Design and Fabrication of

Deep-Diving Submersible Pressure Hulls

By Charles Garland, 1 Member

The paper describes design requirements and fabrication procedures used in pressure-hull
construction of the Deep Quest (DQ) and the Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV).
The bisphere pressure hull for DQ utilized 18 percent nickel maraging steel at a yield-
strength level of 175 ksi, while the trisphere pressure hull required by DSRVwas fabricated
from HY-140 at 140 ksi yield strength. Many important aspects of material selection
and processing methods are discussed; design methods and the determination of fabrica-
tion tolerances are outlined; and all key fabrication procedures of welding, machining,
assembly, and tolerance control are full,/illustrated. Achievement of excellent tolerances
has enabled both vehicles to be rated at depths greater than the original design goals.

ACTIVITY BENEATH THE SEAS has p r o m p t e d an
ever increasing interest in the deep submergence
vehicle (DSV), for these specialized craft can
carry scientists, observers, and instrumentation to
depths and ocean bottoms never charted or ex-
plored.
Two Unique DSV Pressure Hulls
Discussed herein are the design and fabrication
of two unique DSV pressure hulls: Deep Quest
(DQ), Fig. 1, owned and operated b y the Lock-
heed Missiles & Space Co. at Sunnyvale, Calif.,
and the U. S. N a v y ' s Deep Submergence Rescue
Vehicle (DSRV), Fig. 2.
T h e majority of DSV pressure hulls are single
or multiple sphere configurations because the
sphere shape is o p t i m u m for external hydrostatic
pressure loading.

1Assistant to Vice President--Engineering, Sun Ship-

building & Dry Dock Co., Chester, Pa. DO Bisphere
Presented at THE SOCIETY OF NAVAL ARCHITECTS
AND MARINE ENGINEERS Annual Meeting, New York, Making possible broad ocean research for both
N. 3/., November 13-16, 1968. military and commercial programs, DQ can be

Fig. 1 Deep Quest (DQ) Fig. 2 Deep Submergence.Rescue Vehicle (DSRV)

161
 /-
,/ , " ~ I /,X

/..,,, I l \W ~o--I C)/ /" \\

[ 4z.oo " ~_ . . . . I . \',-'~ r~-'7 4z. oo t.~ \\

t \
/ 4:.0 / t
T" / ,......
i ! .... ,,T \ Y -- ,;
.o , I I \ / i/
~', ' 1 ' \ / d
~ i + ___ '~ _ _ ~ tt \ -- ,I

+ if-.', ~ \,/ /2

Fig. 3 Profile drawing of DQ pressure hull

operated safely by a two-man crew and two ocean floor. DSRV will be flown to the port
scientists-observers for periods up to 48 hours. nearest the incident on a C-141A aircraft, with a
Some important features of the DQ maraging second plane carrying the support equipment, and
steel bisphere, two welded spheres joined at a will be transported b y a mother craft to the rescue
juncture ring, are site where, mating with the distressed submarine's
escape hatch, it will be capable of transferring 24
Sphere crewmen at one time.
Diameter S4-in. inside diameter Main DSRV features are
Thickness 0.895 in.
Length of hull 14-ft 1 in. Sphere
Weight of hull 15,000 lb (in air) Diameter 90-in. outside
Thickness 0.738 in.
Pressure Hull Length of hull 22 ft 2.36 in.
Viewports 2 Weight of hull 20,525 lb (in air, without
Access hatches 3 skirt)
Electrical
Pressure Hull
penetrator 1
Viewports 5
Operating depth 8310 ft
Access hatches 4 (2 internal)
Test depth 8500 ft
Trunnion
Steel 18-Ni maraging steel, 200
inserts 2
grade modified
Electrical
penetrator 1
DSRV rrisphere Doppler mount
The other DSV pressure hull discussed is the insert 1
trisphere which will be part of the DSRV. The Operating depth 5000 ft (predicted)
primary mission of DSRV will be to rescue crew Factor of
members from distressed submarines at the safety 1.5 (minimum)

1 62 Design and Fabrication of Deep-Diving Submersible Pressure Hulls

 (
'\
Fig. 4 Profile drawing of DSRV pressure hull
Design Methods and Fabrication Tolerances
Failure Mechcmisms
A design method of accurately predicting the
failure of spheres under external hydrostatic prcs-
sure has been developed by 55. Krenzke and asso-
ciates of the Naval Ship Research and Develop-
ment Center [1].2 The method relates failure to
small hull areas thinner or spherically flatter than
the nominal design contour and takes local spheri-
cal geometry into account over a certain minimum
size that is defined as the critical arc length.
This N S R D C method has been used to estab-
lish fabrication tolerances along with the instru-
ments required to check these tolerances. The
technique is defined by a buckling pressure for-
mula:
= 0.s4v'K (ho/R 0) 2
and by a nominal stress formula:
PRio ~
O'AVG' --
2h~Ri
xvhere
PE = inelastic buckling pressure
Es = secant modulus
2 Numbers in brackets designate References at end of
paper.
Design and Fabrication of Deep-Diving Submersible Pressure Hulls
f "
\ I )/
/
E r = tangent modulus
ha = average wall thickness over critical are
length
R~0 = average outside radius over critical arc
length
R1 = average midsurface radius over critical
arc length
aAvo' = average stress
The failure mechanism may be divided into two
areas--(1) elastic buckling at stress levels below
the proportional limit of the: stress-strain curve
and (2) inelastic buckling at stress levels above
the proportional l i m i t - - a design technique t h a t
accounts for nominal geometry, material modulus
of elasticity, and stress-strain relationships.
Typical safety factors in design are 1.5 (mini-
mum) of operating depth and a~ of yield-strength
(maximmn) stress at test deptlh. Spheres designed
for deep operation have higher thickness-radius
ratios and, therefore, are stressed closer to the
material yield strength than shallow-depth
spheres are.
Weight-Buoyancy Ratios
A key factor in determining the DSV payload
is the w e i g h t - b u o y a n c y ratio for the pressure
hull. If size is kept constant, higher-strength
material will require less weight and will give
163
 Table I Pressure Hulls for DSRV (6000 Ft)
WEIGHT/DISPLACEMENT
MMERIAL SHAPE NEAR- AS= 118 IN. A8 =1/8 IN.
PERFECT STRESS-RELIEVED AS FABRICATE
0.47 0.54 0.58

