Strength of old steel

[Drains]

Why would "they" do that. If they want old steel we have plenty of Buildings / Bridges / Structures. Ive never heard about the nuclear steel thing. I dont quite understand the significance.

"They" (It's a conspiracy!) would do that because the steel was made before background radiation levels rose post WW2, and as it has been underwater will have been protected, up to a point, from absorption. Also the plate will be thick, so also less likely to absorb radioactive elements in a PPM kind of way. But I'm guessing. See really Al, I don't know, I'm making it up as I go along (you must have noticed that). Really, I just hit things with hammers. My history degree has nothing to do with metallurgy. It wasn't part of the course, and I asked, but none of the lecturers knew anything about it. Hopeless. How were they going to apply knowledge of the Venerable Bede and the Chartists to real world welding situations? Honestly.

The Scapa Flow German battleship steel thing is just heresay which I found believable and fun, in a weird, nerdy kind of way. Ok, so I'm gullible, but did you know there is no such word as gullible in the dictionary?

Read this. You don't have to believe it though Personally I think that whole "going into space" thing is tosh. I saw the Space Shuttle fly over Spaghetti Junction on the back of a 747 in 1980whatever. No way was that thing getting off the ground.

Aliens exist too. They probed me years ago

 

[Drains]

As an addendum to my nonsense ranting above, I've found this page on low background steel.
http://wapedia.mobi/en/Low-background_steel

It was here, about the German fleet at Scapa
http://wapedia.mobi/en/Scuttling_of_the_German_fleet_in_Scapa_Flow?t=5.

This is why I did a history degree!

 

[TechnicAl]

In 40 odd years spent in and around the steel industry I have never heard of "radioactive" steel. That doesnt mean that it doesnt exist but its amazing how many of you seem to be aware of concerns.

 

[snowcat]

Its something Iv heard Chinese wispas about for years, I'm glad it wasn't only me that had the rubbish drip fed at me, would love to know if theres was real truth behind it...

 

[alanrob]

Well the radiation tester is real, Ive walked through it. (I wasnt radioactive)
I can post a pic of it if you like.

As far as I know they have never found a radiactive billet.

 

[Drains]

Its something Iv heard Chinese wispas about for years, I'm glad it wasn't only me that had the rubbish drip fed at me, would love to know if theres was real truth behind it...

Snowy. All in all, I'm quite prepared to believe it's true.

There's more stuff (ok, it's just some guy, but his reasoning is sound) here.

That and another reference from the UN are from one of those pages above. I think you have to consider that if you want low level radiation steel, you have to look a long way to get it. Certainly that may have been the case 40 years ago when world radiation levels were high (there have been over 500 atomic bomb tests up to the 1980s, but far fewer per year in the later years).

Now, perhaps, new steel, from newly mined ore, might have lower levels of radiation.

 

[Welderpaul]

There's more stuff (ok, it's just some guy, but his reasoning is sound) here.

That and another reference from the UN are from one of those pages above. I think you have to consider that if you want low level radiation steel, you have to look a long way to get it. Certainly that may have been the case 40 years ago when world radiation levels were high (there have been over 500 atomic bomb tests up to the 1980s, but far fewer per year in the later years).

Now, perhaps, new steel, from newly mined ore, might have lower levels of radiation.

Your getting like your mate.....

 

[Shox Dr]

Taken from Drain's link in Post# 21

One of these, a motor launch from the German battle cruiser SMS Hindenburg renamed the Brenda is still in existence at the Shetlands Museum.

Read more at Suite101: Salvage of the High Seas Fleet: German Ships Sank at Scapa Flow in 1919 http://www.suite101.com/content/salvage-of-the-high-seas-fleet-a19398#ixzz1JZctwsg


I'm off to The Shetlands again in June, I'll go see that

Well the radiation tester is real, Ive walked through it. (I wasnt radioactive)
I can post a pic of it if you like.

As far as I know they have never found a radiactive billet.

