Rivets on the Titanic
Scientists discovered that the rivets were insufficient and had been installed carelessly.
Researchers believed shipbuilders used inadequate rivets because they were cheaper and they were constructing three large ships all at one time.
- The rivets must be at the correct temperature when they are being formed and must be hammered accurately.
- Once a rivet is placed, it should be firm and stable. If it is detached, there could be an opening on the ship.
- If the water was above freezing temperatures, the steel rivets would not have been so fragile and the malleability of the rivets would have just caused them to disfigure instead of breaking in half.
- The exposure of iron or steel to low temperatures, high-impact loading, and high sulphur content can cause brittle fracture which can be harmful to the ship’s strength.
Although there may be doubts, evidence
proves that the Titanic sunk as a consequence
of inferior rivet quality.
- When the ship collided with the iceberg, it caused the rivets to snap in half which opened up small crevices for water to flood the ship.
- Immediately after one crack opened up, it spread like wildfire, which is the reason water rushed into the ship so quickly.
- The rivets at the stern and bow were installed by hand while the rivets in the middle of the ship were installed by machine.
- Rivets could not be installed by machine at the front or back of the ship because the angles were too sharp.
- Scientists ran tests on forty-eight rediscovered rivets they found in the Titanic at the bottom of the ocean.
- Scientists concluded that normal rivets have about three percent slag whereas the Titanic’s rivets had nine percent slag.
- If a rivet had an exceeded amount of slag, it was more likely to break under certain conditions.
designed by Péter Puklus for Prezi