Abstract
IN a Friday evening discourse at the Royal Institution on March 17, Dr. W. H. Hatfield discussed what he described as the three principal aspects of steel research: (a) elucidation and improvement of the process of steel manufacture and manipulation; (b) the investigation of the properties of steel under variable conditions approximating to those of service; and (c) the exploration of the influence of added elements and of the effect of heat-treatment. Dr. Hatfiold showed a colour film illustrating the electric and open-hearth stool processes, the casting of ingots and forging operations. Dr. Hatfield said that one of the most complex studies is that of the changing properties of steels with varying temperature, this study not only including the properties of the steel at a particular temperature but also the degree of persistence of these properties at that temperature over long periods of time. In this connexion, details were given of a creep test carried out on a heat-resisting steel maintained under a load of 280 Ib. per sq. inch for a period of 10,000 hours at 900° C. With reference to the production of permanent strain at normal temperatures, Dr. Hatfield instanced a test now in progress at the Brown-Firth Research Laboratories. The experiment consists of a strip of cold-worked austenitic steel placed in tension under a stress of 25 tons per square inch. The tost was commenced in June 1929, and since that date the extension has been nil within the accuracy of measurement applied, that is, a sensitivity of 1/40,000 of an inch and a gauge length of 8 inches. In discussing the results achieved by the addition of alloying elements, Dr. Hatfield stated that, experimenting upon the basis of the rustless steel composition by modifying the chromium and nickel, and by adding other elements such as tungsten, molybdenum, cobalt or titanium, steels have been produced which maintain a reasonably protective film at temperatures even in excess of 1000° C., besides possessing a useful strength.
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Recent Researches in Steel Metallurgy. Nature 143, 511–512 (1939). https://doi.org/10.1038/143511c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/143511c0