Materials
Steel
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Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon, with the carbon content generally kept below about two percent, combining the strength of iron with far greater toughness and workability than cast iron. Small quantities have been produced since antiquity, but the Bessemer process, patented in 1856 by Henry Bessemer, allowed steel to be manufactured cheaply and in industrial quantities for the first time, replacing wrought iron and cast iron as the primary structural material of the industrial world.
Facts
Disputed
Origin YearCarburized iron approaching true steel is attested in Anatolia from around 1800 BCE; cheap mass production of steel began only with Henry Bessemer converter process in 1856. Primary UseStructural framing, rail, machinery and tools, wherever high strength combined with toughness is required. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Concrete, Materials Steel reinforcing bar embedded in concrete gives reinforced concrete tensile strength that plain concrete lacks.
Khan bundled-tube steel system, developed for the Willis Tower, is the structural basis of most steel supertall buildings built since.
Reactor pressure vessels and containment structures are built from specialized steel alloys.
In Field
Sources
1. A History of Technology
Charles Singer, E. J. Holmyard, A. R. Hall and Trevor I. Williams, editors, Oxford University Press, 1954
Steel (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationIntroductionQuote, Introduction
Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron.
Steel (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationUsesQuote, Uses
Steel is used in structures (as concrete reinforcing rods or steel beams), in bridges, infrastructure, tools, ships, trains, cars, bicycles, machines, electrical appliances, furniture, and weapons.
Hot-dip Galvanization (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Galvanizing, lead sectionQuote, Associated With: Galvanizing, lead section
a usually dull grey, fairly strong material that protects the steel underneath from further corrosion in many circumstances.
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