Will Scorpion & Thresher rust like Titanic?

Kitsune · Post by **Kitsune** » 2008-07-13 12:01pm

I was thinking about the Scorpion and Threasher. The Titanic is slowly disintegrating and within less than a hundred years (from memory) will likely be little more than a pile of rust. What about the Scorpion and Thresher. I know that their hulls made made from much thicker steel. I also know that at least Scorpion carried nuclear weapons on it and each has reactors. What will happen in teh future with the cores and nuclear weapons?

Burak Gazan · Post by **Burak Gazan** » 2008-07-13 12:53pm

Scorpion wiki

It might take a little longer, but eventually the metal will disentegrate. It would be interesting though, to see if the rusticles that are so common on Titanic, and other deep-sea wrecks also consume uranium or plutonium.

K-278, the only Mike-class boat which went down off Norway in 1989 apparently had some plutonium leakage from 2 weapons, but according to the Russian Navy it has been contained

K-278 Wiki

Thresher, which imploded, is apparently scattered from hell to breakfast, with the reactor being the largest piece. A recent National Geographic documentary had Robert Ballard on discussing both Thresher, and Scorpion
Thresher Wiki

Kitsune · Post by **Kitsune** » 2008-07-13 01:17pm

I know the Scorpion's hull is 4 inches thick. I assume that the Thresher's hull was at least that thick. Can rust penetrate into steel that deep or will an equilibrium be reached like I understand happened with metal from Spanish Galleon wrecks.

Kanastrous · Post by **Kanastrous** » 2008-07-13 04:49pm

Those sub hulls are built from HY100 steel, or something similar. Probably a lot more durable, than the sulfur-laden stuff they used top build Titanic.

Kitsune · Post by **Kitsune** » 2008-07-13 05:18pm

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2008-07-13 05:21pm

Thresher was the first submarine to use HY-80 steel for the entire pressure, which was then used on all subsequent US navy submarines until the Sea Wolf class. Sea Wolf was built from HY-100 at great difficulty, and plans to use HY-130 for later Sea Wolfs probably would have failed. Virginia meanwhile has returned to using HY-80, as a cost saving measure, and because extreme depth performance was simply not necessary in the absence of new construction of Soviet titanium-clads.

These modern hull steels will last longer then the material in Titanic did, but they are by no means proof against corrosion, and in fact in some respects they are more vulnerable to it then other modern steels.