DOCSLIB.ORG

Bessemer Process (Edited from Wikipedia)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Bessemer Process (Edited from Wikipedia) Bessemer Process (Edited from Wikipedia) SUMMARY The Bessemer process was the first inexpensive industrial process for the mass production of steel from molten pig iron before the development of the open hearth furnace. The key principle is removal of impurities from the iron by oxidation with air being blown through the molten iron. The oxidation also raises the temperature of the iron mass and keeps it molten. Related decarburizing (removing carbon) with air processes had been used outside Europe for hundreds of years, but not on an industrial scale. One such process has existed since the 11th century in East Asia, where the scholar Shen Kuo describes its use in the Chinese iron and steel industry. In the 17th century, accounts by European travelers detailed its possible use by the Japanese. The modern process is named after its inventor, the Englishman Henry Bessemer, who took out a patent on the process in 1856. The process was said to be independently discovered in 1851 by the American inventor William Kelly, though there is little to back up this claim. HISTORY Sir Henry Bessemer described the origin of his invention in his autobiography written in 1890. During the outbreak of the Crimean War, many English industrialists and inventors became interested in military technology. According to Bessemer, his invention was inspired by a conversation with Napoleon III in 1854 pertaining to the steel required for better artillery. Bessemer claimed that it "was the spark which kindled one of the greatest revolutions that the present century had to record, for during my solitary ride in a cab that night from Vincennes to Paris, I made up my mind to try what I could to improve the quality of iron in the manufacture of guns." At the time steel was used to make only small items like cutlery and tools, but was too expensive for cannons. Starting in January 1855 he began working on a way to produce 1 steel in the massive quantities required for artillery and by October he filed his first patent related to the Bessemer process. He patented the method a year later in 1856. According to his autobiography Bessemer was working with an ordinary reverberatory furnace but during a test, some pieces of pig iron were jostled off the side of the ladle, and were left above the ladle in the furnace's heat. When Bessemer went to push them into the ladle, he found that they were steel shells: the hot air alone had converted the outsides of the iron pieces to steel. This crucial discovery led him to completely redesign his furnace so that it would force high-pressure air through the molten iron using special air pumps. Intuitively this would seem to be folly because it would cool the iron. Instead, the oxygen in the forced air ignited silicon and carbon impurities in the iron, starting a positive feedback loop. As the iron became hotter, more impurities burned off, making the iron even hotter and burning off more impurities, producing a batch of hotter, purer, molten iron, which converts to steel more easily. Henry Bessemer Bessemer licensed the patent for his process to four ironmasters, but the licensees failed to produce the quality of steel he had promised—it was "rotten hot and rotten cold", according to his friend, William Clay—and he later bought them back. His plan had been to offer the licenses to one company in each of several geographic areas, at a royalty price per ton that included a lower rate on a proportion of their output in order to encourage production, but not so large a proportion that they might decide to reduce their selling prices. By this method he hoped to cause the new process to gain in standing and market share. He realized that the technical problem was due to impurities in the iron and concluded that the solution lay in knowing when to turn off the flow of air in his process so that the impurities were burned off but just the right amount of carbon remained. However, despite spending tens of thousands of pounds on experiments, he could not find the answer. Certain grades of steel are sensitive to the 78% nitrogen which was part of the air blast passing through the steel. Bessemer was sued by the patent purchasers who couldn't get it to work. In the end Bessemer set up his own steel company because he knew how to do it, even though he could not convey it to his patent users. Bessemer's company became one of the largest in the world and changed the face of steel making. 2 The solution was first discovered by English metallurgist Robert Forester Mushet, who had carried out thousands of experiments in the Forest of Dean. His method was to first burn off, as far as possible, all the impurities and carbon, then reintroduce carbon and manganese by adding an exact amount of spiegeleisen. This had the effect of improving the quality of the finished product, increasing its malleability—its ability to withstand rolling and forging at high temperatures and making it more suitable for a vast array of uses. The first company to license the process was the Manchester firm of W & J Galloway, and they did so before Bessemer announced it at Cheltenham in 1856. They are not included in his list of the four to whom he refunded the license fees. However, they subsequently rescinded their license in 1858 in return for the opportunity to invest in a partnership with Bessemer and others. This partnership began to manufacture steel in Sheffield from 1858, initially using imported charcoal pig iron from Sweden. This was the first commercial production. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT The Bessemer process revolutionized steel manufacture by decreasing its cost, from £40 per long ton to £6–7 per long ton, along with greatly increasing the scale and speed of production of this vital raw material. The process also decreased the labor requirements for steel-making. Before it was introduced, steel was far too expensive to make bridges or the framework for buildings and thus wrought iron had been used throughout the Industrial Revolution. After the introduction of the Bessemer process, steel and wrought iron became similarly priced, and some users, primarily railroads, turned to steel. Quality problems, such as brittleness caused by nitrogen in the blowing air, prevented Bessemer steel from being used for many structural applications. Open-hearth steel was suitable for structural applications. Steel greatly improved the productivity of railroads. Steel rails lasted ten times longer than iron rails. Steel rails, which became heavier as prices fell, could carry heavier locomotives, which could pull longer trains. Steel rail cars were longer and were able to increase the freight to car weight from 1:1 to 2:1. Bessemer in America While visiting Europe to obtain information on shipbuilding, armor, and armaments from 1862 to 1863, Alexander Lyman Holley visited Bessemer's Sheffield works, and 3 expressed interest in licensing the process for use in the US. Upon returning to the US, Holley met with noted inventor John Ericsson, who referred Holley to a pair of businessmen who had helped him build the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor, John F. Winslow and John Augustus Griswold. With Winslow and Griswold's support, Holley returned to England in 1863, and paid Bessemer £10,000 to license the technology. The trio began setting up a mill in Troy, New York in 1865. The factory contained a number of Holley's innovations that greatly improved productivity over Bessemer's factory in Sheffield, and the owners gave a successful public exhibition in 1867. The Troy factory attracted the attention of the Pennsylvania Railroad, which wanted to use the new process to manufacture steel rail. It funded Holley's second mill as part of its Pennsylvania Steel subsidiary. Between 1866 and 1877, the partners were able to license a total of 11 Bessemer steel mills. One of the investors they attracted was Andrew Carnegie, who saw great promise in the new steel technology after a visit to Bessemer in 1872, and saw it as a useful adjunct to his existing businesses, the Keystone Bridge Company and the Union Iron Works. Holley built the new steel mill for Carnegie, and continued to improve and refine the process. The new mill, known as the Edgar Thomson Steel Works, opened in 1875, and started the growth of the United States as a major world steel producer. ANDREW CARNEGIE Andrew Carnegie (November 25, 1835 – August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and is often identified as one of the richest people and Americans ever. He built a leadership role as a philanthropist for the United States and the British Empire. During the last 18 years of his life, he gave away to charities, foundations, and universities about $350 million (in 2015 share of GDP, $78.6 billion)—almost 90 percent of his fortune. His 1889 article proclaiming "The Gospel of Wealth" called on the rich to use their wealth to improve society, and it stimulated a wave of philanthropy. Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, and emigrated in 1848 to the United States with his parents. Carnegie started work as a telegrapher and by the 1860s had investments in railroads, railroad sleeping cars, bridges and oil derricks. He accumulated further wealth as a bond salesman raising money for American enterprise in Europe. He built Pittsburgh's Carnegie Steel Company, which he sold to J.P. Morgan in 1901 4 for $480 million.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property
    NFS Form 10-900-b 0MB No. 1024-0018 (Jan. 1987) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Multipler Propertyr ' Documentation Form NATIONAL This form is for use in documenting multiple property groups relating to one or several historic contexts. See instructions in Guidelines for Completing National Register Forms (National Register Bulletin 16). Complete each item by marking "x" in the appropriate box or by entering the requested information. For additional space use continuation sheets (Form 10-900-a). Type all entries. A. Name of Multiple Property Listing ____Iron and Steel Resources of Pennsylvania, 1716-1945_______________ B. Associated Historic Contexts_____________________________ ~ ___Pennsylvania Iron and Steel Industry. 1716-1945_________________ C. Geographical Data Commonwealth of Pennsylvania continuation sheet D. Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, J hereby certify that this documentation form meets the National Register documentation standards and sets forth requirements for the listing of related properties consistent with the National Register criteria. This submission meets the procedural and professional requiremerytS\set forth iri36JCFR PafrfsBOfcyid the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Planning and Evaluation. Signature of certifying official Date / Brent D. Glass Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission State or Federal agency and bureau I, hereby, certify that this multiple
