The fate of the Titan submersible, lost near the Titanic, is today uncertain. Is it broken down at the bottom of the ocean? Did it experience critical damage? Several avenues are being considered.
A massive search and rescue operation is underway to find a commercial submersible that went missing during a dive to the wreck of the titanic.
According to the US Coast Guard, contact with the submersible was lost about an hour and 45 minutes into the dive, with five people on board. The vessel did not send a signal from 9:13 p.m. local time on Sunday.
The expedition was organized by the American company OceanGate as part of an eight-day trip. Customers had paid $250,000 per person to visit the wreck site. As of late Monday morning, U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral John Mauger said the boat likely had 70 to 96 hours of oxygen available for passengers.
The wreckage of titanic lies at a depth of some 3,800 meters in the Atlantic, about 700 km south of the island of Newfoundland. Finding an underwater vehicle the size of a small bus in this vast expanse of ocean is no small feat.
This is what search and rescue teams face.
What are the features of the OceanGate Titan Submarine?
Submersibles are manned craft that move in the same way as submarines, but within a much more limited range. They are often used for research and exploration purposes, including searching for shipwrecks and documenting underwater environments. Unlike submarines, they usually have a porthole allowing passengers to look outside, as well as exterior cameras providing a wider view around the submersible.
The missing submersible in question was created by OceanGate. baptized Titan, it can take five people to depths of up to 4,000 meters. THE Titan is about 7 meters long and its speed is about 3 knots, or 5.5 km per hour. Although submersibles are often tethered to a surface vessel by a rope, video and photos suggest that the Titan probably operated independently of the surface ship. According to the OceanGate website, it is used ” for site survey and inspection, research and data collection, production of film or media content, and testing of hardware and software on the high seas. »
It is also equipped with a real-time hull condition monitoring system (RTM) “. This system should include strain gauges to monitor the condition of the carbon fiber hull of the Titan. A strain gauge is a type of sensor that can measure applied force and small deformations in material resulting from changes in pressure, tension, and weight.
The carbon fiber shell of the Titan connects two domes made of composite titanium, a material capable of withstanding the pressures of deep seas. At 3,800 m below sea level (the depth of the titanic), we can expect pressures about 380 times higher than the atmospheric pressure we are used to on the Earth’s surface.
Communication and rescue procedures
THE Titan would have had an acoustic link with its surface vessel, established through a transponder (a device for receiving a sonar signal) at its end, and a transceiver (a device that can both transmit and receive communications) on the surface ship.
This link allows for underwater acoustic positioning, as well as sending short text messages to the surface vessel, but the amount of data that can be exchanged is limited and typically includes basic telemetry information and ship information. device status.
THE Titan is a battery powered boat. Since he lost all contact with his surface ship, it’s possible he suffered a blackout. Ideally there should be a back-up power source (such as an independent battery) to maintain emergency and survival equipment, but it is uncertain whether the missing vessel had such a source backup power.
According to reports, at least two aircraft, a submarine and sonobuoys were used to search for the vessel. Sonar buoys listen for underwater sounds, including any activated distress beacons.
One of the main challenges of the rescue operation will be coping with the weather conditions, which will further reduce an already narrow search window.
What happened to the OceanGate Titan?
In the best case, the Titan may have lost energy and have a built-in safety system that will help bring it back to the surface. For example, it can be equipped with additional weights that can be dropped to instantly increase its buoyancy and bring it back to the surface.
It could also be that the ship lost its power and found itself at the bottom of the ocean. This is a more problematic issue.
The worst case scenario is a catastrophic failure of its pressure housing. Although the composite shell of the Titan is designed to withstand the intense pressures of the deep sea, any defect in form or construction could compromise its integrity, resulting in a risk of implosion.
Another possibility is that there was a fire on board, for example due to an electrical short circuit. This could compromise the vehicle’s electronic systems that are used for vessel navigation and control. Fires are a disastrous event in enclosed underwater environments and can potentially put crew and passengers in mortal danger.
Time is an essential factor. Search and rescue teams will need to find the ship before its limited supplies of oxygen and water run out.
Scientific circles are constantly debating the potential value of manned submersibles, because each deployment carries a security risk.
Currently, most underwater research and industrial work at sea is carried out using robotic and unmanned vehicles. The loss of one of these vehicles may jeopardize the work in progress, but at least lives are not at stake. In light of these events, the risks associated with the use of these systems for tourism on the high seas will probably the subject of intense discussion.
Stefan B. Williams, Professor, Australian Center for Field Robotics, University of Sydney
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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