The Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows was an exhibition that opened in February 2000 at Chicago’s Navy Pier entertainment complex. It permanently closed in October 2014. It was the first American museum dedicated solely to the art of stained glass windows .
77-470: Named after prominent Chicago collectors E.B. and Maureen Smith, the museum held over 150 individual pieces displayed in four galleries: Victorian , Prairie , Modern , and Contemporary. The majority of the works originally came from Chicago-area buildings, and a number of prominent artists are represented, including John LaFarge , Adolfas Valeška , and Ed Paschke . The collection contained religious themes, secular work, and some more unusual items, including
154-534: A Pueblo (village) into a Victorian Downtown – now almost entirely demolished but with residential remnants in its Angelino Heights and Westlake neighborhoods. San Francisco is particularly well known for its extensive Victorian architecture, especially in the Haight-Ashbury , Lower Haight , Alamo Square , Western Addition , Mission , Duboce Triangle , Noe Valley , Castro , Nob Hill , and Pacific Heights neighborhoods. The extent to which any one
231-558: A gold rush and population boom during the 1880s in the states of New South Wales and Victoria . There were fifteen styles that predominated: The Arts and Crafts style and Queen Anne style are considered to be part of the Federation Period, from 1890 to 1915. Western influence in architecture was strong when Hong Kong was a British colony . Victorian architecture in Hong Kong: Georgian architecture
308-524: A bar, expelling slag in the process. During the Middle Ages , water-power was applied to the process, probably initially for powering bellows, and only later to hammers for forging the blooms. However, while it is certain that water-power was used, the details remain uncertain. That was the culmination of the direct process of ironmaking. It survived in Spain and southern France as Catalan Forges to
385-582: A carbon content of less than 0.008 wt% . Bar iron is a generic term sometimes used to distinguish it from cast iron. It is the equivalent of an ingot of cast metal, in a convenient form for handling, storage, shipping and further working into a finished product. The bars were the usual product of the finery forge , but not necessarily made by that process: Wrought iron is a form of commercial iron containing less than 0.10% of carbon, less than 0.25% of impurities total of sulfur, phosphorus, silicon and manganese, and less than 2% slag by weight. Wrought iron
462-470: A final product. Sometimes European ironworks would skip the shingling process completely and roll the puddle balls. The only drawback to that is that the edges of the rough bars were not as well compressed. When the rough bar was reheated, the edges might separate and be lost into the furnace. The bloom was passed through rollers and to produce bars. The bars of wrought iron were of poor quality, called muck bars or puddle bars. To improve their quality,
539-463: A high silky luster and fibrous appearance. Wrought iron lacks the carbon content necessary for hardening through heat treatment , but in areas where steel was uncommon or unknown, tools were sometimes cold-worked (hence cold iron ) to harden them. An advantage of its low carbon content is its excellent weldability. Furthermore, sheet wrought iron cannot bend as much as steel sheet metal when cold worked. Wrought iron can be melted and cast; however,
616-434: A low scale to supply the steel to the artisan swordmakers. Osmond iron consisted of balls of wrought iron, produced by melting pig iron and catching the droplets on a staff, which was spun in front of a blast of air so as to expose as much of it as possible to the air and oxidise its carbon content. The resultant ball was often forged into bar iron in a hammer mill. In the 15th century, the blast furnace spread into what
693-449: A lower melting point than iron or steel. Cast and especially pig iron have excess slag which must be at least partially removed to produce quality wrought iron. At foundries it was common to blend scrap wrought iron with cast iron to improve the physical properties of castings. For several years after the introduction of Bessemer and open hearth steel, there were different opinions as to what differentiated iron from steel; some believed it
770-473: A meaningful way. Some styles, while not uniquely Victorian, are strongly associated with the 19th century owing to the large number of examples that were erected during that period: During the 18th century, a few English architects emigrated to the colonies, but as the British Empire became firmly established during the 19th century, many architects emigrated at the start of their careers. Some chose
847-603: A number of patented processes for that, which are referred to today as potting and stamping . The earliest were developed by John Wood of Wednesbury and his brother Charles Wood of Low Mill at Egremont , patented in 1763. Another was developed for the Coalbrookdale Company by the Cranage brothers . Another important one was that of John Wright and Joseph Jesson of West Bromwich . A number of processes for making wrought iron without charcoal were devised as
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#1732787296277924-410: A process for manufacturing wrought iron quickly and economically. It involved taking molten steel from a Bessemer converter and pouring it into cooler liquid slag. The temperature of the steel is about 1500 °C and the liquid slag is maintained at approximately 1200 °C. The molten steel contains a large amount of dissolved gases so when the liquid steel hit the cooler surfaces of the liquid slag
1001-410: A refinery where raw coal was used to remove silicon and convert carbon within the raw material, found in the form of graphite, to a combination with iron called cementite. In the fully developed process (of Hall), this metal was placed into the hearth of the puddling furnace where it was melted. The hearth was lined with oxidizing agents such as haematite and iron oxide. The mixture was subjected to
1078-505: A reigning monarch. Within this naming and classification scheme, it followed Georgian architecture and later Regency architecture and was succeeded by Edwardian architecture . Although Victoria did not reign over the United States, the term is often used for American styles and buildings from the same period, as well as those from the British Empire . During the early 19th century, the romantic medieval Gothic Revival style
1155-481: A single hearth for all stages. The introduction of coke for use in the blast furnace by Abraham Darby in 1709 (or perhaps others a little earlier) initially had little effect on wrought iron production. Only in the 1750s was coke pig iron used on any significant scale as the feedstock of finery forges. However, charcoal continued to be the fuel for the finery. From the late 1750s, ironmasters began to develop processes for making bar iron without charcoal. There were
1232-559: A stained glass portrait of basketball player Michael Jordan , a window created from glass soda bottles, and Marie Herndl's "Queen of the Elves" (also called "The Fairy Queen"). The adjacent Richard H. Driehaus Gallery of Stained Glass Windows opened in 2001 and closed in September 2017. It was devoted to ecclesiastical and secular windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany and interrelated businesses between 1890 and 1930. The windows were from
1309-412: A strong current of air and stirred with long bars, called puddling bars or rabbles, through working doors. The air, the stirring, and the "boiling" action of the metal helped the oxidizing agents to oxidize the impurities and carbon out of the pig iron. As the impurities oxidize, they formed a molten slag or drifted off as gas, while the remaining iron solidified into spongy wrought iron that floated to
1386-399: A wood-like "grain" that is visible when it is etched, rusted, or bent to failure . Wrought iron is tough, malleable, ductile , corrosion resistant, and easily forge welded , but is more difficult to weld electrically. Before the development of effective methods of steelmaking and the availability of large quantities of steel, wrought iron was the most common form of malleable iron. It
1463-424: Is redshort or hot short if it contains sulfur in excess quantity. It has sufficient tenacity when cold, but cracks when bent or finished at a red heat. Hot short iron was considered unmarketable. Cold short iron, also known as coldshear , colshire , contains excessive phosphorus. It is very brittle when cold and cracks if bent. It may, however, be worked at high temperature. Historically, coldshort iron
1540-414: Is a more important measure of the quality of wrought iron. In tensile testing, the best irons are able to undergo considerable elongation before failure. Higher tensile wrought iron is brittle. Because of the large number of boiler explosions on steamboats in the early 1800s, the U.S. Congress passed legislation in 1830 which approved funds for correcting the problem. The treasury awarded a $ 1500 contract to
1617-520: Is an archaic past participle of the verb "to work", and so "wrought iron" literally means "worked iron". Wrought iron is a general term for the commodity, but is also used more specifically for finished iron goods, as manufactured by a blacksmith . It was used in that narrower sense in British Customs records, such manufactured iron was subject to a higher rate of duty than what might be called "unwrought" iron. Cast iron , unlike wrought iron,
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#17327872962771694-435: Is brittle and cannot be worked either hot or cold. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, wrought iron went by a wide variety of terms according to its form, origin, or quality. While the bloomery process produced wrought iron directly from ore, cast iron or pig iron were the starting materials used in the finery forge and puddling furnace . Pig iron and cast iron have higher carbon content than wrought iron, but have
1771-491: Is deceptive. Most of the manganese, sulfur, phosphorus, and silicon in the wrought iron are incorporated into the slag fibers, making wrought iron purer than plain carbon steel. Amongst its other properties, wrought iron becomes soft at red heat and can be easily forged and forge welded . It can be used to form temporary magnets , but it cannot be magnetized permanently, and is ductile , malleable , and tough . For most purposes, ductility rather than tensile strength