0.49
HY-IO0 ! ~ - ~ 0.49 0.56 0.60
STEEL ~ 4 " - 4 ~ 30 0.51+
0.58+ 0.62+
]-EZ3 052 ..... 0.60
052 ..... 0.59

039 0.46 0.51

040

HY-140 ~ 0.41 0.48 0.53

STEEL 3o
0.42+ 0.49+ 0.54+
043 ..... 0.49
042 ..... 0.47

028 0.32 0.37

029
.._.,o 030 0.34 0.38
TITANIUM 3o 0,30+
0.34+ 0.39+

..... 0.35

..... 0. 33

more buoyancy, thereby resulting in higher pay-

load. Structural configurations do not offer
large differences in the weight-buoyancy factor,
but material selection does show very significant
differences in weight-buoyancy ratios.
Residual Stresses
Before leaving the pressure-hull design area,
it is in order to list several material properties
and quantities which are not explicit in current
design techniques.
The effects of residual stresses that result from
producing, heat treating, forming, fitting, and
welding, and final heat treating a material cannot
be accounted for easily. These stresses influence
the collapse strength of spheres, heavily influence
the fatigue strength of the structure, and relate
to stress-corrosion cracking tendencies.
Material Selection and Processing
The first basic choice of material was related to
the selected operating depth, as well as size and
weight of payload. The DQ pressure hull origi-
nally was required to operate safely at 6000 ft at a
safety factor of 2. After sufficient operational ex-
perience was gained, the DQ made a record-
setting dive to 8810 ft. The 18-Ni maraging steel
fulfilled the design goals and at least one fabrica-
tor successfully employed this steel in large welded
structures for rocket cases 260-in. in diameter.
With this high-strength steel, spheres could be
Fig. 5 Vacuum arc r e m e l t e l e c t r o d e at C a m e r o n I r o n
Works
designed to operate at 20,O00-ft depth and still
maintain positive buoyancy for the vehicle.
Steels
Steel for the DQ pressure hull was developed
by modifying the chemical composition of the
200 grade maraging steel used earlier for the rocket
motor cases [2, 3, 4]. Typical yield strengths for
the 200 grade ranged from 220 to 235 ksi. In an
effort to trade strength for notch toughness, the
titanium and molybdenum content were modified.
To gain additional notch toughness, a series of
aging cycles was tried before choosing a final
heat-treatment cycle. The modifications were
made in an effort to achieve Charpy V-notch shelf
values of 50 ft lb, a Charpy value that has been
related to the capability of steel to withstand
rapid flow growth under severe structural load
conditions.
HY-140 steel, developed by the U. S. Steel
Corp. under contract to the U. S. N a v y Bureau of

164 Design and Fabrication of Deep-Diving Submersible Pressure Hulls

 Fig. 6 Rolling circular plate
Fig. 7 Spinning HY-140 steel hemisphere 88~ in. in
diameter
Ships [5], is a 5 Ni-Cr-Mo-V quench-and-temper
steel selected b y the N a v y for the D S R V pressure
hull after the titanium alloy chosen initially
proved it would be unsatisfactory for service in
sea water. The original contract design operating
depth for HY-140 was set at 3500 ft at 140,000 psi
yield strength.
Both the maraging and H ¥ - 1 4 0 steels were
ordered from the same supplier, Cameron Iron
Works, and both were vacuum are remelt heats,
Fig. 5.
I m p o r t a n t factors leading to the choice of vac-
uum melt for high-strength steel fabrications in-
clude, first and most important, ultrasonic test
requirements for soundness. Vacuum-melted
steels can be purchased to much tighter quality
standards than air-melt products. Typical ultra-
Design and Fabrication of Deep-Diving Submersible Pressure Hulls
Fig. 8 Heat treating of HY-140 steel hemisphere
sonic calibration standards of 5/~4- and 8/64-in.
fiat b o t t o m hole size are m e t easily.
Vacuum-melted steels offer improved notch
toughness over air-melt steels, a factor t h a t helps
in meeting stringent specification requirements.
Vacuum melting also offers improved weldability
and tight control over chemical elements.
T h e benefits of vacuum-melted steels become
increasingly i m p o r t a n t as strength level increases.
For both hulls, the vacuum-remelt ingots
were forged to round slabs and rolled to circular
plate, Fig. 6. T h e maraging steel plates were
1½-in. thick, while the HY-140 plates had a
greater thickness of 2 ~ in. to allow for spinning,
Fig. 7, and subsequent quench-and-temper heat
treatment, Fig. 8.
Typical chemical analyses and typical mechan-
ical properties are shown in Tables 2 and 3 for
18 Ni-Co-Mo maraging steel and in Tables 4 and 5
for 5 Ni-Cr-Mo-V H ¥ - 1 4 0 steel.
18-Ni Maraging Steel
Table 2 Nominal Chemical Composition
C Mn P S Si Ni Co Mo Ti
0.015 0.05 0.005 0.003 0.08 18.5 7.9 3.8 0.13
(weight percent)
165
 Table 3 MechanicalProperties
0.2% Offset
Yield Ultimate Elongation Char y
Strength Strength in 2 In. V-Notch (RT) ,, ~,i~:
185-200 ksi 195-210ksi 12-14% 35-50 ft lb
(Data from specimens machined .~, from
)m hemispheres
Lsp eres ~86½-in.
,½-in
in diameter and 1½-in. thick;; Charpy
trp: specimens
ciJ ensn,notched
:ehec t~ ~ ~ ~ i ~ 1~
through the thickness; heat-treatment
:me solution:
)lt ion: ..anneal
mea
at 1675 F, marage at 850 F for
, 4 hr)
r) / ;~..

Hy-140 Steel

Table 4 Nominal Chemical Composition

C Mn P S
0.10 0.80 0.007 0.006 0.26 0.55 5.0 0.55 0.07
(weight percent)

