India’s Samudrayaan mission, the country’s first attempt at a manned deep-sea venture, has hit a key milestone in welding and material development. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that it successfully completed the first high-penetration weld on the titanium personnel sphere of the Matsya-6000 submersible. The weld spanned 7,100 mm in length at 80 mm thickness—something never before achieved at this scale in India. Withstanding pressures up to 600 bar and temperatures as low as -3°C, the spherical vessel is designed to carry three crew members to depths of 6 km.
From a welding perspective, the project is especially notable. Developing a reliable Electron Beam Welding (EBW) process for such thick titanium sections required significant upgrades in equipment and process design. The Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) in Bengaluru played a central role, pushing their EBW capability from 15kW to 40kW, and adapting their X-ray testing infrastructure to 7.5MeV. These upgrades made it possible to meet the demanding quality checks needed for a human-rated, high-pressure vessel.
Non-destructive evaluation methods were critical, too. Techniques like Time of Flight Diffraction and Dual Linear Array Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing were employed in tandem to ensure the integrity of the welds.
Source:
Express News Service
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