For decades, the goal of promoting clean, safe drinking water has inspired urban planners. Even today, millions of households lack this important commodity. Stainless steel currently serves as a powerful ally for ensuring high quality public water supplies in the United States and many other nations. (more…)
The Eco-Friendly Aspects of Steel Structures
Steel is one of the strongest building materials. As a result, it withstands environmental and weather effects. It also saves on energy and minimizes waste. This makes steel one of the most eco-friendly building materials. Here is how.
The Steel Industry & American Urbanization
When the Industrial Revolution rolled around, influential changes began to dominate the American landscape. Before the 1870s, only two cities in the United States held more than 500,000 inhabitants—New York City and Philadelphia.
Stainless Steel: Elegance and Excellence in Sculpting and Statuary
One hallmark of a true artist is being able to create beauty out of anything. While certain artists might have preferences for one medium over another, there are some that never go out of style. Clay is definitely one of these, and paint is another. Metal statues and sculptures have also always had a place in traditional art. Recently, stainless steel has grown in popularity. Artists have crafted a number of impressive pieces in this material.
How Does Stainless Steel Become Art?
Art can be anything, or come from anywhere, and stainless steel is no exception to that rule. By its very nature, stainless steel offers a level of durability and versatility that is hard to find. Because there are so many options for finishes, it’s possible to create all kinds of art, ranging from the Dublin Spire to Balloon Dog.
Polishing a piece to a bright gloss, also called a mirror finish, can take days or weeks. As a result, it will help the piece last for a long time. Both Balloon Dog and Chicago’s Cloud Gate make use of mirror finishes. The original Balloon Dog is also an excellent example of the finishing technique for a drastically different color effect. An artist has many options when using stainless steel, making it a popular choice for sculptures and statues around the world.
How Does Stainless Steel Art Benefit a City?
The method of finishing a stainless steel piece can ensure its durability and longevity to a remarkable degree. Even if an artist decides to go the route of steel brushing, sandblasting, or heat treatments, the piece will still be sturdier than one made of marble or clay. A paint finish would bubble and peel. Fortunately, with the variety of options available for stainless steel, a paint finish is not necessary at all.
Given that stainless steel can be manufactured in several different shapes and sizes, and easily joined together, this also makes it a more cost-efficient alternative. A larger piece needs to be lugged around as one solid whole. Or, it can be carefully taken apart and reconstructed on site. This could leave noticeable marks behind. Many praise stainless steel for its reshaping abilities. With a little grinding and sanding after the welding, the piece will look like one finished whole.
Where Can I Find Stainless Steel Art?
There are stainless steel pieces everywhere. From The Seed Sculpture in Manchester to the Sibelius Monument in Finland, creative works by creative artists are everywhere you go. Depending on the artist, different techniques will come into play. Depending on the location, different grades of steel come into use.
For example, the Cones in Canberra, Australia might require a higher grade of steel than Turning the World Upside Down in Jerusalem. The Cones are a little closer to nature, and therefore more likely to deal with damaging elements. While pieces like News might have run at the forefront of the longer lasting steel sculpture trend, the evolution of the steel industry, and what we can do with it, has given rise to several alloys. Each of these is much more resistant to corrosion than the last.
As a sculpture trend, stainless steel is here to stay — and stay beautiful. It’s been a game changer from its earliest appearances, focusing on outlasting the environment, to the newer pieces that take advantage of modern technology.
Stainless Steel & the Sugar Industry
In order to transform sugar cane into white sugar, it must undergo a complex refining process. Brazil and India are two of the major players in the sugar industry. Both countries are currently engaged in upgrading essential equipment for sugar refinery to aid in eliminating waste and contamination.
An essential aspect toward eliminating waste is implementing stainless steel for all equipment used in making refined sugar and sugar cane juice products. Many business owners are currently making the move to upgrade their equipment, which is in the best interests of safety – as well as efficacy. The slight increase in cost for stainless steel equipment would quickly get recouped through the major increase in usable product available to sell.
Transforming cane sugar into refined white sugar takes the most effective, viable metal available. Stainless steel meets that criteria. In fact, the most hygienic metal for refining sugar cane is stainless steel.
Sugar Cane and Corrosion
Regular carbon steel rusts and corrodes when it encounters air and moisture. However, when you add chromium, it creates stainless steel – which is highly resistant to corrosion.
The juice of the sugar cane is quite acidic. In addition, it emits a gaseous discharge. Acid tends to consume most organic material. Gas turns toxic when mixed with many chemicals. Most materials corrode and break down against acid and gaseous discharge. Corrosion is one of the biggest problems facing the sugar industry.
Any company that uses equipment to handle sugar knows their equipment will wear out quickly when exposed to sugar cane juice. If the equipment contains moving parts, then corrosion eats through the bearings and mechanisms powering those parts. If the equipment is a free-standing holding tank with no moving parts, then sugar cane juice quickly erodes the holding tank’s material. This allows it to spread to other pieces of critical equipment when the acidic cane juice wreaks more havoc.
Responsible Companies Use Stainless Steel
Corroding equipment typically contains sharp edges. Workers and employees deserve a safe working environment. Sharp edges from corroding parts pose hazards and danger to the employees sugar manufacturers have a responsibility to protect.
A great deal of wasted productivity, as well as the amount of product lost, happens because of using carbon steel or another metal that cannot resist corrosion. Stainless steel includes a ferrous and chromium property to it that makes it highly resistant to corrosive products.
Most major manufacturers worldwide use stainless steel to make their products. Typically, stainless steel is preferred for processing food products. It is nearly impossible to maintain sanitary conditions without it. In 2007, 11 years ago, India lost an estimated $250 million dollars a year due to corrosion in metal factories. If India’s sugar barons do not convert all metal equipment used to refine sugar, they may find themselves priced out of the world market. As a result, a recent study has found that using stainless steel solutions will reduce corrosion-related losses and recalls in India by nearly 50%, a figure that is sure to entice numerous major players in the sugar refinery industry.
With the sugar industry being a crucial driving factor for development in a number of countries around the world, the transition to stainless steel will mean continued sustenance and prosperity for those regions.