Table 5 MechanicalProperties
0.2% Offset
Yield Ultimate Elongation Charpy
Strength Strength in 2 In. V-Notch (0 F)
140-145 ksi 155-160ksi 18-20% 70-90 ft lb
(Data from specimens machined from 88½-in.-diameter by
2~-in.-thiek hemisphere straight flange; Charpy speci-
mens, circumferential and radial orientation, notched
through the thickness; heat treatment: normalize at 1650
F AC, austenitize at 1550 F WQ, temper at 1030 F WQ)
Additional data on steels used for the DSV
pressure hulls are contained in [6].
Fabrication procedures
Machining and Welding
The spun and heat-treated hemispheres were
finish-machined inside and outside with specified
stock material at girth weld seams, Fig. 9. The
main reason for finishing as much as possible of
the hemisphere machining is related to manufac-
turing tolerance. The hemisphere is an excellent
shape to machine because wall thickness can be
maintained (within 0.010 in.) and it can be con-
toured very accurately.
T h e machined parts then were carefully fitted,
tack welded, and completely welded together.
GTA Process. The gas tungsten arc (GTA)
process was chosen for both of these pressure
hulls, a choice supported by several basic reasons.
For one thing, the GTA process offers the very
highest quality of weld deposit because superior
achievement of the mechanical properties of
strength and notch toughness is possible in the
absence of contaminants that must be used in
other welding processes. For example, gas metal-
lie arc (GMA) welding requires, to maintain are
Fig. 9 Machined hemisphere
stability, addition of oxygen gas, which is harmful
to the notch toughness of the weld deposit.
The GTA welding process also offers several
practical advantages in the shop, including (1)
welds, such as girth seams, which can be performed
completely from one side of the joint by using a
carefully controlled, complete fusion root pass;
and (2) the manual GTA process could be used
for small repair welds.
The GTA process was applied by using fully
automatic equipment with arc-voltage control and
cold wire feed. All of the assembly parts were
fitted, tack welded, and positioned under the
welding head for downhand welding. Several of
the welding setups are illustrated in the A s s e m b l y
S e q u e n c e and Tolerance Control section of this
paper.
Backside shielding gas was supplied through
backup bars which formed part of the welding
fixtures. After the welds were completed, the sur-
faces were ground and polished before X-ray,
ultrasonic, and magnetic-particle inspections.
Adherence to extreme cleanliness was required
for all of the materials and procedures involved in
welding these high-strength steels.
The welding parameters for maraging steel
were established in earlier programs, a develop-
ment that included the selection of a filler metal
chemistry. Criteria established for notch tough-
ness allowed non-destructive test techniques to
find flaws which were well below the critical size.
Quality standards were proved by destructively
testing subscale fabrications. Several years of
work with maraging steel rocket-case fabrication
processes are summarized in [7] and [8].

166 Design and Fabrication of Deep-Diving SubmersiblePressure Hulls

 Welding procedures used for maraging steel and
HY-140 steel were similar in m a n y aspects. Both
used filler wire 1/~6-in. in diameter and stringer-
bead techniques at a specific heat input of 30
kj/in. One major difference between the two was
t h a t maraging steel required no preheat for weld-
ing. HY-140 required between 150 and 250 F
preheat, depending on the joint thickness. Upper
limits to the interpass temperatures were required
for both steels.
After maraging at 850 F for 4 hr, the maraging
steel pressure-hull weldments developed the
mechanical properties listed in Table 6.

Table 6 Maraging Steel Weldment

Mechanical Properties
0.2% Offset
Yield Ultimate Elongation Charpy
Strength Strength in 2 In. V-Notch Value
(RT)
190-195 ksi 200-205 ksi 12-13% 30-40 ft lb
(Specimens across weld; notch through weld thickness at Fig. 10 Burst sphere, with 19½-in. dia, fabricated
top and bottom of weldment; marage heat treatment: from HY-140 steel
850 F for 4 hr)

TRANSVERSE TENSION SPECIMENS 1 5 0 |

Preparation for G T A welding of the HY-140 YIELD STRENGTH
k
145
- =
steel required a significant a m o u n t of background KSI
140
_'--

and developmental work. T h e chemistry finally

used for the H ¥ - 1 4 0 steel weld wire is shown in ALL WELD METAL TENSION SPECIMEN 145 V
T a b l e 7. YIELD STRENGTH ~40 E
KSI 135

CHARPY V-NOTCH VALUE

Table 7 HY-140 Weld Wire Chemical NOTCHED THROUGH THICKNESS
90
Composition (weight percent) TEST TEMP. + 3 0 *F
FOOT-POUNDS 80
C 0.10
Mn 1.75 CHARPY V-NOTCH VALUE
P 0. 008 NOTCHED THROUGH THICKNESS
S 0. 008 TEST TEMP - 6 0 *F
FOOT-POUNDS
Si 0.30 S0
Cr 1.0
Ni 2.2 TEST PLATES 1-1/2" THICK DOUBLE u PRE~ 6 8 I0
Mo 0.5 AMPERAGE, VOLTAGE, WIRE FEED WELD TRAVEL SPEED
INCHES/MINUTE
AND PREHEAT MAINTAINED CONSTANT
V 0.01
H2 0. 0002 Fig. 11 Effect of weld travel speed on HY-140 mechan-
ical properties

After the 2-Yin 2-Ni wire was developed for

welding H ¥ - 1 4 0 b y the G M A process, people in
the welding field initially were confident the wire
could be used easily for G T A welding. Their
theory was tested b y sampling all available lots of
weld wire and, surprisingly, was found untrue.
One lot of wire consistently gave large voids in
the welds; other lots showed excessive amounts of
porosity. T h e only lot t h a t showed heat-of-wire
promise was purchased in entirety.
Test Sphere Fabricated. First, a small burst
sphere 19½-in. in diameter was fabricated, Fig.
10, b y using the G T A welding process for the girth
seam and one insert seam. The hemispheres were
hot pressed and heat treated before welding.
Then, the sphere was internal-pressure tested
to destruction, developing 135-ksi strength and
exhibiting excellent ductility at the base metal
failure. This small sphere was the first structure
to be fabricated from HY-140.
T h e next step was to complete establishment of
the welding-procedure parameters. T h e several
studies performed were similar to the one in
Fig. 11.
In aeeordanee with N A V S H I P S Specification

