The human being is a species that has excelled in the investment of tools and technology that make their life easier. However, with each technological advance that appears there is a need to compete to stand out within a market or in the interest of consumers. The stainless steel has a fascinating history and we will learn a little more about it in this article.
Early years of stainless steel
The debate about who created stainless steel and who first used it for commercial purposes has continued for many years. Currently, it is widely recognized that this material was first manufactured in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century. However, the place where the first application for commercial use was created is still under discussion.
History you should know about the birth of this alloy
It is likely that Harry Brearley, born in Sheffield, England, in 1871, discovered stainless steel. His father worked in a steel foundry and, through independent study and night classes, he learned everything there was to know about the manufacture of this metal. He was given the opportunity to establish Brown Firth Laboratories in 1908, with funds provided by the two main Sheffield steel mills of the time.
He was contacted in 1912 to find solutions for a small arms manufacturer whose rifle barrels' inner diameters were eroding too quickly, this as a result of heat and discharge gases. Therefore, Brearley was looking for a steel that had better resistance to erosion and corrosion. He chose to carry out his research using metals that contain chromium because it was known to have a higher melting point than standard types.
A series of tests were created with an alloy that contained between 6 and 15% chromium and various concentrations of carbon. First using the crucible procedure and then, more successfully, in an electric furnace. On August 13, 1913, the first fully stainless steel was melted.
It had a composition of 12.8% chromium and 0.24% carbon. Brearley was still looking for a steel that was more resistant to wear at that time, and to evaluate the grain structure of this metal, he first needed to attack the samples with acid. In this way, they discovered that this new alloy resisted these types of chemicals quite well; especially when nitric acid-based chemicals were used.
German contributions to stainless steel
Krupp explored the addition of nickel to the mix a year after Brearley's discovery. This steel was easier to work with and more resistant to acids than the English origin one, which could only be used when it was cold and hardened.
There is no doubt that Krupp's metallurgists would have made the discovery independently of Brearley's fortunate discovery. Before World War I, these two discoveries led to the creation of the "400" and "300" series of stainless steel.
The advance of stainless steel was delayed by the armed conflict, but from the 1920s, numerous chromium-nickel alloys were tested, such as 6/20, 7/17 and 11/15.
Dr. W. H. Hatfield, who is credited with the development of 18/8 stainless steel in 1924 (18% chromium, 8% nickel), succeeded Brearley at the Brown Firth Laboratories. The current industry of stainless steel is still dominated by the 18/8, sometimes known as 304. In addition, Dr. Hatfield created the titanium-infused 18/8 steel that is now known as 321.
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