Evaluation and Repair of Wrought Iron and - Purdue e-Pubs ...

14patents for their process and traveled the world promoting it and the manufacturing ofsteel.While Bessemer and Mushet were developing the Bessemer Process, WilliamKelly from Pittsburgh was developing an idea to use a blast of air to oxidize out theimpurities of iron. After many years of development he then created what is known asthe pneumatic process for making mild steel and obtained an American Patent for thisconcept (Fisher, 1963). About ten years later, the Open Hearth process was developed.This process, like the Bessemer process, utilized a blast of air to oxidize out theimpurities in pig iron.In the beginning of the 19 th century wrought iron was the most extensivelyproduced metal in the United States. But by the end of the century, steel became theleader in the industry. The transfer between the two metals was not instantaneous, butrather a gradual transitional period of industrialization. Once the new processes formaking steel were developed, wrought iron was not immediately neglected. Wroughtiron was already being manufactured through out the United States, so it was easier andcheaper to construct with wrought iron even though it was found that steel was stronger.For example, the slow transition in the railroad industry from wrought iron rail to steelrail demonstrates and parallels the transition from wrought iron to steel throughout therest of the country.Originally in Great Britain, the rails for trains were made of wrought iron, butneeded to be “turned” or replaced every six months. In an effort to promote massproduced steel, Henry Bessemer convinced the local authorities to try steel rails. Thetrial steel rails did not need to be replaced for two years and it was soon determined thatsteel was a stronger and more durable material (Fisher, 1963). This knowledge wasspread to the United States and steel rails were slowly used throughout the populatedeast. Using steel rails in the western states was illogical since it was easier to straightenbent or damaged wrought iron rails then to wait several weeks for new steel rails. As