Design and Fabrication of Deep-Diving SubmersiblePressure Hulls 167

Fig. 12 Bisphere m o d e l fabricated at 1//, scale from
maraging steel
Table 8 HY-140 Steel Weldment
Mechanical Properties
0.2 % Offset
Yield Tensile Elongation Charpy
Strength Strength in 2 In. V-Notch Value
137-142 ksi 150-155 ksi 18-25% 80-120 ft lb
@ 30F
70-100 ft lb
@ --60 F
(Data from single- and double-side weld test plates:
Thickness from ~ to 13 in.; automatic GTA welding
process; yield strength from reduced section tension
specimens transverse to the weld)
0900-005-5000, weld test plates were examined for
explosion bulge and explosion tear. Each 2-in.
thick plate passed every test requirement with the
bulge plates all withstanding 5 shots. Data from
the qualification of weld wire and various welding
procedures are summarized in Table 8. The
strength of the welds slightly undermatched base
plate but the Charpy V-notch values were equiva-
lent.
Porosity Problem. Up to this point the porosity
problem was thought to be well under control.
However, since all weld test plates were 1½- or
2-in. thick, each easily passed the porosity re-
quirements which were modified NAVSHIPS
Specification 250-637-3 porosity diagrams. Ad-
ditional fine porosity, which did not meet specifi-
cation requirements, became evident after pro-
duction welds were made in ~ - and l~-in.
thicknesses. Increased x-ray sensitivity showed
the fine porosity more easily in the thinner welds.
The porosity problem was further compounded
when it was discovered that the weld wire had
surface contamination from processing. Better
solutions to the porosity problem were effeeted
when a second heat of vacuum-melted wire was
used with modified cold wire feed.
Oxidation. Another problem arose in the
168 Design and Fabrication of Deep-Diving Submersible Pressure Hulls
Fig. 13 Trisphere model at 1/,~scale
shop whenever opened spools of weld wire showed
oxidation evidence within one day after the bags
were unsealed. The resistance to surface oxida-
tion of the weld wire was very low. Special
handling procedures, limiting the unsealed time
and using heated storage areas, helped eliminate
the difficulty.
Test Models
Before the DQ pressure hull was begun, a
1/~-seale structural model, Fig. 12, was fabricated
from maraging steel.
Since the model did not follow the manu-
facturing sequence planned for the full-size pres-
sure hull, it follows that the tolerances achieved
were not 1/~ the full-size pressure hull's tolerances.
Nevertheless, the model was cyclic tested 10,600
times and then pressurized to the equivalent of
12,000-ft depth, the design collapse pressure.
The model showed no evidence of yielding at the
collapse pressure. (It is still under a glass show-
case.)
Also fabricated was a DSRV pressure-huU
1/~-scale structural model, Fig. 13, which was
delivered to the Naval Ship Research and De-
velopment Center in February 1968 for testing.
Although this model was fabricated in a se-
quence similar to that of the full-size pressure hull,
difficulty was encountered in maintaining the
tolerances at scale. For example, the fitting and
welding tolerances were at the same order of
magnitude rather than at the 1/~ full-size toler-
ances desired for modeling.
Both models provided excellent data on fabriea-
tion procedures, tolerances, and difficult a r e a s - -
d a t a which was invaluable to the fabricator in
planning aspects of the full-size pressure hulls.

Assembly Sequence and Tolerance Control

The key to a successful and reliable pressure
hull lies in the planning for fabrication. The
exact fabrication sequence m u s t be determined
and must be integrated with welding, machining,
and inspection steps, as well as with tooling re-
quired for the task.
Various techniques for maintaining close toler-
ance control m u s t be studied carefully during
the planning phase.
Both the n u m b e r and the location of weld
seams are influential factors. T h e n u m b e r natur-
ally dictates the size and material shapes which /7 ~ / f "~X "\ ~X ,"
must be purchased. Location is i m p o r t a n t be-
cause, for example, spherical areas where weld
seams are not adequately spaced (12 in. is desir-
able) tend to flatten after sequential welding.
insert Welding. A typical problem which is ) i , ~. \
difficult to solve is the method of welding hull (.~ t7 ->
' ~-4
inserts into spheres. T h e best way to achieve
excellent surface tolerance would be to machine
the entire weldment after welding--a method t h a t Fig. 14 Expansion fixture used, during welding of bi-
normally is too complex to a t t e m p t because of the sphere hull inserts
hull inserts' complicated geometry and nonsym-
metrical location.
To maintain tolerance control during the weld- These techniques were used for the D S R V pres-
ing process, several procedure choices are possible. sure-hull fabrication.
Distortion measurements taken several times as
Welding could be performed from one side with
welding progressed are detailed in Fig. 16.
expander-type tools to maintain sphericity and M o s t of the angular distortion and sinkage effect
prevent mismatch, the technique used on the
took place during the first five weld passes. The
bisphere pressure hull. An expansion fixture,
remaining passes do not have a major influence on
Fig. 14, was fitted inside each sphere to control
the final weld distortion numbers.
distortion during welding of inserts. Hydraulic
Remaining DQ Fabrication Sequence. The other
jack loads as high as 85 tons were required at major fabrication sequences; used for DQ's bi-
elastic sphere deflections of ~/~ in. to control weld sphere pressure hull are:
distortion. If an expander tool had not been The machined hemispheres were fitted, taek
used, the inserts would have mismatched anywhere
welded, then welded at the girth seam to form
from 1/i 6 to 1,~ in.
spheres, Fig. 17. Afterward, excess stock was
An expansion fixture was used also for welding machined from the girth seam to maintain the
the middle sphere upper and lower hatch inserts on spherical contour, Fig. l S.
the DSRV. All the seam welding was completed Next, insert holes were bored for the upper and
from the outside, with the expansion fixture lower hatches, Fig. 19. After welding of all
controlling welding distortion and mismatch spherical inserts was completed, the forward
from inside the sphere, Fig. 15. sphere was welded to the juncture ring of the aft
When insert welding is done from both sides, sphere, Fig. 20.
hull inserts tend to sink a b o u t ~~2 in. Mis- T h e last machining step, with the hull set in a
m a t c h can be controlled within 0.020 in. b y pre- large lathe, was to finish stock areas on the for-
setting inserts a predetermined distance high and ward sphere's girth seam and juncture ring,
by using restraining tools outside. T h e variation Fig. 21.
in outside spherical contour due to welding is con- Final steps in the fabrication were to marage
trolled b y a balanced-type welding technique. the entire hull at $50 l? for 4 hr. After the heat-

Design and Fabrication of Deep-Diving Submersible Pressure Hulls 169

 UPPER
l HATCH

\ 1
\ !
i

o,
/

Fig. 15 Expansion fixture used inside DSRV middle sphere during welding

( 1 9 - 1 / 2 INCH DIA. V I E W P O R T INSERT WELD)

0.030 ~ k MISMATCH IN THICKNESS

o I 'V" A°ius / 2".

o.o2o I - - \ "
~ ~ I \ z v~,AT,O~ ovER ,,,~cH ARC

OOlO

ooo F/

i I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I-~
O I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 CJ 10 It 12 13 14 15 16 17
WELD PASS

Fig. 16 Weld distortion during DSRV insert welding

t r e a t m e n t aging, which produced only minor OVERALL TOLERANCES. The overall tolerances
dimensional changes, the hatches and acrylic achieved b y these fabrication techniques resulted
windows were lap fitted• in a pressure hull meeting a 5 percent sphericity
Then, the completed hull was grit blasted and ratio (Rlo/R = 1.05 maximum). This sphericity
painted using a laminar X-500 paint system, Fig. ratio corresponds with a m a x i m u m variation of
22. 0.035 in. over a critical arc length of 15 in. Mis-