    [Show full text]
  • Three Hundred Years of Assaying American Iron and Iron Ores
    Bull. Hist. Chem, 17/18 (1995) 41 THREE HUNDRED YEARS OF ASSAYING AMERICAN IRON AND IRON ORES Kvn K. Oln, WthArt It can reasonably be argued that of all of the industries factors were behind this development; increased pro- that made the modern world possible, iron and steel cess sophistication, a better understanding of how im- making holds a pivotal place. Without ferrous metals purities affected iron quality, increased capital costs, and technology, much of the modem world simply would a generation of chemically trained metallurgists enter- not exist. As the American iron industry grew from the ing the industry. This paper describes the major advances isolated iron plantations of the colonial era to the com- in analytical development. It also describes how the plex steel mills of today, the science of assaying played 19th century iron industry serves as a model for the way a critical role. The assayer gave the iron maker valu- an expanding industry comes to rely on analytical data able guidance in the quest for ever improving quality for process control. and by 1900 had laid down a theoretical foundation for the triumphs of steel in our own century. 1500's to 1800 Yet little is known about the assayer and how his By the mid 1500's the operating principles of assay labo- abilities were used by industry. Much has been written ratories were understood and set forth in the metallurgi- about the ironmaster and the furnace workers. Docents cal literature. Agricola's Mtll (1556), in period dress host historic ironmaking sites and inter- Biringuccio's rthn (1540), and the pret the lives of housewives, miners, molders, clerks, rbrbühln (Assaying Booklet, anon.
    [Show full text]
  • Henry Bessemer and the Mass Production of Steel
    Henry Bessemer and the Mass Production of Steel Englishmen, Sir Henry Bessemer (1813-1898) invented the first process for mass-producing steel inexpensively, essential to the development of skyscrapers. Modern steel is made using technology based on Bessemer's process. Bessemer was knighted in 1879 for his contribution to science. The "Bessemer Process" for mass-producing steel, was named after Bessemer. Bessemer's famous one-step process for producing cheap, high-quality steel made it possible for engineers to envision transcontinental railroads, sky-scraping office towers, bay- spanning bridges, unsinkable ships, and mass-produced horseless carriages. The key principle is removal of impurities from the iron by oxidation with air being blown through the molten iron. The oxidation also raises the temperature of the iron mass and keeps it molten. In the U.S., where natural resources and risk-taking investors were abundant, giant Bessemer steel mills sprung up to drive the expanding nation's rise as a dominant world economic and industrial leader. Why Steel? Steel is the most widely used of all metals, with uses ranging from concrete reinforcement in highways and in high-rise buildings to automobiles, aircraft, and vehicles in space. Steel is more ductile (able to deform without breakage) and durable than cast iron and is generally forged, rolled, or drawn into various shapes. The Bessemer process revolutionized steel manufacture by decreasing its cost. The process also decreased the labor requirements for steel-making. Prior to its introduction, steel was far too expensive to make bridges or the framework for buildings and thus wrought iron had been used throughout the Industrial Revolution.
    [Show full text]
  • 6 X 10 Long Title.P65
    Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-15382-9 - Heroes of Invention: Technology, Liberalism and British Identity, 1750-1914 Christine MacLeod Index More information Index Acade´mie des Sciences 80, 122, 357 arms manufacturers 236–9 Adam, Robert 346 Armstrong, William, Baron Armstrong of Adams, John Couch 369 Cragside Aikin, John 43, 44, 71 arms manufacturer 220 Airy, Sir George 188, 360 as hero of industry 332 Albert, Prince 24, 216, 217, 231, 232, 260 concepts of invention 268, 269, 270 Alfred, King 24 entrepreneurial abilities of 328 Amalgamated Society of Engineers, knighted 237–8 Machinists, Millwrights, Smiths and monument to 237 Pattern Makers 286–7 opposition to patent system 250, 267–8 ancestor worship, see idolatry portrait of 230 Anderson’s Institution, Glasgow 113, 114, president of BAAS 355 288, 289 Punch’s ‘Lord Bomb’ 224–5 Arago, Franc¸ois 122, 148, 184 Ashton, T. S. 143 Eloge, to James Watt 122–3, 127 Athenaeum, The 99–101, 369 Arkwright, Sir Richard, Atkinson, T. L. 201 and scientific training 359 Atlantic telegraph cables 243, 245, 327 as national benefactor 282 Arthur, King 15 as workers’ hero 286 Askrill, Robert 213 commemorations of, 259 Associated Society of Locomotive Cromford mills, painting of 63 Engineers and Firemen 288 enterprise of 196, 327, 329 era of 144 Babbage, Charles 276, 353, 356–7, factory system 179 375, 383 in Erasmus Darwin’s poetry 67–8 Bacon, Sir Francis in Maria Edgeworth’s book 171 as discoverer 196 in Samuel Smiles’ books 255, 256 as genius 51, 53, 142 invention of textile machinery 174, 176 bust of 349 knighthood 65 n.
