Treasures of Titanic - "Crowbar" effect

"Crowbar" effect

During the riveting of the Titanic’s hull, each rivet, heated red hot, was flattened by hammering. If the action of the hammer was too violent, the flattened end would have become fragile. When the iceberg struck the ship, its weight pushed into a plate, which in turn bent and acted like a crowbar on the rivets.

1. The rivets, the hammered end of which faced toward the outside, were used to hold together the steel plates of the hull.

2. The pressure created by the iceberg during the collision without doubt caused the breakage of the most brittle hammered ends, leading to the separation of the plates.