Alloys of Iron and Chromium. Including a Report by F. OSMOND.

pp. 1-127, (i). 15 Tables, 20 folding plates. New cloth, a very good copy. *HADFIELD (1858-1940), metallurgist from Sheffield, took over his father's steel foundry in 1888; he had discovered the properties of manganese steel in 1882 but had not published his findings until 1888. From that time until around 1892, Hadfield's was the only firm producing this hardened steel, for use in the manufacture of tram wheels, railway rails and 'burglar-proof'safes. The expansion of the railways boosted Hadfield's trade until the beginning of WWI when the demand for manganese steel for helmets, tank treads and armour plate and shells, stimulated production. By 1919, it was the largest manufaturer of special alloy steel in the country and Sheffield's biggest employer. Alloying iron with chromium had first been tried by Faraday and Stobart in 1820 - they had experimentally combined iron with a number of other elements and had demonstrated that chromiun and iron produced a metal with increased resistance to corrosion. The first chromium steel was produced in France by Berthier, combining Faraday's ferro-chrome with carbon steel. Hadfield, in the above paper, gives a comprehensive historical review of the development of chromium steel, followed by the results of mechanical and chemical tests with emphasis upon the use of this alloy steel in armour plate and projectiles. The plates illustrate the results of this use.…