×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

Post 1945 steel vs pre-1945 steel

Post 1945 steel vs pre-1945 steel

Post 1945 steel vs pre-1945 steel

(OP)
Gentlemen;

Pardon the arcane question, but I'd like to get input from the experts on this one:

http://uboat.net/fates/deadlight_news.htm

The article indicates (and I've heard) that steel manufactured after the atomic age began in July 1945 contains certain contaminates. These are evidently in the atmosphere, and were put there by the various nuclear tests. Steel manufactured before July 1945 (such as the sunken warships) is apparently free of this contamination, and has certain industrial applications.

Since it's probably very expensive to raise sunken warships just for the steel, I gather that there's some truth to this.

Now, initially I thought this whole concept was a load of BS. Is the pre-atomic steel issue really a valid one?

RE: Post 1945 steel vs pre-1945 steel

Wow, that idea sounds kinda weird.  Should we assume that somehow the fallout settles into the iron ore deposits?  I'd have to see some convincing research before I'd buy into pre/post 1945 idea.  Maybe the increased interest in salvaging steel may have something to do with the current shortages and recent spike in scrap steel prices.

Steve Braune
Tank Industry Consultants
www.tankindustry.com

RE: Post 1945 steel vs pre-1945 steel

Yes and no.  There was steel around pre-45 that had radioactive traces.  This was from testing to determine solidification patterns that used the addition of radioactive elements to the steel.
The types of radiactive isotopes did change after 45.  You could make 'clean' steel today by starting with ore and not using any scrap.
Even using scrap today the levels of radiation are so low that typical steel from the US can be used to amke sensitive X-ray and photographic equipment.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Corrosion never sleeps, but it can be managed.
http://www.trenttube.com/Trent/tech_form.htm

RE: Post 1945 steel vs pre-1945 steel

I think the key statement in the brief article was the reference to the old steel being "...valuable today for various researches." To me that is different from being valuable for modern industrial applications.  I can see where some metallurgists might find the old steels that are typical of earlier production practices an interesting comparison to modern steels in some studies, but I have to say that they could also find plenty of old steel of the same vintage in old pipelines and other structures that are being abandoned every day and are much more accessible. Everyday I see samples of pipe from 1920 and later and while it has some metallurgical differences from modern pipe I don't see any big demand for our abandoned lines or salvaged pipe.

RE: Post 1945 steel vs pre-1945 steel

I recall an article which reported that a European research institute funded the recovery of a cargo of Roman lead to use as radiation shielding for an experimental program.

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources