreckage.
Search crews frantically looked for the vessel in the Atlantic after it lost communication with just 96 hours of life support.
The sub failed to resurface - with its final "ping" to Polar Prince placing the sub directly above the ruins.
Passenger Mr Harding paid £200,000 for the trip along with businessman Dawood, 48, and his son Suleman, 19, a .
It was led by Rush, 61, and veteran French explorer Henri Nargeolet, 77.
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The debris - including a landing frame and the tail cone - was raised 3,800m from the sea floor after it was discovered near the Titanic wreck.
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