Iron+&+steel

The following page will show the conclusions from the experiment of the "Material Lab" and reflexions of the impact of iron and steel as construction materials present in architecture. 

Conclusions

Cast iron: It basicaly composed of alloys of different types of iron with big quantities of carbon and silicons; and that might be a reason that explains its high cost. It is heavy, which can be good to create platfomrs. On the other hand, cast iron is brittle, which means that it can be easily broken at any moment (but specialy when it is tensed). If tension is its main weakness, cast iron isn't a suitable material to construct large extensions of structural piles or beams. It seems that cast iron can turn dangerous when applied in important parts of structures, but it is still used to build arch bridges since it has as an advantage that it is resistant to compression. Cast iron can adopt any shape because it is easily fusible.

Steel: Compared to cast iron, steel has the same cost but it is heavier. Even though their compositions are similar, what makes steel so different from cast iron is that its composition has less carbon addings. Steel shows certain elesticity when it is streched and compressed (which makes it good to manage Earth's movements) and it bends before braking; that makes it one of the strongest materials used in constructions (steel manages tension and compression very well). It is used to make large extensions of structural supports such as piles, columns and beams applied on big and tall bridges and buildings. Some disadvantages about certain steel structures are that it rusts when it is exposed to water and some components within the air and losses strengh at high temperatures. Would it resist if a building is set on fire // "the old cast iron buildings died out. I'm not really sure whether the new skyscrapers killed them, or the new esthetics" //

With the apperance of steel, the cast iron buildings were replaced because new steel structures overcame the tension disadvantages cast iron has; since this material can't support large vertical structures, the constructions of high buildings was a tricky challenge. What the quote wants to express is that steel structures became so vanguard that they allowed the counstructions of a different and shoking type of buildings...the skyscrapers. As these buildings became more and more popular, the cast iron projects came to be an old-fashion affair.




 * Wrought iron **

It is a different kind of iron which composition makes it similar to steel. wrought iron has even less carbon content but includes fibrous adding composed by mixtures of different metal oxides. It was popular at the 15th century but not for very long since it had many defects and got rapidly replaced by stronger iron alloys. Wrought iron was mostly used for make weapons and cutlery objects but it never was suitable for constructions because it's easy to bend and break. Nowadays it use to make very attractive ornamental furniture and architectonical elements of many shapes since wrought iron can take many shapes.



//**Do you think metals are "cold" materials?

I don't think metals are cold materials, they´re just good conductors of heat, which means, they don't keep heat within them. That's way metal feels cold to touch; the metal drives the heat away from the skin and it doesn't keep it. A good example would be if hot soup is poured into a clay bowl and a metal bowl; after some minutes you can test that the soup inside the metal bowl is cooler; this is due to the metal transfering the heat energy from the soup to the environment.**//

The uses of metals through time (timeline): []