Remains of Titan are found.Hamish Harding, Shazada Darwood and others presumed dead

So what happens next in the salvage mission?

I just spoke with Professor Stephen Williams of the University of Sydney’s School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering about what investigators are looking for when trying to unravel a catastrophic breakdown in a submarine.

Loading

Professor Williams said authorities will conduct a visual inspection of the debris and Titan’s pressure vessel, and expects a large hole in a portion of the pressure vessel.

“If the pressure vessel failed, it would have been like a small bomb detonating,” he says.

“To really understand what happened, we would probably have to salvage part of the submarine. can make it, right.”

So far, the robots have identified at least five major components or parts of Titan, including the submarine’s front and rear fins, and investigators hope to explore all of them.

Professor Williams said he has seen pressure vessels undergoing destructive testing, where they are housed in a chamber of water or oil and subjected to extreme pressures similar to those found in the sea.

“It doesn’t just curl into a little ball, it tends to have big holes in the end caps and parts of the body,” he said.

He added that part of the submarine could be removed from the seafloor about four kilometers below the surface, but it would be very expensive.

“Some of the ships that are operating in the field cost $50,000 to operate a day. You can imagine what resources went into this.”