SU

THEORY OF AUCIIITECTUIIE. Book IT.

altlioii^rli stronger ami liartler tlian grey cast iron, is too brittle to be a safe material for the
entire mass ol'any })irclci-, or otiier large piece of a structure. It is used to form a bard
and impenetrable i-ltiu to a piece of gret/ cast iron by tbe process called (hillnni. 'Ihis
consists in lining the portion of the mould where a hardened surface is rL'cjui'ed witii
suitably shaped pieces of iron. Tbe melted metal, on being run in, is cooK d and soliditied
suddenly where it touches tiie cold iron; and for a certain depth from the chilled surface,
varying from about
^
to
^
inch in different kinds of iron, it lakes the while
gr inulur con-
dition, while the remainder of the casting takes the grey condition. Even in castings
which are not chilled by an iron lining to tiie mould, the outermost layer, being cooled
more rapidly tlian the interior, approaches more nearly to the white condiiion, and forms
a skin harder and stronger than the rest of tbe casting. The best kinds of cast iron for
large structiu-es are No. 2 and No. fi ; because beiirg stronger tl-.an No. 1, and softer aiul
more flexible than white cast iron, they combine strength and pliability in the manuLP
which is best suited for safely bearing loads tliat are in motion. A st'ong kind of cast
iron called toughened cast iron, is produced by the process, inventjd by Morries Stirling, of
adding to the cast iron, and melting amongst it, from one-fourth to one-seventh of its
weight of wrought iron scrap.
1766. Soft grey c;ist iron is the best sort ; it yields easily to the fde when the extjri\al
crust is removed, and is slightly malleable in a cold state. It is, however, more subject
to rust than the wiiite cast iron, which sort is also less soluble in acids. Grev c ist iron h-.-.s
a granulated fracture with some metallc lustre. White cast iron in a recent fracture has
a white and radiated appearance, indicating a crystalline structure.
1767. Cast iron, when at a certain degree of heat, may be cut like a piece of wood with
a common saw. This discovery was announced in a letter from M. IJunford, director of
the iron works at IMontalaire, to M. d'Arcet, and published in the Annnlts de Chimie.
The experiment was tried in 1813 by a gentleman of the Philosophical Society at Glas"^ow,
who with the greatest ease cut a bar of cast iron, previously heated to a cbenv-red, with a
common carpenter's saw, in the course of less than two minutes. The saw was not in the
least injured by the operation.
1768. The security afforded
!)y
iron for supporting weight, and against fire, has, of late
jears, very much increased the use of it, and may in many cases entirely su])ersede the
employment of timber. Again, it is valuable from its being not liable to sudden decay, nor
soon destroyed by wear and tear, and, above all, from its plasticity.
STEEL,
1769. Stet4, the hardest of the metals and the strongest of known substances, is a
compound of iron with from
0'3
to 1 5 per cent, of its wiight of carbon. 'J'liese,
according to most authorities, as noticed by Kankiue, are the only esseniial constituents of
stiel. Impurities of dillerent kinds affect steel injuriously in the same way as with
iron. A very small part of its weight,
rru^ri^''-
of silicon cau-.cs steel to cool and solidify
without bubbling or agitation ; a larger proportion would make the steel brittle. Man-
ganese improves the steel by increasing its toughness, and making it easier to weld and
forge.
17fi9a. The term steely iron, or semi steel may be a)-plied to compounds of iron with
less than 05 per cent, of carbon. They are intermediate in hardness and other ])roper;ii.s
between steel and malleable iron. In general, such compounds are the harder and the
^stronger, and also the more easily fusible, tlie more carbon they cont lin
; those sorts whieh
contain less carbon, though weaker, are more easily welded and forged, and from tlieir
greater pliability are the (itter for strirctures that are exposed to shocks.
1769/'. Steel is distinguished by the property of tjiiipeii/ig, tjiat is to say, it can be
hardened by sudden cooling from a high teni|)erature, and softened by gradual cooling
;
and its degree of hardness or softness can be regulated with precision by suiiably fixing
that temperature. The elevat'on of temperature previous to the amiealiiig or gradual
cooling is produced by plunging steel into a bath of a fusible metallic alloy, ranging from
430^
to 560
Fahr.
1770. Steel is made by various processes which have of late become vci-y numerous.
They may all be classed under two heads, viz., adding carbon to ipalleable iron, used in
making steel for cutting tools and other fine purposes
;
the othir, ahstractiti'i carbon from
cast iron, used for making great masses of s'.eel and steely iron rapidly and at a moderate
expense. Among the processes are the following:

1771. I. Blister steel is made by cementation, by embedding bars of the purest wrorighi
iron in a layer of charcoal and subjecting them for several days to a high temperature. Each
bar absorbs carbon, and its surfacebecon.es converted into steel. Cementation may also l)e
pel formed by exposing tire surlace of the iron to a current of carburetted hydrogen gas at a