Framing of Titanic
To frame her, great transverse beams were placed on each deck. Each beam
was placed to suit the framing and connected to it by appropriately strong
brackets.
Four girders ran the full length of Titanic, each formed by plates angled
deeply, top and bottom. The width of the holds - determined by the machinery's
size - meant these girders could not be continuous. This problem was overcome
by using sectional girders equal in area to that of the girders in the rest
of the ship.
In line with the girders, heavy shell-plating was used on the decks. Each
plate was 6 feet wide and approximately 30 feet long. The steel deck plating
had been strengthened especially for the top levels of the structure: the
Shelter and Bridge decks.
The bilge keels had a depth of 25 inches and were hydraulically riveted
to the entire length of the vessel.
There were 15 watertight bulkheads extending from the upper deck down to
the double bottom of the ship and from the forward end to the Saloon deck;
always far above the vessel's waterline. The largest of the watertight compartments
(approx. 69 feet) was to house the reciprocating engines.
To attain a high degree of rigidity for the two decks which formed the main
superstructure and the navigating bridge of the ship, built-up frames were
used as essential supports, and heavy brackets were attached to the framing
to counter the stresses suffered at full motion in bad weather.