infocus #7 September 2007 Microscopic Analysis of Wrought Iron Recovered from the Wreck of RMS Titanic

This article examines and reports on the quality of the wrought iron rivets used on the hull's steel plates and whether they played a key role in the sinking of the Titanic.

DOI: 10.22443/rms.inf.1.26

Since the 1985 discovery of the ship scientists have questioned the role that structural materials played in the sinking. Early studies focused on the quality of the hull steel
as a contributor to the ship’s rapid sinking, but experimental results showed that the material was ‘state of the art’ for 1911. Further work suggested that the quality of the wrought iron rivets may have been an important factor in the opening of the steel plates during flooding. Here we report on the microscopic examination of the rivet materials that went into the building of Titanic.

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Authors

Jennifer Hooper McCarty

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore,

Dr. Jennifer McCarty received a BS in Chemistry with a Minor in Art History from Temple University in 1997, completing a study of the cleaning and conservation techniques used on Bronze Age pottery during archeological fi eld excavations at the Palace of Nestor in Greece. In 1999, she received a MS in Materials Science and Engineering from Johns Hopkins University for her research at the Smithsonian Institution on the development of Korean ceramic traditions. Following this, she completed her PhD in Materials Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, studying the microstructural and mechanical properties of recovered rivet material from the RMS Titanic, continuing analyses that began with the 1998 expedition. McCarty has studied the structure and strength of the Titanic wrought iron and compared it to contemporary material from ships, bridges, buildings and other structures. Following completion of her PhD, McCarty worked as a researcher in the Materials Department at Oxford University, and carried out historical analysis on 19th-20th century wrought iron and steel structures, and focused on archival and documentary research and discussions with local blacksmiths, historians and shipbuilding experts. This research combined with her scientifi c work has been incorporated into an upcoming book to be published in the spring of 2008. Currently, she resides in Portland, OR and works in the technology transfer offi ce at Oregon Health & Science University.

Timothy P Weihs

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore,

Timothy P. Weihs is a Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University where his research focuses on three topics: (1) reactive multilayer foils and their application as local heat sources (2) characterizing the mechanical properties of structural materials, and (3) characterizing the micro-mechanical properties of human enamel and dentin. His formal education began with a BA degree from Dartmouth College in 1983 and was followed by am ME degree from Thayer School of Engineering in 1985. He earned a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from Stanford University in 1990. From 1990 to 1992 Dr. Weihs worked as a NATO Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Materials at Oxford University and in 1992 he returned to the US and completed a second postdoctoral study in the Chemistry and Materials Science Department at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). In the Fall of 1995 he joined the faculty in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. In 2002, Professor Weihs took a leave of absence from Johns Hopkins University and Co-founded Reactive NanoTechnologies (RNT). After growing the company to the point of fi rst commercial sales, Professor Weihs has now returned to active duty at the University and continues to focus on the research areas noted above.

Tim Foecke

Dr. Tim Foecke received his BS (1986) and PhD (1991) in Materials Science from the University of Minnesota, his thesis work being in the area of brittle fracture. He was awarded a National Research Council PostDoctoral Fellowship at the National Institute of Standards and Technology to work on mechanical behavior of nanomaterials. He joined the NIST staff in 1993. He is also an Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University. His research interests are in sheet metal formability and historical metallurgy, having worked on the Titanic, CSS Hunley, USS Monitor and preservation of the wreck of the USS Arizona.