From Wrought Iron to Steel
Steel is iron that has carbon fused into the structure of the metal. Carbon contents vary from 0.002% carbon to 2.1% carbon. The amount of carbon in steel varies its hardness, strength and ability to be heat treated. High carbon steel with carbon content of over 0.4% has the ability to be heat treated and hardened, this is very important as it means the steel can be used to make blades that will resist wear aswell as providing a better material to make tools such as hammers and files from.
As talked about before in a previous post Wootz steel was some of the first steel ever to be produced it was known as seric iron. It was produced in bloomeries and furnaces, in Sri Lanka these furnaces used wind power to fuel the furnace with oxygen. Impurities in the iron created a strong, resiliant material called steel. One of the main impurities was of course carbon. Wootz steel was also produced in crucibles that were heated to extremely high temperates, in these crucibles iron and carbon were placed which fused together to create steel. Plants were often used as carbon sources.
It took along time however for these technological advancements to spread across the globe. Steel production in Eorope began alot later than in Asia however great advancements were made in Europe to the steel production industry. During the middle ages steel was produced in bloomeries and in crucibles using charcoal as the primary fuel source. In 1885 Henry Bessemer invented the Bessemer process which meant the production of mild steel was extremely cheap. This began a number of changes to the steelindustry that made steel production what it is today. Before this case hardening, a method where the outside layer of iron or mild steel is hardened leaving the centre unhardened was used along with a cementation method which produced blister steel. As you can see although it took a long time for steel production to spread across the earth some areas affected later in the developement process of steel production contributed greatly to the industry.
As talked about before in a previous post Wootz steel was some of the first steel ever to be produced it was known as seric iron. It was produced in bloomeries and furnaces, in Sri Lanka these furnaces used wind power to fuel the furnace with oxygen. Impurities in the iron created a strong, resiliant material called steel. One of the main impurities was of course carbon. Wootz steel was also produced in crucibles that were heated to extremely high temperates, in these crucibles iron and carbon were placed which fused together to create steel. Plants were often used as carbon sources.
It took along time however for these technological advancements to spread across the globe. Steel production in Eorope began alot later than in Asia however great advancements were made in Europe to the steel production industry. During the middle ages steel was produced in bloomeries and in crucibles using charcoal as the primary fuel source. In 1885 Henry Bessemer invented the Bessemer process which meant the production of mild steel was extremely cheap. This began a number of changes to the steelindustry that made steel production what it is today. Before this case hardening, a method where the outside layer of iron or mild steel is hardened leaving the centre unhardened was used along with a cementation method which produced blister steel. As you can see although it took a long time for steel production to spread across the earth some areas affected later in the developement process of steel production contributed greatly to the industry.
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