Harry Brearley
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Harry Brearley (18 February 1871 – 14 July 1948) was an English metallurgist, credited with the invention of "rustless steel" (later to be called "
stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...
" in the anglophone world). Based in
Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
, his invention brought affordable
cutlery Cutlery (also referred to as silverware, flatware, or tableware), includes any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in Western culture. A person who makes or sells cutlery is called a cutler. The city of Sheffie ...
to the masses, and saw an expansion of the city's traditional cutlery trade.


Life

Brearley was born on 18 February 1871 in
Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, the son of John Brearley, a steelworker, and his wife, Jane Brearley née Senior.Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, accessed 2 April 2013 He left Woodside school at the age of twelve to enter his first employment as a labourer in the steelworks where his father worked, later getting the post of general assistant in the company's chemical laboratory. He married Helen Theresa Crank (1874–1955) on 23 October 1895. For several years, in addition to his laboratory work, he studied at home and later in formal evening classes, to specialize in steel production techniques and associated chemical analysis methods. In his early thirties, Brearley had earned a reputation as an experienced professional and for being very astute in the resolution of practical, industrial, metallurgical problems. It was in 1908, when two of Sheffield's principal
steelmaking Steelmaking is the process of producing steel from iron ore and carbon/or scrap. In steelmaking, impurities such as nitrogen, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur and excess carbon (the most important impurity) are removed from the sourced iron, and all ...
companies innovatively agreed to jointly finance a common research laboratory ( Brown Firth Laboratories) that Harry Brearley was asked to lead the project. After leaving Brown Firth, Brearley joined Brown Bayley's Steel Works, also in Sheffield; he became a director of the firm in 1925. In 1941 Brearley created a charitable trust The Freshgate Trust Foundation, a grantmaking charity operating in Sheffield and South Yorkshire. His aim was to provide a "Fresh Gate" or new opportunity to people like him born into modest circumstances so that they may experience travel, education, the arts and music. The foundation is still operating as a
registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...
awarding grants for charitable purposes in South Yorkshire. Brearley died on 14 July 1948, at
Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignton ...
. He was cremated at Efford Crematorium, Efford, near
Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...
on 16 July 1948 and his ashes were scattered in the Efford Crematorium Garden of Remembrance. In 2013, in the Sheffield University Varsity Brewing Challenge, Sheffield University named their beer, brewed by Thornbridge, Brearleys, to commemorate 100 years since Harry Brearley invented stainless steel.


Stainless steel

In the troubled years immediately before the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, arms manufacturing increased significantly in the UK, but practical problems were encountered due to erosion (excessive wear) of the internal surfaces of gun barrels. Brearley began to research new steels which could better resist the erosion caused by high temperatures (rather than corrosion, as is often mentioned in this regard). He began to examine the addition of
chromium Chromium is a chemical element with the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in group 6. It is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium metal is valued for its high corrosion resistance and hardne ...
to steel, which was known to raise the material's melting point, as compared to the standard
carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent In chemistry, the valence (US spelling) or valency (British spelling) of an element is the measure of its combining capacity with o ...
steels. The research concentrated on quantifying the effects of varying the levels of
carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent In chemistry, the valence (US spelling) or valency (British spelling) of an element is the measure of its combining capacity with o ...
(C, at concentrations around 0.2 weight %) and
chromium Chromium is a chemical element with the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in group 6. It is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium metal is valued for its high corrosion resistance and hardne ...
(Cr, in the range of 6 to 15 weight %).


The accidental discovery

In order to undertake
metallography Metallography is the study of the physical structure and components of metals, by using microscopy. Ceramic and polymeric materials may also be prepared using metallographic techniques, hence the terms ceramography, plastography and, collectiv ...
to study the
microstructure Microstructure is the very small scale structure of a material, defined as the structure of a prepared surface of material as revealed by an optical microscope above 25× magnification. The microstructure of a material (such as metals, polymers ...
of the experimental alloys (the main factor responsible for a steel's mechanical properties) it was necessary to
polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
and etch the metallic samples produced. For a carbon steel, a dilute solution of
nitric acid Nitric acid is the inorganic compound with the formula . It is a highly corrosive mineral acid. The compound is colorless, but older samples tend to be yellow cast due to decomposition into oxides of nitrogen. Most commercially available nitri ...
in
alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...
is sufficient to produce the required etching, but Brearley found that the new chromium steels were highly resistant to chemical attack.