1848-536: Is more prominent in Ireland than Victorian architecture. The cities of Dublin, Limerick, and Cork are famously dominated by Georgian squares and terraces . Though Victorian architecture flourished in certain quarters. Particularly around Dublin's Wicklow Street and Upper Baggot Street and in the suburbs of Phibsboro , Glasnevin , Rathmines , Ranelagh , Rathgar , Rathfarnham , and Terenure . The colourful Italianate buildings of Cobh are excellent examples of
1925-407: Is no longer manufactured commercially. Wrought iron was originally produced by a variety of smelting processes, all described today as "bloomeries". Different forms of bloomery were used at different places and times. The bloomery was charged with charcoal and iron ore and then lit. Air was blown in through a tuyere to heat the bloomery to a temperature somewhat below the melting point of iron. In
2002-450: Is no longer produced on a commercial scale. Many products described as wrought iron, such as guard rails , garden furniture , and gates are made of mild steel. They are described as "wrought iron" only because they have been made to resemble objects which in the past were wrought (worked) by hand by a blacksmith (although many decorative iron objects, including fences and gates, were often cast rather than wrought). The word "wrought"
2079-628: Is now Belgium where it was improved. From there, it spread via the Pays de Bray on the boundary of Normandy and then to the Weald in England. With it, the finery forge spread. Those remelted the pig iron and (in effect) burnt out the carbon, producing a bloom, which was then forged into bar iron. If rod iron was required, a slitting mill was used. The finery process existed in two slightly different forms. In Great Britain, France, and parts of Sweden, only
2156-537: Is the "largest surviving example" is debated, with numerous qualifications. The Distillery District in Toronto, Ontario contains the largest and best-preserved collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture in North America. Cabbagetown is the largest and most continuous Victorian residential area in North America. Other Toronto Victorian neighbourhoods include The Annex , Parkdale , and Rosedale . In
2233-472: The Chicago Pedway in collaboration with Macy's ; these remain on display. 41°53′29.2″N 87°36′4.8″W / 41.891444°N 87.601333°W / 41.891444; -87.601333 Victorian architecture Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. Victorian refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called
2310-1176: The David Sasoon Library are some examples of Victorian Architecture in Mumbai. In Kolkata (Formerly called Calcutta) buildings like the Victoria Memorial , Calcutta High Court , St Paul's Cathedral , The Asiatic Society of Bengal are some examples of Victorian Architecture in Kolkata. In Chennai (Formerly called Madras) some examples include Madras High court , State Bank of Madras and St. Mary's Church . Many churches and colleges such as Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica Kochi , University College Trivandrum , Government College of Fine Arts Trivandrum , Napier Museum , State Central Library of Kerala , Government Victoria College Palakkad , CMS College Kottayam and SB College Changanasserry are some of finest examples of Victorian architecture in Kerala. Efforts to preserve landmarks of Victorian architecture are ongoing and are often led by
2387-481: The Industrial Revolution began during the latter half of the 18th century. The most successful of those was puddling, using a puddling furnace (a variety of the reverberatory furnace ), which was invented by Henry Cort in 1784. It was later improved by others including Joseph Hall , who was the first to add iron oxide to the charge. In that type of furnace, the metal does not come into contact with
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2464-537: The Victorian Society . A recent campaign the group has taken on is the preservation of Victorian gasometers after utility companies announced plans to demolish nearly 200 of the now-outdated structures. Wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.05%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4.5%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it
2541-620: The Victorian era , during which period the styles known as Victorian were used in construction. However, many elements of what is typically termed "Victorian" architecture did not become popular until later in Victoria's reign, roughly from 1850 and later. The styles often included interpretations and eclectic revivals of historic styles (see Historicism ) . The name represents the British and French custom of naming architectural styles for
2618-609: The Walloon process was used. That employed two different hearths, a finery hearth for finishing the iron and a chafery hearth for reheating it in the course of drawing the bloom out into a bar. The finery always burnt charcoal, but the chafery could be fired with mineral coal , since its impurities would not harm the iron when it was in the solid state. On the other hand, the German process, used in Germany, Russia, and most of Sweden used