Doesn't that tell you that maybe there never was any in the first place? I wouldn't be the first time the men in white coats have been boffed by their own boffin


Then again


.

 

[alanrob]

What I was told was that its not particularly atomic testing but medical and industrial use of radioactive stuff that causes the problem.

Low grade radioactive scrap is supposed to be seperated out but it sometimes isnt. Most "new" steel made includes an element of old scrap steel and thats how it gets into the chain. Most billet suppliers check for radioactivity now.

There was a bunch of steel found from the former eastern block that was contaminated in this way.

And india had a bit of a scare too http://www.valbruna.co.uk/newspages/radioactive-scrap-incident-in-delhi-is-just-the-tip-of-the-iceberg

 

[TechnicAl]

Now, perhaps, new steel, from newly mined ore, might have lower levels of radiation.

Most steel sourced from Western Euopean mills will be made from either Pig Iron / Iron Ore if they have blast furnaces (like Corus) or its made from Sorelmetal which is blocks of almost pure iron extracted from black sand in South Africa.

If they use scrap the impurities are a lot higher and its more difficult to achieve the specification limits (and weld it)

This is one of the big differences in buying steel from obscure sources. They get the steel to meet the spec but its composition is a lot more problematic than W,Europe sourced steel.

I once encountered a cracking problem with E European steel and we discovered that it was segregated so badly that the carbon content along the centre line was a lot higher than it was on the surface. So even when it was analysed its not what you think it is all the way through.

 

[Welderpaul]

Does scrap steel get tipped straight into the er..melting pot at the foundry or does it get some sorting out first? See all sorts of rubbish steel at the scrap yard - galvanised, painted, real old rusty stuff.
Do the impurities just burn off or does some sort of fettling need to be carried out before its chucked in?

 

[TechnicAl]

Some of the impurities can be removed but not many. Tin for example. How many tin plated cans are there. Chromium is another. It can be used if you add a small percent to a "virgin" melt.

Otherwise it get sold to China and they make welding wire from it..........and us silly ******s buy it cos its cheap

 

[Robotstar5]

Does scrap steel get tipped straight into the er..melting pot at the foundry or does it get some sorting out first? See all sorts of rubbish steel at the scrap yard - galvanised, painted, real old rusty stuff.
Do the impurities just burn off or does some sort of fettling need to be carried out before its chucked in?

When I worked in a foundry allsorts went into the furnace, even saw a small (ally) bike engine go in once!

 

[TechnicAl]

When I worked in a foundry allsorts went into the furnace, even saw a small (ally) bike engine go in once!

they made quality stuff then

 

[Drains]

When I worked in a foundry allsorts went into the furnace, even saw a small (ally) bike engine go in once!

they made quality stuff then

Longbridge?

 

[Robotstar5]

Longbridge?

Part of the Birmid group, Dartmouth Auto Castings. Made things like gearbox casings and brake calipers.

 

[Drains]

Part of the Birmid group, Dartmouth Auto Castings. Made things like gearbox casings and brake calipers.

Oh, nothing important then. Good oh.

 

[TechnicAl]

SG Cast Iron then.............the ally probably wouldnt do much harm but the engine oil hitting the molten iron might be fun

 

[Robotstar5]

SG Cast Iron then.............the ally probably wouldnt do much harm but the engine oil hitting the molten iron might be fun

It's coming back now we used to cast normal? iron in the week and SG on a Friday as it was hotter (had to take turns putting out grease fires on the ladle hoists!) then Sat morning was spent cleaning ladle hoists/tracks of burnt grease and applying fresh stuff for the following week.

I remember one of the labourers used to wrap rags around his wrists to stop the paraffin running down his arms when cleaning. He chucked a rag on a fire and set fire to his hand, tried to put it out with other hand then had both hands on fire my mate knocked him down and I threw casting sand over his hands to put him out!.

 

[NTwoO]

Hopefully it was cold casting sand!!