Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1907-04-14
USES Of VANADIUN STEEL
will Work Great Changes, Say the Modern
Metallurgista
HOW CHEMISTRY MOs METAL WORKER;
New Alloy Possesses Greater Due
diity and Tensile strength
Once Rare Metal Found in
Great Quantities.

steel that increases tensile strength ana
elongation about % per cent. There lie no
question as to these results. The one
problem Is TO get the vanadium cheap
enough.
The problem used to be to get enough
of the metal itself 1t was supposed 70 be
one OF those rare things like radum and
other elusive metals, but all that has been
overcome and II can be found In great
quantities in this country and is no harder
TO mine than copper.
The treatment Of the metal, so as to
prepare It for alloy purposes, is the only
expensive feature The steel trade has
practically overcome that now and those
who are expert in such matters declare
that the period OF vandium steel has come
and that It will occupy more important
place in the world than did nickel steel.
Curiosity for Years.
vanadlum has been known since 1901. For
eighty years II was looked upon as a chem
ical curiosity. Humboldt mentions it in
his Cosmos" In the early nineties II was
used for dyeing purposes, In making anillne
black, and 20 form euamels on glass, pot
terry and porcelain. chiefly in groenlsh
gold colors Since 1898 the steel trade has
walked up to It's possibilities as an alloy.
Sir Thomas Upton made use of il for the
spars Of Shamrock III and il was also
used for the spars Of the German en-
peror's American made yacht Meteor. Just
now the automobile men have taken up
the metal and the auto makers say 1t is
bound 20 bring about a revolution In the
manufacture Of their vehicles Tougher
stronger steel can be used in the machines
than formerly, with even some lessening
OF weight.
Any process that will make steel nearly
100 per cent more ductile and thus lessen
the breaking quality is bound to receive
consideration from the makers Of rolling
stock whether It be railway cars or autos
or bicycles. The makers of bridges also
welcome any alloy that will increase the
strain capacity, while the manufacturers
OF tools OF all kinds say that vanadium
offers great superiority over all other
steel hardening metals.
It's Use I'm Naval warfare.
The use OF this alloy, the experts de-
clare Is bound TO have an important infu-
ence on national development in other
than commercial ways. It will mean a
new kind OF armor plate and will be used
extensively in guns, increasing their elastic
qualities and preventing that most dan
gerous form Of wear and tear on guns
known as erosion. Indeed, it is already
being used by the Vickers- Maxim people,
1t is declared. Togo had Vickers- Maxim
guns on his ships and vanadium had been
used in them an alloy. The Russian
guns were not made Of vanadlum steel
Those guns on ships taken by the japanese
were largely incapacltated because of
erosion The Japanese guns were not af-
fected in this way.
II used to be thought that the only place
where vanadium could be secured in mar
katable quantities was high up in the
mountains Of Peru. The cost Of getting 1t
out and preparing it as an alloy ran to
several hundreds of dollars pound
Freight to England or the United States
was also another tremendous handicap.
Within ten years however, it has been
found that there is practically no limit to
the amount of the metal i'm the United
States. Great deposits have been found in
Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Califor-
mia, and it also exists plentlfully in other
states. II can now be produced at about
500 pound, but 1t is declared that il soon
can be made ut for use as cheap as %
cents a pound, and when that day comes
vanadium steel will rule the metal world.
The quality Of brittleness will then be re-
moved from steel.
Compared with Nickel.
II has already been found that per cent
or Vanadium is equal to 10 per cent of
nickel, in adding ductlllty and tensile
strength to steel Already several mines
are being operated in this country There
Is one seam of sandstone in Colorado that
has from 4 to 5 per cent Of vanadium.
Ia mi .
copper
Although the metal was discovered IN
1901 and its use as an alloy for steel has
come before the steel world prominently
only in the last decade il was known as
an alloy in 1880, and then was allowed to
drop out Of sight This came about in a
peculiar way 1t was discovered in 1880
that the iron ore from the Tabcrg mines
In Sweden We're producing a metal that
had greater duculty than any other iron
ore known.
The Swedish scientist Seftrom started an
Investigation, ard although II was known
that rare metal known as vanadium had
been discovered in 1901 It was then redis-
covered through Seftrom Large deposits
were found In the lead ores Of Zinapan.
Mexico by Del Rio. Once more vanadrlm
secured a new lease of life but the great
difficulty Of extracting tho metal and NJ
making its use practical served 10 put il
on the shelf again
The revival OF the use OF vanadiuD, has
been due to thirty years Of research and
at cost Of fully $4,000 Of his private for
tune on the part OF Or. j. RaNeres de Al.
Eugaray native Of Argentina. and now, a
resident Of New York city DIT Baxerrs's
father Experimental with the metal years
before the son ok hold Of IT, Working
over the metal became a matter OF family
tradition The elder RaNeres owned the
Santa Marta mines, which had the largest
lode q lead MANDATE, as the compound was
known I'm IT'S original state then known.
The younger Baxeres worked for nearly n
quarter Of a century and his efforts led 70
the erection Of a plant for the manufacture
~ vanadium products IN LlanelIy. south
Wales, IN 1875, where fc-ro-vauadium and
its alloys are now being made
Must he Pure
In the early days Of experimenting with
vanRdium as steel alloy unsatisfactory
results were obtained I'm many cases be-
cause the vanadium was not pure II con-
tanned copper, carbon, slliClfes aluminium
ana other metals obnoxious to the rroduc-
ton OF good steel. These experiments.
willie showing increased tensile strength
and elastic limit showed decreasing due
Unity and We're regarded as failures DR.