2695-527: The architecture of Aberdeen . While Scottish architects pioneered this style it soon spread right across the United Kingdom and remained popular for another forty years. Its architectural value in preserving and reinventing the past is significant. Its influences were diverse but the Scottish architects who practiced it were inspired by unique ways to blend architecture, purpose, and everyday life in
2772-524: The bloomery ever being used in China. The fining process involved liquifying cast iron in a fining hearth and removing carbon from the molten cast iron through oxidation . Wagner writes that in addition to the Han dynasty hearths believed to be fining hearths, there is also pictorial evidence of the fining hearth from a Shandong tomb mural dated 1st to 2nd century AD, as well as a hint of written evidence in
2849-413: The finery forge at least by the 2nd century BC, the earliest specimens of cast and pig iron fined into wrought iron and steel found at the early Han dynasty site at Tieshengguo. Pigott speculates that the finery forge existed in the previous Warring States period (403–221 BC), due to the fact that there are wrought iron items from China dating to that period and there is no documented evidence of
2926-783: The 1860s, being in high demand for ironclad warships and railway use. However, as properties such as brittleness of mild steel improved with better ferrous metallurgy and as steel became less costly to make thanks to the Bessemer process and the Siemens–Martin process , the use of wrought iron declined. Many items, before they came to be made of mild steel , were produced from wrought iron, including rivets , nails , wire , chains , rails , railway couplings , water and steam pipes , nuts , bolts , horseshoes , handrails , wagon tires, straps for timber roof trusses , and ornamental ironwork , among many other things. Wrought iron
3003-638: The 1960s, the price of steel production was dropping due to recycling, and even using the Aston process, wrought iron production was labor-intensive. It has been estimated that the production of wrought iron is approximately twice as expensive as that of low-carbon steel. In the United States, the last plant closed in 1969. The last in the world was the Atlas Forge of Thomas Walmsley and Sons in Bolton , Great Britain, which closed in 1973. Its 1860s-era equipment
3080-418: The 4th century AD Daoist text Taiping Jing . Wrought iron has been used for many centuries, and is the "iron" that is referred to throughout Western history. The other form of iron, cast iron , was in use in China since ancient times but was not introduced into Western Europe until the 15th century; even then, due to its brittleness, it could be used for only a limited number of purposes. Throughout much of
3157-575: The Franklin Institute to conduct a study. As part of the study, Walter R. Johnson and Benjamin Reeves conducted strength tests on boiler iron using a tester they had built in 1832 based on a design by Lagerhjelm in Sweden. Because of misunderstandings about tensile strength and ductility, their work did little to reduce failures. The importance of ductility was recognized by some very early in
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3234-542: The Middle Ages, iron was produced by the direct reduction of ore in manually operated bloomeries , although water power had begun to be employed by 1104. The raw material produced by all indirect processes is pig iron. It has a high carbon content and as a consequence, it is brittle and cannot be used to make hardware. The osmond process was the first of the indirect processes, developed by 1203, but bloomery production continued in many places. The process depended on
3311-732: The US, the South End of Boston is recognized by the National Register of Historic Places as the oldest and largest Victorian neighborhood in the country. Old Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky , also claims to be the nation's largest Victorian neighborhood. Richmond, Virginia is home to several large Victorian neighborhoods, the most prominent being The Fan . The Fan district is best known locally as Richmond's largest and most 'European' of Richmond's neighborhoods and nationally as
3388-647: The United States, and is an example of an intact 19th-century urban neighborhood. According to National Register of Historic Places, Cape May Historic District has one of the largest collections of late 19th century frame buildings left in the United States. The photo album L'Architecture Americaine by Albert Levy published in 1886 is perhaps the first recognition in Europe of the new forces emerging in North American architecture. Canada's chief dominion architects designed numerous federal buildings over
3465-543: The United States, 'Victorian' architecture generally describes styles that were most popular between 1860 and 1900. A list of these styles most commonly includes Second Empire (1855–85), Stick-Eastlake (1860– c. 1890 ), Folk Victorian (1870–1910), Queen Anne (1880–1910), Richardsonian Romanesque (1880–1900), and Shingle (1880–1900). As in the United Kingdom, examples of Gothic Revival and Italianate continued to be constructed during this period and are therefore sometimes called Victorian. Some historians classify
