three times, sounds like sabotage... taxpayers shouldn't pay a penny for the repairs
Posted on 04/03/2016 3:56:20 PM PDT by Incorrigible
How a $2.7 Billion Submarine Was Crippled by Defective Parts
A $2.7 billion attack submarine, the USS Minnesota, has been out of commission for more than a year because of a defective pipe joint near the ship’s nuclear-powered engine.
The defective part, which is worth about $10,000, was installed near the ship’s nuclear power plant. Engineers discovered the poorly welded steam pipe in early 2015, and ongoing repairs have led to the ship being stuck in overhaul ever since, according to Navy Times.
The submarine was considered a great success just a few years ago. It was delivered to the Navy 11 months ahead of schedule and commissioned in September 2013. But the ship has spent only a few days at sea, and its crew has been waiting for more than two years to get underway. Repairs are supposed to be completed this summer, but the process has taken so long that some of the current crew, who typically serve in three-year rotations, may never sail on it.
The Minnesota isn’t alone, either: Navy officials say two other subs have been affected by the same shoddy pipe joints, and engineers are now scouring aircraft carriers and other ships for similar problems. Justice Department investigators are gathering evidence for possible criminal charges against the contractors responsible for the work.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
The pipe weld is within the area of the reactor that nobody was supposed to enter for the lifetime of the sub. The welders going in now can only be exposed for a short period of time.
There's a link to a more detailed article at the Navy Times from the linked article.
How does one screw this up?
This was a large budget job, why wasn’t it done right?
three times, sounds like sabotage... taxpayers shouldn't pay a penny for the repairs
Uh, to maintain the contractor's profit margin?
Crippled by Defective Parts
= = =
So this was a transgendered sub?
USS Caitlyn ???
Welds, eh? Sounds like maybe a Silkwood problem?
I bet everything in the military is like this now from nukes to rifles.
Oh my. I would have expected this to have been tested eight ways from Sunday before it was ever fired up with radioactive fuel.
It being briefly enterable by humans, it probably isn’t undergoing the degree of radiation needed to cause steel, etc. to break down. So it can’t just be that.
welds are a universal problem in other projects as well. lots of money and effort are expended to assure quality work and prevent failure
had the proper welding procedures been approved in advance and the followed there would have been success
the problem lies with the person doing the welding
where are his certifications?
Adm. Rickover is not pleased.
5.56mm
I would have expected every weld in a critical area like that would be x-rayed to confirm it’s soundness.
X ray if not scanned by an even better method e.g. something akin to CAT scan.
I know guys that have done welding on nuclear power plants. That stuff is usually inspected, xrayed, inspected, xrayed from the other side....Let’s just say that more than one person screwed up.
Maybe somebody here can tell us what the state of the art method is.
Whatever it is, surely it can’t be to just pray, do the weld, and see if it leaks!
You;re thinking,......
The Soviets did that,see what that got them.
Any praying must have been done on the QT there.
I visited a country that had shortly before emerged from the Soviet Union, and the engineering was impressive, because the stuff had to work in spite of the shoddiest construction.
I had the chance to examine some Russian farm equipment.I left shaking my head.
But what else could you fix with some Roosky duct tape and bubble gum?
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