Metallographic Testing of 19th Century Steel in an Operating Water Tower.

Eugeniusz Hotała,Rajmund Ignatowicz,Maciej B Lachowicz

doi:10.3390/ma14092204

Eugeniusz Hotała, Rajmund Ignatowicz + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14092204

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Abstract

The world’s first steel structures were built towards the end of the 19th century. Some of them are still in use today, whereas others are maintained as precious technical heritage. In both cases, there may be a need to assess their technical condition and carry out repairs and reinforcements, which requires an understanding of the properties of the steel used. The few studies that have been undertaken of such steel structures indicate that the properties depend on the history of use. This paper presents the results of metallographic tests of a steel tank in a water tower built in 1884 in Lower Silesia. The chemical composition was consistent with that of the puddled steel used in the 19th century. The carbon content showed significant segregation and ranged from 0.011% to 0.072% mass. As a consequence, a typical microstructure for low-carbon steels (ferritic) was observed, changing locally to ferritic-pearlitic. The tested steel contained a very high content of phosphorus and silicon. The microstructure with numerous slags favoured the formation of surface delamination caused by the corrosion processes. The degree of corrosion of the steel of the tank was also assessed, as well as the type of corrosion inside the tank. Corrosion was favoured by the oxygen concentration cell. The results of the research will be used to assess the potential for continuing tank use and the reinforcements that have been planned. The results presented will add to the somewhat limited research results available for steel dating back to the 19th century, which is still present in many building structures. Such a database is especially needed by those designing technical measures aimed at maintaining these historical structures in good technical condition.

Highlights

The long-term use of steel structures leads to significant microstructural changes.These are an important challenge in buildings which have been in use for long periods.For this reason, there is great interest in the literature when it comes to the material testing of structures made from old low-carbon steel [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]
Studies have indicated that the degradation of microstructure due to corrosion processes leads to a decrease in steel ductility, as well as to changes in the character and rate at which fatigue cracking develops [1,2]
A review of the structural safety of historic steel structures requires an understanding of their construction, the methods used to fabricate the structural elements, and the properties of the materials used

Summary

Introduction

The long-term use of steel structures leads to significant microstructural changes.These are an important challenge in buildings which have been in use for long periods.For this reason, there is great interest in the literature when it comes to the material testing of structures made from old low-carbon steel [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]. The long-term use of steel structures leads to significant microstructural changes. These are an important challenge in buildings which have been in use for long periods. For this reason, there is great interest in the literature when it comes to the material testing of structures made from old low-carbon steel [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]. Studies have indicated that the degradation of microstructure due to corrosion processes leads to a decrease in steel ductility, as well as to changes in the character and rate at which fatigue cracking develops [1,2]. The degradation of the microstructure favours increasing sensitivity to hydrogen embrittlement [4]

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