    [Show full text]
  • Primary Mill Fabrication
    Metals Fabrication—Understanding the Basics Copyright © 2013 ASM International® F.C. Campbell, editor All rights reserved www.asminternational.org CHAPTER 1 Primary Mill Fabrication A GENERAL DIAGRAM for the production of steel from raw materials to finished mill products is shown in Fig. 1. Steel production starts with the reduction of ore in a blast furnace into pig iron. Because pig iron is rather impure and contains carbon in the range of 3 to 4.5 wt%, it must be further refined in either a basic oxygen or an electric arc furnace to produce steel that usually has a carbon content of less than 1 wt%. After the pig iron has been reduced to steel, it is cast into ingots or continuously cast into slabs. Cast steels are then hot worked to improve homogeneity, refine the as-cast microstructure, and fabricate desired product shapes. After initial hot rolling operations, semifinished products are worked by hot rolling, cold rolling, forging, extruding, or drawing. Some steels are used in the hot rolled condition, while others are heat treated to obtain specific properties. However, the great majority of plain carbon steel prod- ucts are low-carbon (<0.30 wt% C) steels that are used in the annealed condition. Medium-carbon (0.30 to 0.60 wt% C) and high-carbon (0.60 to 1.00 wt% C) steels are often quenched and tempered to provide higher strengths and hardness. Ironmaking The first step in making steel from iron ore is to make iron by chemically reducing the ore (iron oxide) with carbon, in the form of coke, according to the general equation: Fe2O3 + 3CO Æ 2Fe + 3CO2 (Eq 1) The ironmaking reaction takes place in a blast furnace, shown schemati- cally in Fig.
    [Show full text]
  • Comparative Properties of Wrought Iron Made by Hand Puddling and by the Aston Process
    RP124 COMPARATIVE PROPERTIES OF WROUGHT IRON MADE BY HAND PUDDLING AND BY THE ASTON PROCESS By Henry S. Rawdon and 0. A. Knight ABSTRACT The hand-puddling method of making wrought iron has not greatly changed for a century. More economical methods in the manufacture of thjs product is the crying need of the industry. A radically new process, recently developed, is now coming into commercial use, in which pig iron, which h>as been refined in a Bessemer converter, is poured into molten slag so as to produce intimate mingling of the two. A comparison of the properties of wrought iron made thus with that made by hand puddling forms the subject of this report. The test results failed to show any marked difference in the products of the two processes. The new product appears to have all of the essential properties usually connoted by the name—wrought iron, CONTENTS Page I. Introduction 954 1. Resume of the Aston process 955 II. Purpose and scope of the investigation 959 III. Materials and methods 960 1. Materials 960 (a) Pipe 960 (6) "Rounds" 961 (c) Slag 962 2. Methods 962 IV. Results 962 1. Composition 962 2. Density 964 3. Mechanical properties 965 (a) Pipe materials 965 (1) Tensile properties 965 (2) Torsional properties 970 (3) Flattening tests 971 (6) 1-inch rounds 972 (1) Tensile properties 972 (2) Torsional properties 973 (3) Impact resistance 973 4. Corrosion resistance 976 (a) Laboratory corrosion tests 976 (6) Electrolytic solution potential 979 5. Structural examination 979 (a) Pipe materials 980 (1) BaU 980 (2) Muck bar 980 (3) Skelp 981 (4) Pipe 981 (&) 1-inch rounds 981 (c) Slag 981 953 : 954 Bureau of Standards Journal of Research [vol.
    [Show full text]
  • Final Exam Questions Generated by the Class
    Final Exam Questions Generated by the Class Module 8 – Iron and Steel Describe some of the business practices that Carnegie employed that allowed him to take command of the steel industry. Hard driving, vertical integration, price making Which of the following was/is NOT a method used to make steel? A. Puddling B. Bessemer process C. Basic oxygen process D. Arc melting E. None of the above What are the three forms of iron, and what is the associated carbon content of each? Wrought <.2% Steel .2-2.3% Cast Iron 2.3-4.2% How did Andrew Carnegie use vertical integration to gain control of the steel market? Controlled the entire steel making process from mining to final product Who created the best steel for several hundred years while making swords during the 1500’s? A. Syria B. Egypt C. Japan D. England Describe the difference between forging and casting. When forging, you beat and hammer the material into the desired shape. When casting, you pour liquid into a mold to shape it. Describe the difference between steel and wrought iron. Steel has less carbon Which of the following forms of iron has a low melting point and is not forgeable? A. Steel B. Pig Iron C. Wrought Iron D. None of the Above What two developments ushered in the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age? More iron ore and greater ability to change its properties using readily available alloying agent (carbon) 1 Final Exam Questions Generated by the Class What is the difference between ferrite and austenite? A.
    [Show full text]
  • Causes and Technologies of the Industrial Revolution
    FCPS World II SOL Standards: WHII 9a Causes and Technologies of the Industrial Revolution You Mean Most People Used to Live on Farms? Farms to Factories Starting in the middle of the 18th century, technology and lifestyles in many parts of the world changed dramatically. Factories were built, technology developed, populations increased and many people moved from farms to cities to work in a new economy. We call these changes the Industrial Revolution. This began in England but spread to the rest of Western Europe and the United States. Causes of the Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution began in England for several reasons. First, there was a large supply of natural resources. Coal and other fossil fuels were used to Spread of Industrialization in Europe create power for factories. Iron ore was used to build Source: http://althistory.wikia.com/wiki/File:OTL_Europe_Industrial_Revolution_Map.png factory equipment and manufactured goods. Another key reason was the British enclosure movement. In England rich landowners bought the farms of poor peasants and separated them with fences. This increased food production but decreased the need for labor on the farms. More people could move to cities and work in factories. During the Industrial Revolution, new technologies and inventions transformed society in many ways. -The spinning jenny was invented by James Hargreaves. It helped turn cotton and wool into thread, speeding the production of textiles. -The steam engine was invented by James Watt. It used burning coal to turn water into steam and generate electricity. This electricity was used to power factories. -Englishman Edward Jenner invented a smallpox vaccine, saving people from this terrible disease.
    [Show full text]
  • The 2Nd Industrial Revolution After the Civil War Was Over, Americans Began Looking for Ways To, Not Only Rebuild, but to Grow and Develop New Industries
    The 2nd Industrial Revolution After the Civil War was over, Americans began looking for ways to, not only rebuild, but to grow and develop new industries. There was an increasing push out West to find new land and the flourishing cities in California were demanding new transportation methods for gold and for supplies. Historians have labeled the years from 1870-1914 as the period of the Second Industrial Revolution, a period of rapid growth in U.S. manufacturing the late 1800’s. First Industrial Revolution: coal, iron, railroads and textiles (fabrics) Second Industrial Revolution: electricity, petroleum and steel …which led to Electrically-run machinery, industrial equipment, personal appliances and medical breakthrough. Results Steel & Oil Another important technological breakthrough in the late 1800s was the use Many of the changes that occurred during of petroleum, or oil, as a power source. this period had to do with new products People had known about oil for thousands simply replacing old ones. For instance, of years, but had few ways to use it. during this time, steel began to replace iron. However, in the 1850’s, scientists invented a Steel was being utilized for construction way to convert oil into a fuel called projects, industrial machines, railroads, kerosene. Kerosene could be used for ships and many other items. Steel cooking, heating and lighting. production made it possible for rail lines to be built at competitive costs, which further Electricity spread transportation. In addition to kerosene, electricity became Steel is iron that has been made stronger by a critical source of light and power.
