The history of the technology of iron and steel
From a practical point of view the refurbishment and remodelling of older iron and steel buildings is quite commonplace. A lack of appreciation of the technological context of a particular age and type of building can lead to a reworking of the building in a way which is either insensitive or inappropriate.
In a more general sense understanding the issues which have driven design thinking in the past forms the basis of inspiration and context for many contemporary projects.
Definitions of what is meant by cast iron, wrought iron and steel
Although the actual situation is much more complex, cast iron, wrought iron and steel can all be thought of as alloys, principally of iron and carbon. To complicate matters, though, it is worth mentioning that there are no precise definitions of the relative make -up of the three types of steel.
The history of the manufacturing and shaping of iron and steel components
The trend from iron to steel can be summarised in a table showing the production figures for different countries worldwide. This shows a steady increase in steel production whilst iron production remains fairly static.
The properties of cast iron, wrought iron and steel
Because of the impurities in cast iron and its crystalline structure, although it is a strong material in compression, it is weak in tension and is very brittle. As a result when it failed it did so in an explosive manner with little warning.
The technical revolution in production
By the time Nash set to work in 1815 the production of basic pig iron in Britain was 400,000 tons (406,420 tonnes) per annum, as against about 23,000 tons (23,369 tonnes) a century earlier.
