Effect of the implosion of a deep-sea pressure hull on surrounding structures

Abstract

A shock wave is generated when a pressure hull implodes in a deep-sea environment, and such an implosion can jeopardise the safety of a deep-sea submersible. However, the damage caused to surrounding structures by the implosion of a high-strength, deep-sea pressure hull has not yet been reported. Therefore, in the present study, the aforementioned aspect was investigated by causing the implosion of a scaled-down submersible pressure hull model in an ultra-high-pressure chamber. A numerical method was developed to predict the multiphase coupling interactions between liquid, gaseous, and solid for two deep-sea pressure hulls. The geometric imperfection of pressure hulls is considered in this method, the first-order linear buckling modal analysis is carried out to simulate initial geometric imperfections. The effect of the shock wave caused by the implosion of one of the pressure hulls on the other pressure hull located nearby was investigated. Moreover, the stress and displacements of characteristic points on the two pressure hulls were examined. The variation in the strain energy of the surrounding pressure hull under pressure hull implosion was also analysed.