170 Design and Fabrication of Deep-Diving Submersible Pressure Hulls

 Fig. 19 Boring insert holes for DQ upper and lower
hatches

Fig. 17 Welding girth seam on DQ aft sphere

Fig. 20 Welding together of DQ spheres nears com-

pletion

~il !i:? m a t c h of w e l d e d inserts was m a i n t a i n e d w i t h i n

0.050 in. a n d wall t h i c k n e s s within ± 0 . 0 1 0 in.
Remaining DSRV Fabrication Sequence. T h e
D S R V p r e s s u r e hull used t h e s a m e b a s i c p r i n c i p l e s
as t h e bisphere, b u t s e v e r a l m a j o r s t e p s were
Fig. 18 Machining excess stock from girth seam on different.
DQ aft sphere T h e e i g h t s m a l l e r - d i a m e t e r hull i n s e r t s were

Design and Fabrication of Deep-Diving SubmersiblePressure Hulls 171

Fig. 21 Remainder of bisphere stock areas being
machined in large lathe

Fig. 23 Inside welding of DSRV viewport insert

Fig. 22 Completed bisphere after painting

welded into hemispheres by a balanced technique

from both sides of the seam. Fig. 23 shows the
setup for inside welding of a small viewport
insert. Lamps maintained a nominal preheat of
175 F for welding.
After the inserts were welded, hourglass shapes
were formed by attaching the hemispheres to the
juncture rings, Fig. 24. Next, the hourglass
shapes were joined to complete the middle sphere,
Fig. 25.
After machining of the middle sphere girth
and juncture ring stock, holes were bored in the
sphere for upper and lower hatch inserts, Fig. 26.
Welding of the upper and lower inserts was accom-
plished with an internal expansion fixture on an
80-ton welding positioner, Fig. 27.
Lastly, end hemispheres were welded on to
complete the forward and aft spheres. After Fig. 24 Forming hourglass shapes by welding hemi-
final machining of the remaining girth seams, spheres

172 Design and Fabrication of Deep-Diving SubmersiblePressure Hulls

Fig. 25 Hourglass shapes joined to form middle sphere
Fig. 28 Completely joined DSRV pressure hull

l
!
Fig. 26 Boring holes for upper and lower hatches on
DSRV middle sphere

Fig. 29. External critical arc gage used to measure

sphericity of DSRV pressure hull

h a t c h e s a n d w i n d o w s were l a p p e d a n d fitted,
Fig. 28.
Final internal and external sphericity measure-
m e n t s t o t a l e d o v e r 100,000 r e c o r d e d points.
E x t e r n a l s p h e r i c i t y was c h e c k e d w i t h t h e special
gage s h o w n in Fig. 29.
OVERALL TOLERANCES. T h e f a b r i c a t i o n p r o c -
esses a n d sequences r e s u l t e d in a p r e s s u r e hull
m e e t i n g an o u t s i d e surface s p h e r i c i t y t o l e r a n c e of
0.030 in. v a r i a t i o n o v e r a 14-in. critical a r c length,
a t o l e r a n c e c o r r e s p o n d i n g w i t h a 5 p e r c e n t spheric-
i t y ratio. M i s m a t c h a t welded inserts was w i t h i n
Welding DSRV upper and lower inserts on 0.020 in. a n d wall t h i c k n e s s was w i t h i n ± 0.015 in.
Fig. 27
80-ton positioner These excellent tolerances enable a predicted

