Steel - Supporting the Frames of History

In a world who's economic, social and even political structure is based on the use of natural resources, it is no surprise that materials such as steel have become such a prominent force in shapping history. Throughout history, new materials have been discovered and manipulated to serve as anything from a rudementary daggar to a high tech skyscrapper.

The story begins in Europe soon after the fall of Rome. Aside from ideas of democracy, the legends of the Roman empire and the onset of an entire literary world, a new and world changing material came into regular use, steel. Steel first began production in India around 250 BC. Simply iron with an increased amount of carbon, steel proved to be a much stronger and flexible material.

In order to increase the carbon count in iron to make steel, a process known as cementation was formerly used. Iron bars would be heated with charcoal in a furnace, thus allowing the carbon to be attained by the surface of the iron as the substances melted together. Some of the most famous pieces of historical weaponary were made by this very method, such as the Damascus blades believed to have been used during the Crusades.

The process of cementation gave way to a more modern approach known as the Bessemer process in which a regenerative furnace is used where the mechanism allows for the outflow of fuel and air and uses iron ore and pig iron. This process, developed in the year 1866 by a Sir William Siemens, was a more complex improvement but it was replaced in the 1950s by a process using basic oxygen, a process also known as hte Linz-Donawitz process. Another improvement to the process was the electric-arc furnace wich allowed for the mass production of steel and the ability to control temperature, avoid contamination and dexoidate and desulfurize at the same time.

The developements in producing steel had a great impact on the ability and capacity in which steel could be used. However, before the steel could be made into tools and structures, it needed to go through rolling mills which would heat and shape the metal into form. One of the first rolling mills was built in 1811 in Pittsburgh. Chicago was also a pioneer in steel use in 1865 when steel rails were laid down.

There are many different types of steel and each respective type has its own use due to the flexibility of that particular type. Low or medium carbon steel is normally used for structures because it is able to be welded while alloy steels are more widely used. You'd find chromium steel in automobiles and airplanes because of its strength. Nickel steel is nonmagnetic and has the strength of a high carbon steel but without being as brittle. The fusion of nickel steel and chromium steel, nickel-chromium steel creates a shock-resistant material that is used in armor plating. A household name, stainless steel is a material that is able to resist abrasion due to its high chromium content. Many contemporary bulidings use stainless steel to maintain a clean and unaged look with little upkeep.

Because steel is so widely used, be it in skyscrappers or household appliances, it is logical and responsible to understand its enviromental impact. The steel itself is not entirely enviromental unfriendly. In fact, studies show that 100% of stainless steel can be recylcled by simply melting down the steel and reusing it. However, it is the process of making the steel that proves to be hazardous. The furnace process does in fact dust that is contaminated by the metals, a major concern in the realm of air pollution. Water pollution is also in the cards as the process produces waste content that can leak into water. Because of these known hazards, mills often send potentially effected water to water treatment facilities and deal with the carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide that is generated from the process by using fabric filters on the mills exhaust gases.

As a major resource since far before the advent of modern technology, skyscrappers, electric appliances and other contemporary normalcies, steel has taken many different shapes and forms. Today it serves as one of the most common building materials in use and as process improve and environmental causes are taken more seriously, it's uses will only expand and provide both creative and conciously sound opportunities for growth and development in the modern world.