Structural integrity

Structural integrity is a term used to refer to the strength of a starship hull.

While standard architecture uses supports and bulkheads to make constructs stronger or more durable, the fantastic stresses presented by warp fields and spatial phenomena have caused engineers in the Federation and other spacefaring cultures to use force fields to hold the shape of a construction together. This is referred to as a structural integrity field.

In 2151, Malcolm Reed and Trip Tucker repolarised the gravity plating of Enterprise to absorb the plasma recoil, caused by the newly integrated phase cannons, and shunt the energy to structural integrity. (ENT: "Silent Enemy")

The stress of a Romulan tractor beam caused sub-microscopic deformations in the structural integrity, especially the nose section and aft thrusters of the type 15 shuttlepod Onizuka. (TNG: "The Mind's Eye")

In 2369, Geordi La Forge ran a structural integrity scan of a conduit located in cargo bay 4 aboard the USS Enterprise-D. (TNG: "Schisms")

In 2374, during an encounter with a group of Omega molecules, Captain Kathryn Janeway ordered Chakotay to increase the structural integrity of a shuttlecraft in order to properly dispose of the molecules. (VOY: "The Omega Directive")