Design and Fabrication of Deep-Diving Submersible Pressure Hulls 173

 operating depth of 5000 ft which is significantly
above the 3500-ft design goal. A final rating will
be determined after testing of the a/6-scale model
and the full-size pressure hull is completed.
Summary
This paper is intended to cover the philosophy
and techniques required to use new high-strength
steel successfully in the manufacture of DSV
pressure hulls. Particular emphasis is placed
on the developmental work necessary and the
process and fabrication controls required to meet
exacting standards. As a result of following these
procedures, both pressure hulls described here
have been uprated in depth capability, the DQ
from 6000 to 8310 ft and the DSRV from 3500
to 5000 ft.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the m a n y people at the
N a v y Deep Submergence Systems Project office,
Lockheed Missiles & Space Co., and Sun Ship-
building & D r y Dock Co., as well as numerous
material suppliers, all of whom made this work
possible and successful.
Discussion
R. R. Loughman, Member: T h e use of the
Krenzke method of accurately predicting the fail-
ure of spheres is of major importance in designing
and fabricating a sphere. The connection of the
spheres for the bisphere and trisphere arrange-
ment, however, appears to prove a more intricate
problem with a more rigorous engineering solu-
tion. Here the ring stiffness at the sphere inter-
section is of luajor importance in ensuring that
no bending stress is transmitted to the adjoining
spherical sections. The method of calculation for
this area of stress would be of value to the reader.
Selection of materials for pressure hulls entails
a series of design tradeoffs. Strength and weight
are undoubtedly the first areas to be evaluated in
a choice for material. Other important areas to
be evaluated include fabricability, toughness,
stress-corrosion susceptibility, corrosion resistance,
forlnability, weldability, reliability, low-cycle fa-
tigue, and economic characteristics. Better sound-
ness is obtained with vacuum arc remelt heats,
because this type of processing reduces the amount
of inclusions and included gasses. It would be of
interest to know why the maraging steel plates
for Deep Q¢tcst were rolled to Olfly 11/2 in. thick-
174 Design and Fabrication of Deep-Diving Submersible Pressure Hulls
Referen ces
1 Thomas Kiernan and Martin Krenzke,
" T h e Effects of Initial Imperfections on the Col-
lapse Strength of Deep Spherical Shells," Naval
Ship Research and Development Center, D T M B
Report 1757, February 1965.
2 "Maraging Steel Project Review," ASD
Teehnieal Documentary Report 63-262, M a y
1963.
3 Third Maraging Steel Project Review, Air
Force Materials Laboratory, November 1963.
4 Fourth Maraging Steel Project Review,
Technical Documentary Report ML-TDR-64-225,
July 1964.
5 " T h e Development of an HY-130 (T) Steel
Weldment," Applied Research Laboratory,
United States Steel Report, July 1, 1966.
6 L. Shapiro, "High-Strength Steels in Deep
Submersibles," National Metals Congress, 1967.
7 "260 Inch Diameter Motor Feasibility
Demonstration Program," NASA Contract No.
NAS 3-6284 by Aerojet General Corp., April 8,
1967.
S C. Garland, "Fabrication of 260 Inch
Diameter Rocket Cases with Maraging Steel,"
AWS Paper, October 1965.
ness whereas the D S R V plates were rolled to 21/2
in. thickness, when the final finished machine
thickness of the D S R V hull was less than that
of the Deep Quest hull.
The two teclmiques of welding inserts, ex-
pander-type tools and balanced-type welding, ap-
pear to offer solutions to the severe mismatch
problems of welding spheres and maintaining
sphericity. Extensive measuring was accomplished
during the fabrication of the S T A R I1 hull ( H ¥ -
80) at General Dynamics/Electric Boat division.
Various methods, including different weld joint
designs, restraints, and block welding, were used
on various inserts. In general, it appears t h a t
welding from the outside produces less distortion
than welding from the inside. This suggests an
unbalanced donble-vee or U or J type joint. Re-
straints did not appear as reliable as proper joint
design and proper block welding to reduce dis-
tortion. Major restraining forces applied during
welding could produce residual stresses if the ma-
terial is not stress-relieved. Joint design of the
bisphere and trisphere would be of importance to
the overall distortion problem discussed and
would be of interest in this paper.
 Keatinge Keays, Member: Mr. G a r l a n d has writ-
ten a very interesting paper concerning one of the
key components in two very intriguing small sub-
mersibles. I am disappointed, however, in the
sparcity of information of benefit to a designer who
might be inclined to utilize the structural ma-
terials Mr. Garland has had an opportunity to
fabricate. In particular a stress-strain curve which
would pcrlnit tile designer to determine values of
the secant and tangent moduli would be helpful.
i would have also appreciated a plot of Charpy
V-notch values versus temperature for both the
maraging steel and HY-140. If the information
mentioned is available, I hope that Mr. Garland
will be able to add it in his closure.
Tile author states that the formulation
P ~ = 0.84 V'X~;Z,, (h,,/R~o) ~
was used to define the tolerances imposed by
buckling considerations. It should be noted that
Kiernan and Krenzke in the paper listed as refer-
ence [1] concluded as follows :
" T h e equation may be used to adequately cal-
culate the collapse strength of near-perfect spheri-
cal shells whose out-of-roundness A is less than
about 2 to 3 percent of a shell thickness and whose
strength is not affected by residual stresses, varia-
tions in thickness, adverse boundary conditions,
or other factors."
In comparing this restriction with Mr. Gar-
land's statement with regard to overall tolerance
requirements, " T h e overall tolerances achieved by
these fabrication techniques resulted in a pressure
hull lneeting a 5 percent sphericity ratio (/~10/R
1.05 maximuna). This sphericity ratio corresponds
with a maximum variation of 0.035 in. over a
critical arc length of 15 in.," it appears that the
tolerances may have exceeded the faith Kiernan
and Krenzke placed in the buckling fornmlation
by a factor of two. I should be very interested in
Mr. Garland's comments on this matter.
Finally, I would be interested in more details
concerning the technique used in taking sphericity
measurements. While I realize that this might be
the subject of a technical paper by itself, I am
interested in such details as the number of great
circles scribed, the orientation of these great cir-
cles, any overlapping readings, and such other
observations Mr. Garland might deem of value to
others faced with a similar probIem.
R. J. McGrattan, a Visitor: T h e o p e r a t i n g and test
depths for the Deep Qu,est, 8310 and 8500 ft re-
8 General Dynamics, Groton, Conn.
Design and Fabrication of Deep-Diving Submersible Pressure Hulls
spectively, give a ratio, 1.02, which is too small.
This ratio is usually between 1..1 and 1.5. An ex-
planation of why the ratio of 1.02 was selected
would be appropriate.
The weight-to-buoyancy ratio discussion refers
to tile calculated data in Table 1. It is well to
point out that although the weight-to-buoyancy
ratios seem to vary little with structural configura-
tions, small differences can mean a great deal in
regard to the true payload, which is normally less
than 10 percent of the total displacement. Material
selection shows more significant differences, but
other considerations such as fabricability, main-
tainabiIity, and cost markedly influence material
selection. Recent work at the Electric Boat di-
vision of General Dynamics has involved the
design and model tests of titanium bispheres with
ceramic stiffening rings. This; program is aimed
at improving the weight-to-buoyancy ratio of the
lmlls by a combination of improved structural
geometry and high-strength materials. Publica-
tion of these results is in process.
The author states that steel was chosen over
titanium because the latter would be unsatisfac-
tory for service in sea water. This is true for some
titanium alloys, but not for all. The Navy cur-
rently has a major program investigating the use
of titanium alloys in sea water.
Finally, some further discussion of the welding
techniques and the methods of distortion measure-
ment would be helpful. H o w much of the 5-percent
sphericity ratio was allotted for machining distor-
tion, and how much was allotted for weld dis-
tortion ?
This type of paper should be encouraged by
technical societies in the marine engineering field.
It is a way of recording the llistory of design and
fabrication of some of the pressure vessels that
are forerunners in their field.
Larry Megowfi Visitor: In his very interesting
paper, Mr. Garland notes tolerances and ratings
in several places:
" . . . wall thickness can be: maintained (within
0.010 in.) . . . "
"... sphericity tolerance of 0.030 in. varia-
tion . . ." and "Mismatch at welded inserts was
within 0.020 in. and wall thickness was within
±0.015 in."
" . . . both pressure hulls described here have
been uprated in depth capability, the D Q from
6000 to 8310 ft and the D S R V from 3500 to
5000 ft."
* Hahn & Clay, Houston, Texas.
175
 The paper is not clear as to whether these over-
all tolerances and uprated values are based on
tests made on the models or on the full-size hulls.
If the results are based on the models, we think
the value of the paper would be greatly enhanced
by providing the final results of both full-size
hulls.
John Vasta, Member: This is a most informa-
tive paper on the fabrication of deep-diving sub-
mersibles. The author has enriched the technical
literature by his detailed description of the fabri-
cation steps involved. In discussing the paper, I
should like to confine my remarks to the DQ pres-
sure hull material.
The author has indicated that for the DQ pres-
sure hull the 200 grade maraging steel which was
originally used in rocket motor cases was modi-
fied in an effort to improve toughness by trading
strength for notch toughness, and making adjust-
ments in titanium and molybdenum content. A
Charpy V-notch shelf of 50 ft Ib was the goal.
Actually this value was not achieved; values from
35 to 59 ft lb were obtained instead. It would be
appreciated if the author could shed some light on
the reasons for the failure of the DQ steel to meet
the hoped-for 50 ft lb Charpy V-notch shelf.
Since the DQ pressure hull was built three years
ago, significant progress has been made in steel
development at the 180,000-psi yield-strength
level. Two steels may be mentioned. In a U. S.
Steel development a 10Ni-2Cr-lMo-8Co steel is
emerging which has excellent notch toughness
properties. At zero F, the Charpy V-notch shelf
values range from 59 ft lb in 31/~-in.-thick plate to
173 ft Ib in 2-in.-thick plate. Weldments of this
steel in 2 in. thickness have also shown good to
excellent toughness for this strength level. The
other steel is the commercially available Republic
Steel HP-9-4-20 which at the 180,000-psi yield-
strength level has Charpy V-notch toughness shelf
values greater than 50 ft lb at zero F in the 2 in.
thickness. Weldments of this steel have success-
fully passed explosion bulge test requirements.
One significant feature of this weldment is that it
requires no postwelding heat-treatment to develop
strength or toughness.
The author has alluded to the effect of residual
stresses on the collapse strength of spheres, fatigue
strength, and stress-corrosion cracking tendencies.
Since the DQ hull was maraged at 850 F for four
hours after fabrication, it would be interesting to
know what effect this heat-treatment had in re-
ducing the intensity of residual stress. Can the
author give any information on this point ?
176 Design and Fabrication of Deep-Diving Submersible Pressure Hulls
Fig. 30 D S R V N-scale model after collapse
We know that steels having chemistry and
physical properties comparable to the DQ pressure
hull steel appear to be susceptible to stress-corro-
sion cracking. This is indicated by a comparison
of the plane strain fracture toughness parameter
K1c in air, and K1see in sea water (140 ksi V/in.
versus 50 ksi V/in.). Such being the case, what
special precautions were taken in the DQ pressure
hull to mitigate stress corrosion ? It is significant
to point out that the two new steels mentioned
earlier, i.e., the 10Ni-2Cr-lMo-8Co and HP-9-
4-20, have values above 140 ksi v/in. K1e in air,
and K,see values above 100 ksi v/in. in sea water.
This would suggest that the choice of DQ steel
may not have been a good one for this application.
D. T. McDevitt, 5 Visitor: T h e a u t h o r presents a
very commendable paper on the design, material
properties, and fabrication procedures for the
pressure hulls of the Deep Quest and the DSRV.
The paper mentions the design procedure for
spherical shells developed by the Naval Ship Re-
search and Development Center ( N S R D C ) . A
few comments would be of interest on the correla-
tion of recent test results of structural elements
related to the D S R V with this design procedure.
As part of the U.S. Navy certification program
for the DSRV, a half-scale model of the complete
pressure hull was tested to collapse. Fig. 30 shows
the model after collapse, failure occurring by
buckling of tile forward sphere. Two full-scale
spherical tanks, one of which was a variable bal-
last tank and the other a transfer tank, were also
collapsed. These tanks were designed to a strength
about 5 percent above the main pressure hull, and
serve to maintain the attitude of the D S R V and
to store evacuated water from the rescue skirt
during rescue operations, respectively.
5 Naval Ship Research and Development Center, Wash-
ington, D. C.
 10.o0o
[
oy = II0,0O0PSI