Development

It was probably Harry Brearley's upbringing in Sheffield, a city famous for the manufacture of
cutlery Cutlery (also referred to as silverware, flatware, or tableware), includes any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in Western culture. A person who makes or sells cutlery is called a cutler. The city of Sheffie ...
since the 16th century, which led him to appreciate the potential of these new steels for applications not only in high-temperature service, as originally envisioned, but also in the mass-production of food-related applications such as cutlery,
saucepan Cookware and bakeware is food preparation equipment, such as cooking pots, pans, baking sheets etc. used in kitchens. Cookware is used on a stove or range cooktop, while bakeware is used in an oven. Some utensils are considered both cookware ...
s and processing equipment etc. Up to that time carbon-steel knives were prone to unhygienic
rust Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH ...
ing if they were not frequently polished and only expensive
sterling silver Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by weight of silver and 7.5% by weight of other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925. ''Fine silver'', which is 99.9% pure silver, is r ...
or
electroplated nickel silver Nickel silver, Maillechort, German silver, Argentan, new silver, nickel brass, albata, alpacca, is a copper alloy with nickel and often zinc. The usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. Nickel silver does not contain the eleme ...
(EPNS) cutlery was generally available to avoid such problems. With this in mind Brearley extended his examinations to include tests with food acids such as
vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to et ...
and
lemon juice The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culina ...
, with very promising results. Brearley initially called the new alloy "rustless steel"; the more
euphonic Phonaesthetics (also spelled phonesthetics in North America) is the study of beauty and pleasantness associated with the sounds of certain words or parts of words. The term was first used in this sense, perhaps by during the mid-20th century and ...
"stainless steel" was suggested by Ernest Stuart of R.F. Mosley's, a local cutlery manufacturer at
Portland Works Portland Works is a former cutlery works in the Highfield area of Sheffield in England. Built in 1877, it is now a Grade II* listed building and one of the last remaining working examples of a purpose built metal trades factory. In early 2013, ...
, and eventually prevailed although Mosley's used the "Rusnorstain" trademark for many years. It is reported that the first true stainless steel, a 0.24 wt% C, 12.8 wt% Cr ferrous
alloy An alloy is a mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal. Unlike chemical compounds with metallic bases, an alloy will retain all the properties of a metal in the resulting material, such as electrical conductivity, ductility, ...
, was produced by Brearley in an electric
furnace A furnace is a structure in which heat is produced with the help of combustion. Furnace may also refer to: Appliances Buildings * Furnace (central heating): a furnace , or a heater or boiler , used to generate heat for buildings * Boiler, used t ...
on 13 August 1913. He was subsequently awarded the
Iron and Steel Institute The Iron and Steel Institute was an English association organized by the iron trade of the north of England. Its object was the discussion of practical and scientific questions connected with the manufacture of iron and steel. History The first mee ...
's
Bessemer Gold Medal The Bessemer Gold Medal is awarded annually by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) "for outstanding services to the steel industry, to the inventor or designer of any significant innovation in the process employed in the manufact ...
in 1920.Tilt Hammer – Steel City Founders – Harry Brearley
The
American Society for Metals ASM International, formerly known as the American Society for Metals, is an association of materials-centric engineers and scientists. ASM provides several information resources, including technical books, various digital databases, and ASM Han ...
gives the date for Brearley's creation of casting number 1008 (12.8% chromium, 0.44% manganese, 0.2% silicon, 0.24% carbon and 85.32% iron) as 20 August 1913.''The History of Stainless Steel''
by Harold M. Cobb, (ASM International, 2010) p41
Virtually all research projects into the further development of stainless steels were interrupted by the 1914–18 War, but efforts were renewed in the 1920s. Brearley had left the Brown Firth Laboratories in 1915, following disagreements regarding
patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
rights, but the research continued under the direction of his successor, Dr. W. H. Hatfield. It is Hatfield who is credited with the development, in 1924, of a stainless steel which even today is probably the widest-used alloy of this type, the so-called " 18/8", which in addition to chromium, includes
nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...
(Ni) in its composition (18wt% Cr, 8wt% Ni).


Memorials

A mural of Brearley, marking the 100th anniversary of his invention of stainless steel, was commissioned for the side of a building on Howard Street, Sheffield, and was painted by the artist Sarah Yates (aka "Faunagraphic").


Books

* H. Brearley & F. Ibbotson (1902) ''The Analysis of Steel-works Materials'' * H. Brearley (1911) ''The Heat Treatment of Tool Steel'' * H. Brearley (1914) ''The Case-Hardening of Steel'' * H. Brearley (1918) ''The Heat Treatment of Steel'' * H. Brearley (1933) ''Steel Makers'' * H. Brearley (1941) ''Knotted String'' (autobiography)


See also

* List of people from Sheffield *
Elwood Haynes Elwood Haynes (October 14, 1857 – April 13, 1925) was an American inventor, metallurgist, automotive pioneer, entrepreneur and industrialist. He invented the metal alloy stellite and independently co-discovered martensitic stainless steel ...
*
Portland Works Portland Works is a former cutlery works in the Highfield area of Sheffield in England. Built in 1877, it is now a Grade II* listed building and one of the last remaining working examples of a purpose built metal trades factory. In early 2013, ...


References


External links

The development of stainless steel
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*Archive.org, list of books by creato
"Brearley, Harry, b. 1871
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brearley, Harry 1871 births 1948 deaths People from Sheffield British metallurgists English inventors History of Sheffield Science and technology in South Yorkshire Stainless steel Engineers from Yorkshire Bessemer Gold Medal