Who invented stainless steel?

star_gazer

The corrosion resistance of iron-chromium alloys was first recognized in 1821 by the French metallurgist Pierre Berthier, who noted their resistance against attack by some acids and suggested their use in cutlery. Metallurgists of the 19th century, however, were unable to produce the combination of low carbon and high chromium found in most modern stainless steels, and the high-chromium alloys they could produce were too brittle to be practical. In the late 1890s, Hans Goldschmidt of Germany developed an aluminothermic (thermite) process for producing carbon-free chromium. In the years 1904–1911 several researchers, particularly Leon Guillet of France, prepared alloys that would today be considered stainless steel. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stainless_steel Jul 17 09, 4:45 PM

serpa

It sees many people were involved in the development of stainless steel. The "discovery" of stainless steel occured in the 1900 to 1915 time period. However, as with many discoveries, it was the accumulated efforts of several individuals that actually began in 1821. That year a Frenchman named Berthier found that iron when alloyed with chromium was resistant to some acids. Others studied the effects of chromium in an iron matrix, but using a low percentage of chromium. To be stainless steel, the chromium content needs to be at least 10.5%. In 1872, Messrs. Woods and Clark applied for a British patent for what they identified as an acid and weather resistant alloy containing 30 to 35% chromium and 1.5 to 2% tungsten. Then, in 1875, another Frenchman named Brustlein recognized the importance of carbon levels in addition to chromium. Stainless steels need to have a very low level of carbon at 0.15%. While many others investigated the chromium/iron composition, the difficulty in obtaining the low carbon levels persisted for many years until low carbon ferrochrome became commercially available. Read more at the stainless steel information website: http://www.ssina.com/overview/history.html Jul 17 09, 4:49 PM