Welcome back to my channel where we delve into
the intriguing world of failures, demystifying their often intimidating and bewildering
nature. Today I explain the chilling story of the Titan sub and its ill-fated expedition
to the Titanic, which has gripped the world's attention like few news stories do. My specially
made animations will illustrate what happened. Diving to the wreck of the Titanic is
extremely treacherous. It can only be attempted during small weather windows in the
year because the conditions need to be perfect. On Sunday June 18th at 8 A.M the sub was launched,
beginning its descent into the deep. The journey to the sea floor took approximately 2 hours
moving at the slow pace of just two km/h. The sub descended under its own weight preserving
its propulsion batteries for maneuvering and course correction. The Titanic wreck lies in
at a staggering depth of 4 km comparable to the height of 4 Table Mountains in Cape Town. Large
submarines don't venture beyond depths of 250 m or 800 ft because the immense pressure becomes too
dangerous at what is literally called crush depth. They did not descend directly over the wreck to
avoid dropping weights or other stuff onto it. Instead they were a little off to the side. Upon
reaching the sea floor the submersible would drop ballast to achieve neutral buoyancy and would
then embark on its mission to locate the wreck. In the pitch darkness of the deep ocean it took
the crew approximately half an hour or more to find it using its powerful lights. There is no
GPS underwater. They rely on accurate acoustic system and inertial navigation. Titanic could be
very close and still take ages to find it. The wreck was approached front on so the visitors
would have this iconic view as their first glimpse of the historic ship. 90 minutes into the
dive and about three quarters of the way down the mothership received the last message from Titan.
Some reports said the sub's final text told they had dropped their weights, implying the need to
ascend urgently to deal with an emergency. That would be the last communication received. Did
they abort the dive because of a system warning or were they hearing ominous noises from the
hull. This is a truly terrifying thought. The voyage data recorder should reveal more.
Communication was completely lost as the short text message system and positioning pings ceased
simultaneously. What followed was an implosion of the passenger compartment collapsing
into a small space in the blink of an eye. The violent collapse was effectively
instant as this demonstration shows. The pressure vessel consisted of the mid body
pipe, end rings and the hemispheres. The center tube was made of 5-inch-thick carbon fiber and
epoxy composite, rolled onto a steel pipe. The hemispheres and rings were made of titanium.
The Rings are glued onto the ends of the carbon fiber. The hemispheres are bolted onto the rings.
The front dome is pivoted as the door so you can get in and out. When closed it is bolted shut
from the outside. A tube is a weaker structural shape than a sphere so the tube should have
been the stronger material, not the unproven one. This choice of material had been questioned
by the deep submergence community but the Ocean Gate CEO dismissed these warnings as getting in
the way of innovation. The titanium parts were recovered intact. Perhaps the acrylic portal
failed, but it seems more likely the mid-body pressure tube of the crew compartment was crushed
by the unimaginable pressure. With each dive the pressure vessel of the sub experienced incremental
fatigue with tiny cracks and weaknesses. On dive 24 the accumulated damage was too much and
tragically the 5 occupants died instantly. The composite would have been shattered into
fragments. The composite material may have failed in the direction where the fibers
were not providing support to the epoxy. The filaments were rolled in one direction only.
Not with multi-orientations as is the norm for stability. I would be interested to hear comments
from those who know more. Even if the carbon fiber turns out not to be the cause its use was part
of a disturbing attitude of dismissing industry best practices and norms. The sub's pieces sank
and settled on the sea floor. After searching more widely for a few days the search teams
looked in the location below the last known position. Very soon they located 5 major fragments
including both end domes and the landing frame, scattered across 2 debris fields. The day after
the sub disappeared, there was persuasive evidence that pointed to a sudden disaster. The Navy had
picked up a violent underwater bang shortly after the simultaneous loss of all communication. It is
puzzling why this compelling evidence was not made known while alternates incorrect scenarios swirled
unnecessarily for 4 days and the search focused on the wrong place. 10 days after the sub disappeared
the wreckage was brought to shore in Canada. These pieces will be essential for
the investigation that will now start. Our incredible modern world runs smoothly
without us even noticing. We get to enjoy all these amazing benefits without giving them a
2nd thought. It's only when things go wrong that we start to realize how much we take it all
for granted. None of this seamless operation would be possible without the unsung heroes:
our army of brilliant scientists and Engineers quietly and unseen. Making sure everything
functions effortlessly. Our reliance on them is undeniable. The ocean does not care if you
are rich. But it does favor those who respect engineering and science, ahead of hubris and gut
feel innovation. If you like this check out my video on the deeply puzzling Yeti Airlines crash.
Thanks for watching and I will see you next time.
This is the best depiction and explanation I’ve seen so far! I also like how at the end he says that we take these things for granted but the engineers and scientists work so hard to make it all happen. I really appreciated that!
Sooo much better than the stupid tiktok video
That's pretty much spot on based on current evidence
This is definitely one of the better animations. But it’s still hard to tell what the ball of carbon fiber mush did after the implosion. I don’t know if it stayed together or just spread out into the sea.
There's a video on the Oceangate FB site (linked in a recent post here) showing the CF being applied in 2 different directions, so I think the creator of this video was incorrect on that point.
Interesting