Collapse behavior of carbon-fiber epoxy cylinders subjected to long-term seawater exposure at seafloor depth pressures

The effects of simulated long-term exposure carbon-fiber/epoxy (CFE) hollow cylinders to high pressure seawater were investigated experimentally. Utilizing accelerated life testing informed by the Arrhenius methodology, specimens aged in 41.1 MPa (6000 psi) pressurized 3.5% saline water for durations representing 0, 193.5, and 516 days service at 3 °C. Hydrostatically explosively initiated implosion experiments performed a large vessel simulating free field conditions. events recorded with high-speed stereo photography analyzed using 3D digital image correlation (DIC) techniques. High frequency response transducers captured detailed history each event. Analysis collapse phenomena suggests that abyssal environment timescales had negligible on CFE structures subjected dynamic instability.