New study reveals what may have caused implosion of doomed Titan sub

'The material used for the Titan's hull was a carbon fiber composite.'

New research has suggested the Titan submarine may have been doomed due to ‘micro-buckling’ of the sub’s hull.

Last June, the world was completely captivated by the tragedy which saw a group die in extraordinary circumstances – en route to see the Titanic wreck around 12,500 feet deep, at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean.

The five people who lost their lives were British billionaire explorer Hamish Harding, French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, his 19-year-old son Suleman and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush.

Now, a new paper in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), formed by researchers at the University of Houston, suggests that microscopic imperfections in the submarine hull could have contributed to the tragedy.

Research lead Roberto Ballarini said: ‘Titan’s integrity may have been compromised by the damage to the material used for its hull that accumulated during the many trips it took prior to collapse.

‘The material used for the Titan’s hull was a carbon fiber composite. It is well known that under compression loading the fibers in such composites are susceptible to micro-buckling and that they may delaminate from the matrix that surrounds them.

‘If the Titan’s hull experienced such damage under the extreme compressive pressures it experienced during its dives, then its stiffness and strength would have significantly decreased, and together with the inevitable geometric imperfections introduced during its manufacturing, may have contributed to its buckling-induced implosion.’

Computer simulations used in the research also seemed to suggest ‘micro-buckling’ could be behind the tragedy.

Debris from the vessel was found on the ocean floor, close to the Titanic’s bow, five days after they set off on June 18.

Underwater archaeologist Dr E Lee Spence said it would have been over in a matter of ‘microseconds’.

He told Metro.co.uk: ‘They probably had some sort of warning – the shape of the vessel would start distorting, there would have been a crack or a leak.

‘But as soon as there was an actual split, the water would have come in at such a pressure that, once it reached the critical point, it would have happened almost instantly.’

Submarine expert José Luis Martín previously said the passengers would have been aware of their impending fate for around one minute before they died. 

He said the change in pressure would have led to the sub freefalling around 3,000ft for up to 71 seconds before ‘the implosion and instantaneous sudden death’.

Numerous other haunting animations and videos have also gone viral on social media attempting to explain and outline what would have happened. 

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