9,0C~

B,0C~ ~,~.( / / / / .~ / / ~ --=/MACHINED

i 7, OO0
g~

LOWERgOUNO-COLOPRESSEDAND
SEGMENTEDHEADS ~ .
6,000

5,0O0
0 02 0. O4 0.06 0 08 0A0 0.12
OUT-0F-SPHERICITY~~,, IN INCHES

Fig. 31 Estimated collapse depth DSRV-1 main hull

Results of the collapse tests (adjusted for geo-

Fig. 32 Inside sphericity gage--DSRV pressure hull
metric and yield-strength differences) are shown
in Fig. 31 along with a set of curves generated
from the N S R D C design procedure relating
of test depth to operating depth of the submersible
predicated collapse strength to departures from
sphericity. The estimated collapse depths shown Deep Quest. As indicated in the paper, the origi-
in Fig. 31 are given in terms of upper bound, lower nal design ratio of test depth to operating depth
was 8500/6000 or 1.42. After proof-testing and
bound, and best estimate. The upper bound repre-
sents the pressure P~ mentioned by the author. operating experience was gained, the Deep Quest
was operated at 8310 ft. This operating depth still
The lower bound pressure represents test results
of cold-pressed and welded, segmented HY-140 maintains a 1.5 safety factor on the collapse depth
steel heads. The upper and lower limits of the of over 13,000 ft.
The final sphericity measurements consisted of
"best estimate" band represent test results of ma-
chined models and fabricated, stress-relieved outside-diameter surface measurements which em-
ployed the gage shown in Fig. 29 of the paper.
models, respectively.
The half-scale model with numerous welded in- The gage was 14 in. long, the critical arc length,
serts similar to the prototype hull falls within the and was applied to the outside spherical surface on
"best estimate" band, whereas the full-scale hard a 15-deg grid pattern. On the basis of these meas-
tanks with fewer weldments lie on the upper curve urements, up to a 1~ percent of the 5 percent
sphericity ratio was attributed to machining tol-
of the "best estimate."
Correlation such as that shown in Fig. 31 pro- erance with the remainder attributed to welding
vides assurance that the operating depth of the distortion.
prototype D S R V pressure hull can be based on Another entire set of sphericity measurements
this design procedure with a high degree of con- was taken using an inside sphericity gage cen-
fidence. Without such evidence of demonstrated tered within each sphere. These measurements
structural performance and correlation with were taken on a 3-deg grid pattern and the data
strength criteria, the likelihood of certification of from them were analyzed by computer methods.
vehicles for Navy operations at maximum operat- Fig. 32 shows this gage in use.
ing depth would be reduced. Mr. Loughman's comments on the structural
design of bispheres and trispheres is quite correct.
The Krenzke analysis for spheres is a valuable
Author's Closure method but more detailed analyses are required
I would like to thank the many discussers of for the intersecting rings of spheres. I would
this paper. Several of the thought-provoking reference the methods of the Bushnell analysis,
questions highlight important considerations for Finite Element Solutions, and various computer
these pressure hulls. solutions to generalized equations as typical solu-
Mr. McGratten raised a question about the ratio tions to this structural detail. Considerable efforts