    [Show full text]
  • History of Metallurgy
    History of Metallurgy by Rochelle Forrester Copyright © 2019 Rochelle Forrester All Rights Reserved The moral right of the author has been asserted Anyone may reproduce all or any part of this paper without the permission of the author so long as a full acknowledgement of the source of the reproduced material is made. Second Edition Published 30 September 2019 Preface This paper was written in order to examine the order of discovery of significant developments in the history of metallurgy. It is part of my efforts to put the study of social and cultural history and social change on a scientific basis capable of rational analysis and understanding. This has resulted in a hard copy book How Change Happens: A Theory of Philosophy of History, Social Change and Cultural ​ Evolution and a website How Change Happens Rochelle Forrester’s Social Change, Cultural ​ ​ Evolution and Philosophy of History website. There are also philosophy of history papers such as The ​ ​ Course of History, The Scientific Study of History, Guttman Scale Analysis and its use to explain ​ ​ ​ ​ Cultural Evolution and Social Change and Philosophy of History and papers on Academia.edu, ​ ​ ​ Figshare, Humanities Commons, Mendeley, Open Science Framework, Orcid, Phil Papers, SocArXiv, ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Social Science Research Network, Vixra and Zenodo websites. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ This paper is part of a series on the History of Science and Technology. Other papers in the series are The Invention of Stone Tools Fire The Neolithic Revolution The Invention of Pottery ​ History
    [Show full text]
  • Copies of Mcgovern's Poems Were
    “Copies of McGovern’s poems were circulated among the working men until, blackened and thumbed into tatters, they were unreadable but many memorised the poems and could repeat them as readily as the author himself. There were labor troubles in those days and in such disputes the ironmasters feared one of his poems more than the occasional violence by strike leaders. McGovern’s old friends, men who saw hard hot summer days in the old mills with him, have memories of the tremendous influence his poems had when he washed dirty hands at night and turned to white paper”. 1 MICHAEL J.McGOVERN “The Puddler Poet” Williamstown, Co. Galway Youngstown, Ohio 1847-1933 Steel Mill Labourer Working Man’s Poet Social & Political Campaigner Michael J. McGovern, born in Williamstown, County. Galway, Ireland, became a stirring and powerful poetic voice for working men and women across America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was according to contemporary accounts “the premier working class song-poet of his day” whose campaigning, challenging verses “were once memorised, recited and sung” across the United States. Michael McGovern wrote over 1,000 song-poems during the course of his life. The best known were rallying cries for worker’s rights and union recognition in the steel mills and factories of an America which had just become the world’s greatest industrial power and a nation to which immigrants, desperately seeking a better life, were flooding to from all corners of the Old World. Others espoused the cause of American patriotism and Irish freedom.
    [Show full text]
  • The Construction, Operation, and Dissolution of the Adirondack Iron and Steel Company’S “New Furnace”
    Northeast Historical Archaeology Volume 45 Article 8 2016 Last Gap: The onsC truction, Operation, and Dissolution of the Adirondack Iron and Steel Company’s “New Furnace” David P. Staley Follow this and additional works at: https://orb.binghamton.edu/neha Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Staley, David P. (2016) "Last Gap: The onC struction, Operation, and Dissolution of the Adirondack Iron and Steel Company’s “New Furnace”," Northeast Historical Archaeology: Vol. 45 45, Article 8. Available at: https://orb.binghamton.edu/neha/vol45/iss1/8 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by The Open Repository @ Binghamton (The ORB). It has been accepted for inclusion in Northeast Historical Archaeology by an authorized editor of The Open Repository @ Binghamton (The ORB). For more information, please contact [email protected]. Northeast Historical Archaeology/Vol. 45, 2016 171 Last Gasp: The Construction, Operation, and Dissolution of the Adirondack Iron and Steel Company’s “New Furnace” David P. Staley Isolation and historical circumstances have largely preserved the “New Furnace” at the Adirondack Iron & Steel Company’s Upper Works. An historical account suggested that the operational process at the facility would be clearly represented by an array of tools and debris. Daily activities at a blast furnace tend to obliterate much of the archaeologically observable behavioral evidence, and decades of visitors and vandalism have removed any tools abandoned after the last casting. Through the interpretation of sediments, stratigraphy, features, and under-utilized material culture, such as building materials, smelting raw materials, and slag, it is possible to reveal aspects of construction, operations, collapse, and decay at the site.
    [Show full text]