“No strength in compression”. My retired-engineer alarms went off the moment I read that this vehicle was made that way. Even a freshman proto-engineer knows this, before he’s taken his first Strength of Materials course. What was that guy thinking? Compression strength of carbon composites comes entirely from the matrix resin, which frankly isn’t even close to that of steel.
Perhaps someone else can find how many actual dives it made.
Exactly, the materials had no rated endurance, they had no idea of the dive cycle limit for that vessel. Even worse, WAY worse CF is terrible for compressive stresses, it is best used in tensile stress applications. CF is bad enough to justify negligent incompetence on the part of whoever came up with the idea.
I am at the point where if they find Boeing and/or the University of Washington (UW) did indeed have a part in designing that sub as Stockton claimed, they need a good legal enema!
Interestingly both are now denying any part of designing that sub which Stockton claimed, in videos, they did design it.
Carbon fiber can be an extremely strong material pound for pound in the proper application. That said the composite does dot lend itself well to repeated high stress cycling. It was the fatigue stress that doomed the craft. If the tube had gone to the bottom one time and stayed, it probably would have stayed intact indefinitely.
I'm no engineer but after reading the knowledgable remarks of the many engineers on this thread I'm also wondering what the owner was thinking. And did he fire the 'uninspiring white guy' because he knew the sub was a death trap? Bears asking imo.