Link to an article on Wired.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72794-0.html?tw=wn_index_5
About a small unmanned submarine.
Hull is made out of CFRP. Usual CFRP's are not so good under strain. And I wonder about moisture absorption. CFRP loose up to one third of strength in long time high humidity exposure.
Only a material for such small unmanned research vehicles or also thinkable for SS?
Don't think so. It says hull is made out of 'carbon fibre', not CFRP.
While carbon fiber is most notably used to reinforce
composite materials, particularly the class of materials known as
carbon fiber reinforced plastics, there are other uses.
Reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) consists of carbon fiber-reinforced graphite, for example.
Most modern
rowing shells are made of carbon fiber, which significantly lowers the weight of the boat.
Anyway, I think they are talking Aramid, Kevlar or Twaron.
"Deepglider development is in the design phase and is being carried out by T. J. Osse, the designer of Seaglider. The principal challenge is to develop a hull that is strong enough to withstand 6000 dbar pressure while being light enough to be neutrally buoyant in seawater. Three hull materials were considered: ceramic (alumina), structural amorphous (‘liquid’) metal, and composite. None of these materials is widely used for pressure hulls, but each shares the characteristic that hulls fabricated from them can be made buoyant, in contrast to using conventional metals (e.g. aluminum, steel, titanium). Vendors for hulls in these materials are comparatively few. Performance, price, and availability considerations have led to the selection of carbon or boron fiber. We are in the process of identifying vendors who have the facility to fabricate a composite hull."
https://www.onr.navy.mil/sci_tech/32/reports/docs/om/03/omeriks1.pdf
