Rustless Iron.

Hokitika Guardian, 20 May 1922, Page 4

Rustless Iron.

YEARS of RESEARCH

Tne secret history of the discovery of the new stainless malleable steel and rustlpss iron—both purely Sheffield in- j vent-ions, which on the; highest metallurgical authority may revolutionise certain sections of engineering production throws light 'on the investigate ns which are •' incessantly proceeding to keep British industry ahead of foreign progress. Shortly before the war the original stainless steel ’was discovered more or less accidentally by Mr Harry lirenriy. a Sheffield met allergist, then operating in the Brown-Firth Research Laboratories, an enterprise conducted jointly in the interests of the two steel engineering and armament, firms of Thomas Eirlh and Sons, Ltd, and->lohi) Brown and. Co., Ltd. Mr Brearloy, while investigating the cause of erosion in gun barrels, detected the properties tint a non erosible material should possess. Stainless steel resulted from subsequent experiments in alloys. '.aeroplane valves.

While its most interesting properly was that of being rust-proof, aircraft was indebted to another of its peculiarities—that of resisting the action of heat and of retaining a high tensile strength at high temperatures. This virtue made it of special value for exhaust valves, which were made in hundreds of thousands for aeroplanes even before they were put to a supreme test in the first direct flight of the Atlantic, when the late Sir John Alcoek nml Sir A. Whitten Tnowii won Tee Daily Mail’s £IO,OOO prize on June 15, 1910.

With the return of peace the use of stainless steel has spread to cutlery, sports, implement's, machines and engine parts, shop, railway carriage, and tramway-ear fittings, wire-rope and chains and even stair-rods and fryingpans.

“The twin discoveries of malleable stainless steel and rustless iron have now emerged after years of patient research,” said Doctor W. H. Hatfield, who was appointed, head of the BrownFirth Research Laboratories in succession to Mr Brearloy.

••'f,he whole development of stainless steel and iron originated in these laboratories. Mr Brearloy was the principal hcie until six or seven years ago, and ii was in his time that stainless steel was lit si discovered. Since then we have been collectively developing the discovery.

“lilistless iron lias a great future, but my opinion is that the field for malleable stainless steel is even greater. Malleable stainless steel and rustless iron are both now available in sheet form and can be pressed cold into shapes required for domestic utensils, building trade requisites, or engineering products.''