3542-498: The United States, and others went to Canada, Australia , New Zealand, and South Africa. Normally, they applied architectural styles that were fashionable when they left England. By the latter half of the century, however, improving transport and communications meant that even remote parts of the Empire had access to publications such as the magazine The Builder , which helped colonial architects keep informed about current fashion. Thus,
3619-464: The architect Alexander Thomson who practised in Glasgow was a pioneer of the use of cast iron and steel for commercial buildings, blending neo-classical conventionality with Egyptian and Oriental themes to produce many truly original structures. Other notable Scottish architects of this period are Archibald Simpson and Alexander Marshall Mackenzie , whose stylistically varied work can be seen in
3696-451: The bars were cut up, piled and tied together by wires, a process known as faggoting or piling. They were then reheated to a welding state, forge welded, and rolled again into bars. The process could be repeated several times to produce wrought iron of desired quality. Wrought iron that has been rolled multiple times is called merchant bar or merchant iron. The advantage of puddling was that it used coal, not charcoal as fuel. However, that
3773-858: The course of the Victorian era. Thomas Fuller's completion of the Canadian Parliament Buildings in 1866, in particular, established a High Victorian Gothic influence over Canadian architectural design for several consecutive decades, producing many public buildings, churches, residences, industrial buildings, and hotels. Because India was a colony of Britain, Victorian Architecture is prevalent in India, especially in cities like Mumbai , Kolkata, Kerala and Chennai. In Mumbai (Formerly called Bombay) buildings like Municipal Corporation Building , Bombay University , Bombay High Court , Asiatic Society of Mumbai Building (Former Town Hall) and
3850-413: The course of the smelt, slag would melt and run out, and carbon monoxide from the charcoal would reduce the ore to iron, which formed a spongy mass (called a "bloom") containing iron and also molten silicate minerals (slag) from the ore. The iron remained in the solid state. If the bloomery were allowed to become hot enough to melt the iron, carbon would dissolve into it and form pig or cast iron, but that
3927-593: The development of the blast furnace, of which medieval examples have been discovered at Lapphyttan , Sweden and in Germany . The bloomery and osmond processes were gradually replaced from the 15th century by finery processes, of which there were two versions, the German and Walloon. They were in turn replaced from the late 18th century by puddling , with certain variants such as the Swedish Lancashire process . Those, too, are now obsolete, and wrought iron
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#17327872962774004-2190: The elements of several different styles and are not easily distinguishable as one particular style or another. Notable Victorian-inspired cities during this era include, Astoria in Oregon ; Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania ; Washington, D.C. ; Boston in Massachusetts ; Alameda , Eureka , San Francisco , and Midtown Sacramento in California ; The Brooklyn Heights and Victorian Flatbush sections of New York City , Garden City on Long Island , and Albany , Troy , Buffalo , and Rochester in Upstate New York ; Asbury Park / Ocean Grove , Cape May , Deal , Flemington , Freehold , Hackettstown , Jersey City / Hoboken , Metuchen , Montclair , Ridgewood , Plainfield , Summit , and Westfield in New Jersey ; Chicago , Galena , and Winnetka in Illinois ; Detroit and Grand Rapids in Michigan ; Cincinnati and Columbus in Ohio ; Galveston in Texas ; Baltimore in Maryland ; Louisville in Kentucky ; Atlanta in Georgia ; Milwaukee in Wisconsin ; New Orleans in Louisiana ; Richmond in Virginia ; St. Louis in Missouri ; and Saint Paul in Minnesota . Los Angeles grew from
4081-498: The extensive Tiffany collection of Chicago businessman Richard H. Driehaus . There were 11 Tiffany windows on display in the Driehaus Gallery, along with a Tiffany Studios fire screen. The museum was located along a strip of shops , theatres , and restaurants , and admission was free. Most of the windows in the museum were illuminated with artificial light to highlight the colors and intricate details. Since each piece
4158-432: The fuel, and so is not contaminated by its impurities. The heat of the combustion products passes over the surface of the puddle and the roof of the furnace reverberates (reflects) the heat onto the metal puddle on the fire bridge of the furnace. Unless the raw material used is white cast iron, the pig iron or other raw product of the puddling first had to be refined into refined iron , or finers metal. That would be done in
4235-401: The gases were liberated. The molten steel then froze to yield a spongy mass having a temperature of about 1370 °C. The spongy mass would then be finished by being shingled and rolled as described under puddling (above). Three to four tons could be converted per batch with the method. Steel began to replace iron for railroad rails as soon as the Bessemer process for its manufacture
