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Gordon,
Welcome aboard.
Many psub designers and builders try and adhere as
much a s possible to ABS Rules . There guidance for steels
suitable for submersibles is given below.
"3 Pressure Boundary Material Specifications 3.1 Plates Plate materials of pressure boundaries, including attachments, are to comply with one of the following. i) Steel: ABS Hull Grades CS, E, EH32, EH36; U.S. Navy Grades HY-80 and HY-100 perMIL-S-16216; ASTM A516 Grades 55, 60, 65, 70; ASTM A537 Class 1 and 2; ASTM A517 Grades, A, B, E, F, J ii) Aluminum: ASTM B209 alloys 5083, 5086, 5456, 6061-T6 (see Section 5)iii) Titanium Alloys: ASTM B265 Grade 5iv) Stainless Steel: ASTM A240 Type 304 or 316v) Acrylic Plastics (cast polymethyl methacrylate): ASTM D702 and Section 7"I have just completed the hull for a one man, one atm. submersible. I used A516-70 because is readily available at most mills because it is used in most ASME pressure vessels. US military subs use the HY-80 and HY-100 steels. I have no experience with a588 plate but would steer away from using it if you want to seek ABS certification of the hull because of the extra qualification testing that is required if you do not use one of the materials recommended in the section above. I purchased all the steel (A516-70) for my boat three months ago. The prices were 100% higher that those quoted 6 months ago. Likewise, I purchased all the 316-ss for my hatch and stern tube assembly recently. It to had escalated about 100% over a six month period.
Cliff
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