Monument to Harry Brearley at the former Brown Firth Research Laboratories

Harry Brearley (February 18, 1871 – August 12, 1948) was the inventor of "rustless steel" (later to be called "stainless steel"). He was born in Sheffield, England. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1871 (MDCCCLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The 630 foot high, stainless-clad (type 304L) Gateway Arch defines St. ... For other uses, see Sheffield (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...

Life

Brearley had humble beginnings as the son of a steel melter. He left school at the age of twelve to enter his first employment as a labourer in one of the city's steelworks, being transferred soon afterwards to the post of general assistant in the company's chemical laboratory. For other uses, see Steel (disambiguation). ...

For several years, in addition to his laboratory work, he studied at home and later in formal evening classes, to specialize in steel production techniques and associated chemical analysis methods.

By his early thirties, Brearley had earned a reputation as an experienced professional and for being very astute in the resolution of practical, industrial, metallurgical problems. It was in 1908, when two of Sheffield's principal steelmaking companies innovatively agreed to jointly finance a common research laboratory (Brown Firth Laboratories) that Harry Brearley was asked to lead the project. 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... Steelmaking is the second step in producing steel from iron ore. ...

Brearley died in 1948, at Torquay, a coastal resort in the south of England. Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the English town. ...

Development of stainless steel

In the troubled years immediately before World War I, arms manufacturing increased significantly in England, but practical problems were encountered due to erosion (excessive wear) of the internal surfaces of gun barrels. Brearley began to research new steels which could better resist the erosion caused by high temperatures (rather than corrosion, as is often mentioned in this regard). He began to examine the addition of chromium to steel, which was known to raise the material’s melting point, as compared to the standard carbon steels. “The Great War ” redirects here. ... General Name, symbol, number chromium, Cr, 24 Chemical series transition metals Group, period, block 6, 4, d Appearance silvery metallic Standard atomic weight 51. ... For other uses, see Carbon (disambiguation). ...

The research concentrated on quantifying the effects of varying the levels of carbon (C, at concentrations around 0.2 weight %) and chromium (Cr, in the range of 6 to 15 weight %). For other uses, see Carbon (disambiguation). ... General Name, symbol, number chromium, Cr, 24 Chemical series transition metals Group, period, block 6, 4, d Appearance silvery metallic Standard atomic weight 51. ...

In order to undertake metallography to study the microstructure of the experimental alloys (the main factor responsible for a steel's mechanical properties) it was necessary to polish and etch the metallic samples produced. For a carbon steel, a dilute solution of nitric acid in alcohol is sufficient to produce the required etching, but Brearley found that the new chromium steels were very resistant to chemical attack. Metallograhy is a science, related to metallurgy that looks at the composition and structure of metals and alloys. ... Al-Si microstructure at 40x magnification Microstructure refers of the microscopic description of the individual constituents of a material. ...

It was probably Harry Brearley’s upbringing in Sheffield, a city famous for the manufacture of cutlery since the 16th century, which led him to appreciate the potential of these new steels for applications not only in high temperature service, as originally envisioned, but also in the mass production of food-related applications such as cutlery, saucepans and processing equipment etc. With this in mind he extended his examinations to include tests with food acids such as vinegar and lemon juice, with very promising results. (Up to that time carbon steel knives were prone to unhygienic rusting if they were not frequently polished and only expensive sterling silver or EPNS cutlery was generally available to avoid such problems). Brearley initially called the new alloy "rustless steel"; the more euphonic "stainless steel" was suggested by Ernest Stuart of R.F. Moseley's, a local cutlery manufacturer, and eventually prevailed. It is reported [1] that the first true stainless steel, a 0.24wt% C, 12.8wt% Cr ferrous alloy, was produced by Brearley in an electric furnace on August 13, 1913. He was subsequently awarded the Iron and Steel Institute's Bessemer Gold Medal in 1920. Used cutlery: a plate, a fork and knife, and a drinking glass. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... A blacksmith removing rust with sand prior to welding Rust damage in automobiles can create hidden dangers. ... Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92. ... For other uses of Alpaca, see Alpaca (disambiguation). ... Euphony describes flowing and aesthetically pleasing speech. ... An alloy is a homogeneous hybrid of two or more elements, at least one of which is a metal, and where the resulting material has metallic properties. ... A furnace is a device for heating air or any other fluid. ... is the 225th day of the year (226th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3 or IMMM) was officially recognised by the UKs Privy Council on 26 June 2002. ... The Bessemer Gold Medal is an annual prize awarded by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining for outstanding services to the steel industry. It was established and endowed by Sir Henry Bessemer in 1874. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ...

Virtually all research projects into the further development of stainless steels were interrupted by the 1914-18 War, but efforts were renewed in the 1920s. Though Harry Brearley had left the Brown Firth Laboratories in 1915, following disagreements regarding patent rights, the research did continue there under the direction of his successor, Dr. W. H. Hatfield. Year 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday[1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... For other uses, see Patent (disambiguation). ...

It is Hatfield who is credited with the development, in 1924, of a stainless steel which even today is probably the widest-used alloy of this type, the so-called "18/8", which in addition to chromium, includes nickel (Ni) in its composition (18wt% Cr, 8wt% Ni). For the rap album, see 1924 (album). ... For other uses, see Nickel (disambiguation). ...

External links

• The development of stainless steel
• Biography