4312-498: The greatest exponents of iron frame construction was Joseph Paxton , architect of the Crystal Palace . Paxton also continued to build such houses as Mentmore Towers , in the still popular English Renaissance styles. New methods of construction were developed in this era of prosperity, but ironically the architectural styles, as developed by such architects as Augustus Pugin , were typically retrospective. In Scotland ,
4389-518: The influence of English architecture spread across the world. Several prominent architects produced English-derived designs around the world, including William Butterfield ( St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide ) and Jacob Wrey Mould (Chief Architect of Public Works in New York City ). The Victorian period flourished in Australia and is generally recognised as being from 1840 to 1890, which saw
4466-430: The iron. The included slag in wrought iron also imparts corrosion resistance. Antique music wire , manufactured at a time when mass-produced carbon-steels were available, was found to have low carbon and high phosphorus; iron with high phosphorus content, normally causing brittleness when worked cold, was easily drawn into music wires. Although at the time phosphorus was not an easily identified component of iron, it
4543-638: The largest contiguous Victorian neighborhood in the United States. The Old West End neighborhood of Toledo, Ohio is recognized as the largest collection of late Victorian and Edwardian homes in the United States, east of the Mississippi . Summit Avenue in Saint Paul, Minnesota , has the longest line of Victorian homes in the country. Over-The-Rhine in Cincinnati, Ohio , has the largest collection of early Victorian Italianate architecture in
4620-511: The later years of Gothic Revival as a distinctive Victorian style named High Victorian Gothic. Stick-Eastlake , a manner of geometric, machine-cut decorating derived from Stick and Queen Anne, is sometimes considered a distinct style. On the other hand, terms such as " Painted Ladies " or " gingerbread " may be used to describe certain Victorian buildings, but do not constitute a specific style. The names of architectural styles (as well as their adaptations) varied between countries. Many homes combined
4697-514: The mid 19th century, in Austria as the stuckofen to 1775, and near Garstang in England until about 1770; it was still in use with hot blast in New York in the 1880s. In Japan the last of the old tatara bloomeries used in production of traditional tamahagane steel, mainly used in swordmaking, was extinguished only in 1925, though in the late 20th century the production resumed on
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#17327872962774774-666: The product is no longer wrought iron, since the slag stringers characteristic of wrought iron disappear on melting, so the product resembles impure, cast, Bessemer steel. There is no engineering advantage to melting and casting wrought iron, as compared to using cast iron or steel, both of which are cheaper. Due to the variations in iron ore origin and iron manufacture, wrought iron can be inferior or superior in corrosion resistance, compared to other iron alloys. There are many mechanisms behind its corrosion resistance. Chilton and Evans found that nickel enrichment bands reduce corrosion. They also found that in puddled, forged, and piled iron,
4851-700: The regional Victorian style in Ireland. Further examples of Victorian architecture in the country include Dublin's George's Street Arcade , the Royal City of Dublin Hospital on Baggot Street and the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital on Adelaide Road. During the British colonial period of British Ceylon: Sri Lanka Law College , Sri Lanka College of Technology , Galle Face Hotel and the Royal College Main Building. In
4928-531: The same manner as mild steel, but the presence of oxide or inclusions will give defective results. The material has a rough surface, so it can hold platings and coatings better than smooth steel. For instance, a galvanic zinc finish applied to wrought iron is approximately 25–40% thicker than the same finish on steel. In Table 1, the chemical composition of wrought iron is compared to that of pig iron and carbon steel . Although it appears that wrought iron and plain carbon steel have similar chemical compositions, that
5005-480: The silicate inclusions act as a flux and give the material its unique, fibrous structure. The silicate filaments in the slag also protect the iron from corrosion and diminish the effect of fatigue caused by shock and vibration. Historically, a modest amount of wrought iron was refined into steel , which was used mainly to produce swords , cutlery , chisels , axes , and other edged tools, as well as springs and files. The demand for wrought iron reached its peak in
5082-465: The top of the puddle and was fished out of the melt as puddle balls, using puddle bars. There was still some slag left in the puddle balls, so while they were still hot they would be shingled to remove the remaining slag and cinder. That was achieved by forging the balls under a hammer, or by squeezing the bloom in a machine. The material obtained at the end of shingling is known as bloom. The blooms are not useful in that form, so they were rolled into