Design and Fabricationof Deep-Diving SubmersiblePressure Hulls 177


200
KSI
150
KSI
I00
KSI
NOTEStt
1. Dia ram from 0.5 5 inch round
tens on test spec[ ens
2. Spe linenmaterl from hemlsph re
. . . . g~ flange /
50 ~r. Marl}lgln~e ~l,~0°P/'z~houi3 |
KSI 0.2 o offset
~ieldStrength"" 197 KSI
i~iltimate TellJe Strengthl 7 KSI
I 0.0~2 0.( 34 0. 6 0. 08
STRAIN
Fig. 33 Stress-strain diagram, 18-percent nickel
maraging steel
have been directed at model test verifications of
the intersecting ring design.
I would list two basic reasons why the BY-140
steel D S R V plates were 1~, in. thicker than the
maraging steel DQ plates. The HY-140 steel
hemispheres had to be austentitize-queneh and
temper heat-treated, which produced considerable
distortion. In comparison, the maraging steel
hemispheres were solution anneal heat-treated and
this produced only minor distortions. The second
reason for the stock material on the ]FIY-140 steel
hemispheres was attributed to some conservatism
in the accuracy o{ producing hot spun hemispheres.
The weld joint details for both pressure
hulls consisted of single U and balanced double
U type with a ~- in. land. The balanced
welding referenced in the paper was accomplished
by sequencing the outside and inside welding
passes. Restraining tooling proved very successiul
in both these fabrications; however, these fixtures
and jigs were required to be massive in character,
accurate in construction,, and very carefully ap-
plied. They were a major element in minimizing
the mismatching tendency at weld seams. Our
experience indicates that welding the outside sur-
178 Design and Fabrication of Deep-Diving Submersible Pressure Hulls
150
/
KSl I
lO0
KSI
/ NOTES:
50
KSI
/ 0.00~ 0.0C
I. ~agr~rnt~rs~p~cSO~nlnch rou~d
0.0C
~17rom
s ralght flange
STRAIN
0.00~
heml ~here
Yield StrenDth 147 KS]
Ultimate T~nsile Strengtl t56"K'SI
O.01~ 0.01
Fig. 34 Stress-strain diagram, HY-140 steel
F
"--
face of spherical weld seams compared with the
inside surface would create greater welding dis-
0. 0 O.C tortiou, contrary to Mr. Loughlnan's experience.
Since our welding process was fully automatic, we
did not consider using block welding to reduce
distortion.
In response to Mr. Keays' request, I have in-
cluded Figs. 33 and 34 in my closure. These fig-
ures show typical stress-strain curves from tension
test specimens taken from representative steel of
both pressure hulls. Fig. 35 shows Charpy \7_
notch test values verses test temperature {or H Y -
140 steel. Unfortunately, we have never developed
Charpy V-notch test data with temperature for
the 18-percent nickel maraging steel. Different
types of test specimens were used to analyze the
notch toughness qualities of this steel and transi-
tional effects were never detected.
Based on the original paper which developed the
inelastic buckling pressure equation, the defini-
tion of near-perfect spherical shells where ,A out-
of-round values are 2 to 3 percent of shell thick-
ness refers to an equation written in terms of
nominal raditjs and thickness values of the entire
sphere :
P ~ = (0.84) ~ (h/Ro) ~
This equation was extended by the critical arc
concept where the local geometry of the sphere
would be analyzed for collapse strength. I have
seen values of A for fabricated spheres approach
50-percent sphericity ratios. These spheres were
not fabricated at Sun Ship. The application of

I00
INTEGRAL
~ W, HE,ATT,EMATERIALNo,
ST, , ~51434FROM
BILLE1 NO. 2 (BOTTOM)
8O
i
>2 60
0
"7
a
840
0~ I I
-320 -240
Fig. 35
the inelastic buckling equation, using critical arc
geometry, to spheres accurate to 5-percent
sphericity ratio would appear valid.
Mr. Vasta raises several pertinent questions
concerning the 18-percent nickel maraging steel
choice for the Deep Quest presstire hull.
First is the question why the Deep Quest steel
did n o t achieve 50 ft Ib Charpy V-notch values.
The chemical composition modifications which
were made to the 200 grade maraging steel re-
sulted in a gain of more than 10 ft Ib in Charpy
V-notch value at 205-ksi yield strength. Addi-
tional leaning of the alloy content, probably
molybdenum, would result in Charpy V-notch
values above 50 ft lb. At the time the chemical
modifications to the 200 grade maraging steel were
made, it was decided that only limited changes be
made so that development work in welding and
weld wire claemistry would not be required. I am
confident that a small study would test the 50 ft lb
claim and may result in a new high-strength steel
where fabrication experience is already available.
Included in the Charpy V-notch values for the
18-percent nickel maraging steel are the results of
hot-working from the hemisphere spinning proc-
ess. This process has the tendency to grain-coarsen
the steel and lower Charpy values.
Mr. Vasta requested data on the reduction in
intensity of residual stresses due to a maraging
heat-treatment of 850 Iv for 4 hr. Based on data
measared from a restrained weldment, about 37-
percent stress relief was effected by the maraging
Design and Fabrication of Deep-Diving SubmersiblePressure Hulls
×
O c 2"I A
E
T
Lp
I I [ ____1
- 100 -60 0 32 75
TEMPERATURE, OF
Impact properties of HY-140 steel
cycle. The measurements were taken by x-ray
diffraction techniques and were recorded trans-
versing the weld.
In his last question Mr. Va,~ta is concerned about
the stress-corrosion cracking resistance of 18-per-
cent nickel maraging steel. The material values of
Kssev and Kse which Mr. Vasta quotes refer to a
test method which was being developed concur-
rently with the fabrication o~ the pressure hull.
Nevertheless, the need for ;protecting the steel
from sea water was recognized. Direct protection
is afforded by a laminar X-50D paint system. Sac-
rificial mild-steel anodes are attached to the hull
and complete inspections of the pressure hull are
performed periodically. A large amount of useful
data from the Deep Quest pressure hull is being
gathered to lend knowledge to the behavior of
maraging steel in the sea-water environment.
In resporise to Mr. Megow's question of how
these pressure hulls are depth rated, I must refer
to the data presented by ?¢[r. McDevitt. The
D S R V depth rating will certainly take into ac-
count the data froln the 1/2-scale model test, the
54-in. transfer tank, and the 321~-in. variable bal-
last tank. In addition, the rating of the pressure
hulls depends upon the sphericity measurelnents
and upon the entire quality assurance records
gathered during the construction phases of this
project. [ am most gratified that my prediction
of operating depth for the D S R V , which was made
before the structural tests were completed, still
appears valid.
179