Underwater implosion protection of a new concept composite structure for a deep-sea hollow ceramic sphere with CFRP shield

Abstract

Carbon fiber–reinforced polymers (CFRP) and ceramics are lightweight, non-metallic materials with broad applications. However, their use in deep-sea engineering is limited owing to the potential risk of catastrophic implosions. This study introduces the concept of deep-sea ceramic-pressure-resistant hollow structures with CFRP shields for achieving a balance between safety and light weight. This research examines typical engineering cases, including the HROV Nereus and Titan accidents, and uses the Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian method to investigate the fluid–structure interactions. First, the feasibility of the numerical method was verified, with the responses of the structure and flow field summarized. The advantages of ceramic hollow spheres with a CFRP shield were analyzed, leading to the development of a new implosion protection scheme with a composite structure. Furthermore, this study discusses the effects of the CFRP thickness, CFRP ratio, and trigger mode on implosion protection, with the results revealing that increasing the thickness and proportion of the CFRP shield considerably enhances the implosion suppression effect of the entire structure. These findings are valuable for designing pressure-resistant structures for practical engineering applications.