5159-560: The working-over of the metal spread out copper, nickel, and tin impurities that produce electrochemical conditions that slow down corrosion. The slag inclusions have been shown to disperse corrosion to an even film, enabling the iron to resist pitting. Another study has shown that slag inclusions are pathways to corrosion. Other studies show that sulfur in the wrought iron decreases corrosion resistance, while phosphorus increases corrosion resistance. Chloride ions also decrease wrought iron's corrosion resistance. Wrought iron may be welded in
5236-479: Was adopted (1865 on). Iron remained dominant for structural applications until the 1880s, because of problems with brittle steel, caused by introduced nitrogen, high carbon, excess phosphorus, or excessive temperature during or too-rapid rolling. By 1890 steel had largely replaced iron for structural applications. Sheet iron (Armco 99.97% pure iron) had good properties for use in appliances, being well-suited for enamelling and welding, and being rust-resistant. In
5313-490: Was considered sufficient for nails . Phosphorus is not necessarily detrimental to iron. Ancient Near Eastern smiths did not add lime to their furnaces. The absence of calcium oxide in the slag, and the deliberate use of wood with high phosphorus content during the smelting, induces a higher phosphorus content (typically <0.3%) than in modern iron (<0.02–0.03%). Analysis of the Iron Pillar of Delhi gives 0.11% in
5390-468: Was developed as a reaction to the symmetry of Palladianism , and such buildings as Fonthill Abbey were built. By the middle of the 19th century, as a result of new technology , construction was able to incorporate metal materials as building components. Structures were erected with cast iron and wrought iron frames. However, due to being weak in tension, these materials were effectively phased out in place for more structurally sound steel . One of
5467-552: Was given the name wrought because it was hammered, rolled, or otherwise worked while hot enough to expel molten slag. The modern functional equivalent of wrought iron is mild steel , also called low-carbon steel. Neither wrought iron nor mild steel contain enough carbon to be hardened by heating and quenching. Wrought iron is highly refined, with a small amount of silicate slag forged out into fibers. It comprises around 99.4% iron by mass. The presence of slag can be beneficial for blacksmithing operations, such as forge welding, since
5544-515: Was hypothesized that the type of iron had been rejected for conversion to steel but excelled when tested for drawing ability. During the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD), new iron smelting processes led to the manufacture of new wrought iron implements for use in agriculture, such as the multi-tube seed drill and iron plough . In addition to accidental lumps of low-carbon wrought iron produced by excessive injected air in ancient Chinese cupola furnaces . The ancient Chinese created wrought iron by using
5621-477: Was moved to the Blists Hill site of Ironbridge Gorge Museum for preservation. Some wrought iron is still being produced for heritage restoration purposes, but only by recycling scrap. The slag inclusions, or stringers , in wrought iron give it properties not found in other forms of ferrous metal. There are approximately 250,000 inclusions per square inch. A fresh fracture shows a clear bluish color with
5698-445: Was not the intention. However, the design of a bloomery made it difficult to reach the melting point of iron and also prevented the concentration of carbon monoxide from becoming high. After smelting was complete, the bloom was removed, and the process could then be started again. It was thus a batch process, rather than a continuous one such as a blast furnace. The bloom had to be forged mechanically to consolidate it and shape it into
5775-541: Was of little advantage in Sweden, which lacked coal. Gustaf Ekman observed charcoal fineries at Ulverston , which were quite different from any in Sweden. After his return to Sweden in the 1830s, he experimented and developed a process similar to puddling but used firewood and charcoal, which was widely adopted in the Bergslagen in the following decades. In 1925, James Aston of the United States developed
5852-423: Was protected by a layer of bulletproof glass, patrons were encouraged to come close to the works and even bring food into the galleries. Curator Rolf Achilles said, "It’s one of the very few museums in the world you can stroll through eating an ice cream cone right in front of the art. We don’t keep people away". In December 2013, less than a year before its closure, the museum installed 22 stained glass windows in
5929-473: Was the chemical composition and others that it was whether the iron heated sufficiently to melt and "fuse". Fusion eventually became generally accepted as relatively more important than composition below a given low carbon concentration. Another difference is that steel can be hardened by heat treating . Historically, wrought iron was known as "commercially pure iron"; however, it no longer qualifies because current standards for commercially pure iron require
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