New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-01-02
BUILDING STEEL SHIPS.

BUILDING STEEL SHIPS.
CHANGED METHODS or CONSTRUCTION.
THREE sTrFL sTEAMIRs BUILDING N ENGLAND
WHY IRON is IFss USED THAN sTEEL-AD
vANTAGHs AND DISADVANTAGES OF NEW METH
obs.
The Inman Steamship Line within the last
month has closed contract with the Barrow Shipbuld
ing Company TO build steamship entirely OF steel
the size which Will only be exceeded by that oi the
Great Eastern while the speed it is anticipated will be
greater than that Of any steamer aR0at The new
vessel VIII be OF 300 aud $500 horse power her
dimensions 500 feet in length over all 81 feet BEAM
and 3s24 feet depth OF hold She Will have prom made
deck, aud will pract caliy be iyeiccker IT being an
n0unced that she is TO he the most superb steamer III
the world, with the highest class in Lloyd's ana the
'IivcrpOOl RedBJok'" TIE new vessel is to he named
the City of Rome and IA to be completed early in 1881.
This in connection with contracts for the construction OF
two other steel steamships, the Scrva and the Pasian
OF nearly the the City OF Rome created
considerable comment among shpbuilders and metal
experts in this country, to the for the subs-
tuition of steel for IRON in ship construction by English
shipbudeTs.
From interviews with well known metaexperts It il
found that the English shpbuiers have been driven
TO tho of the remarkably poor quail
ity Of their iron, and the superiority American iron,
and that it became serious question whether they
should risk the entire loss Of their trade improve IN
their material. The English iron workers are recog-
nized able to produce The best quality OF rOn but in
to DO IT they have to import their from either
this country spain. France the PyIcuces the E
gsh is Of such poor quality that # impossible to
make good QUALITY of patc-ron out OF For several
years they have been taking thousands of tons OF ore
from this country but the percentage used in the mix
ture with their has been too small 10 the
difficulties. The great number OF vessels lost Ut sea
which could not be accounted for attracted the atten
ton of the Insurance companies and increased their
rates. and the authorities Of London LoyNs took tue
question in hand. and sent Mr.. MaTten, OF their
leading men, here lie made general inspection Of the
and eel furnaces In this country, and OF the ship
building works. and the necessity OF doing some
thing 10 improve English metal Again, English built
ships Of nalinch had been cut through by the ice
in the Delaware River while American vessels built Of
fve-sixiecnths ard thrce-cghths iron aid not suffer
English shlpDuders gone far with the increase
OF thickness IL iron that 1t was impossible to unite the
plates successfully with the modern methods
The OF steel for shipbuildmg In England is
claimed not 10 be OF entirely adoption, the
bockadc-ruunors built in England during the American
Rebellion were constructed Of s!ec the plates being
generally OF tnce-siXtccnths OF inch IN thickness
and many Of them OF gbtermcial than this the
object being 20 give less displacement by tightening The
weight of the hull and thus greater speed from the less
The steel referred To- 10 be used IN The
struction of the new vessels Is not Of the full grade
but may be more properly called Homogeneous iron.
steel may be defined chemically As non combined
with a small Dut definite proportion Of carbon. II l.
distinguished The side fiom pure iron Dy tie
presence oil carbon. ana the other .de from castI.
b. the sInailness ofls proportion OF carbo.. White
was used 10 slight extent ~ hc construction of ocl
ade rl'uucrs u is Only recently ttat y hls
cupy an important position In shpbuilding. Steel Is
cow regarded by the shipbuildeTs material which
can be Iade more chcapy than iron In England and
which possesses greater duciity, both hot aud cold
the best wrought iron, in combination with ten
se strength 80 per cent greater than that Of iron II
has on this BE- largely used by ship
builders instead OF iron for plates and angles and,
great extent. for riy Is also.
In the state Of Manufacture ten years ago. steel ship
plates possessed very dangerous pccularites II
steel IS treated the iron IN working II into u
ship IL viii require 10 be Of the same thickness the
best ron in order to obtain the same strength and as
the practice has been 10 reduce the thickness nearly
an inverse proportion 10 the tensile strength Of per
feet plate, steel ships built are Ivy Inferior
In this respect ships built OF iron Of Introduced thick
ness In the OF steel for fhipbuidmC In the forms
OF plates aud angles theTe are Only Two methods which
have had extensive use puGded ana Bee semcr dncrng
widely from each Other no. only IN their mixture. but
in their qualities. Pudded steel plates and barr are
made from pile Of small pieces, welded together under
the hammers and between the rolls and subject 10
those wei-known and troublesome detects produced IN
these processes 10 greater extent even than IRON
steel Plate haf the contrary, OF
single ngoi. and therefore Is comparatively Tree from
those defects Large plates can thus be made
cision and almost with the same ease as small
ones, but IN puddlod steel this Is not the
obtain uniformity OF temper In batch Of puidrd steel
plates than In bessomer steel In the manufacture Of
made Is dependent precise chemical analysis. Pud-
died steel is not necessarily inferior III strength 10 cssc
mer, but that mace In England Is generally OF lower ten
site strength. as wei as being less uniform In strength
In the Semens-Martens process, the steel II simply
carbon. and OF tensile strength Of from twenty
seven thirty tons, and can be made III England cheaper
iron spDu Icrs that their metal is of such superior
quality that II Is equal tOtne English steel The iron for
Tor this gives more even temperature iuSltcS u
cessfu heat without fear OF burning aud gives a tensile
incu, which nearly equal 10 that of The English III
felt tnat if American sGpbuders are forced to eel
erb the manufacturers can, If they VIII b. sascd with
tie profits as English manufacturers with
here in England. and give much better
metal. Thus, II II can be manufactured chcaply.
20 per cent less In weight Than iron bc put
vesss with safety making ship built Of II the cheaper
vessel OF the two and adding 20 per cent more cargo
tor tie difference ia displacement of the two metals
The angles 10 which ordinary second class iron
snip plates are expected to bend, when hot. are 600
Hrst-cass iron plates the standard Is raised 0O'
and 1850; but these steel, WIZ stand, II OF good
Admiralty tests, but VIII. up 10 hreefonrths OF
Experience has proved that the skin plating ana Tho
JulKheads OF steel chip are. when thih, very apt
hIckIed or crumplrd np under colnpresslon For in
stance IN ships which often have to take ground
has been found that a tnckDcss OF plating amply
sufficient to supply the required longitudinal strength
altogether Inadequate 10 supply the necessary rcsis
tance 10 the penetration OF the bottom by stones or
other hard subsiances and, III other vessels accidents
occurred through the side plating being broken IN
by striking picfheai or some floating body In "A col
lsicn which occurred IN the bay few weeks ago b.
tween % tne steamahips OF the United States and
Brazil Line and an iron English ship, about "a
feet Of the side plating OF the latter tom away ana
coIlcd up while the iOTmer did show the sightcst
damage.
It's claimed by some that steel Is not to be re-
lied upon that II il not thOI Oughly homo gcneOus