Restoration Of SS Nomadic
The SS Nomadic was built by Harland & Wolff as a tender ship for the Titanic and its sister ships, the Olympic and Britannic. The Nomadic is being restored and will be a central part of the Belfast 2012 Titanic anniversary.
The project for Travan Precision Engineering involved the installation of over 12000 rivets required in the manufacture of a new deckhouse structure as part of the restoration of the ship. Travan Precision Engineering was awarded the contract in May 2011 largely due to our experience in traditional hot riveting in steam locomotive boilers.
Working closely with the main contractor Harland & Wolff, we identified that the traditional riveting methods would cause unacceptable noise and vibration problems to both our own employees and anyone else working in the area. The ship was also situated in a residential area surrounded by modern apartments and so the disruption to local residents was a major concern.
Travan Precision Engineering designed and manufactured a 1 ton Hydraulic Rivet Closing Tool which would enable the rivets to be installed with virtually no noise or vibration. To further improve the process, we invested in an Induction Heater which enabled the rivets to be heated to the required temperature in just 40 seconds in a safe and controllable manner.
In order to meet the very demanding build schedule, the deckhouse sections were fabricated at Travan Precision Engineering's Ballymena factory to enable 24hr working. The 10,000 sq/ft fabrication bay at Travan Precision Engineering was able to comfortably accommodate the sections which measured up to 6m in length and weighted up to 8 tons. Once fabricated, the plates were drilled, reamed and then bolted together before the rivets were installed.
Using the excellent road infrastructure close to Travan Precision Engineering the large sections were transported by trucks during day and night as required.