Terni Steel Works
This entry refers to the heavy industrial complex established in Terni, Umbria, in the late 19th century to produce iron and steel.
1884 Vincenzo Stefano Breda established the Società Alti Forni, Fonderie e Acciaiere di Terni (SAFFAT).
1903 Breda died and the business passed into the hands of Attilio Odero and Guiseppe Orlado.
1922 The company changed its name to Terni Società per l'industria et Elettricita
The above information is condensed from the ARVEDI AST website.
1937 The plant became part of Finsider, which was purchased in 1980 by Ilva group.
See Engineering 1887/06/10 for a description, with plans, of the 'Terni Steel Works', from which:
The works were begun in the summer of 1884, and in May, 1886, steel rails were produced. The manufacture of bars and
plates followed, and in August 1885 ingots of 60 tons and
upwards were cast for armour-plates, and the great '100-ton' hammer was put into operation.
Subsidiary to the Terni Works, and owned by the company, were mines of lignite at Terni and Spoleto; Iron mines, blast furnaces, and steel works at Val Trompia, in Lombardy, for the production of spiegel and ferro-manganese and of high quality steel; Foundries at Terni capable of turning out castings weighing 120 tons; blast furnaces were under construction, at Civita Vecchia for making pig iron from Elba ore, and coke ovens for the use of these furnaces and for the Terni foundries.
Signor Breda arranged to use water from the Velino to provide power for the steel works. For this purpose a watercourse, 6.6km metres in length, was constructed, half being tunnelled, and the remainder in pipes, with 90 metres, only of open canal.
'This power is applied for the purposes of the works to
fifty turbines, revolving on horizontal axes, and four
water-pressure engines. These latter set in motion compressors, by means of which the air is compressed to five
atmospheres in a receiver of 1000 metres capacity, built of
cast-iron pipes 1 metre 25 centimetres in diameter. The
pressure of air is regulated by reaction against a column
of water which descends from a reservoir situated 50 metres
above the level of the steel works, and the air is distributed for working all the hammers and cranes. In this
manner water and compressed air are exclusively employed for the purposes for which steam is used in other
similar works. .... The works are lighted by electricity. Seven turbines
set in motion fourteen dynamo-electric machines, supplying light to 200 arc lights each of 2000 candle-power and
1000 incandescence lights of various powers.
The number of workmen employed in the steel works
is about 3000, and in the foundries 1000. The service of
the mines at Terni, Spoleto, and Val Trompia is about
2000, making a total of 6000 workmen in the employment
of the Terni Society, a number which is being considerably augmented as the works are being extended. ....'
See The Engineer 1907/03/08 for a description and drawing of the 108-ton pneumatic hammer. 'The air compressors were furnished by tho Societe John Cockerill of Liege, and are of the Dubois-Francois type, with four cylinders to each machine - two in front for water power and two behind for air compressing. The 108-ton hammer itself came from the Cockerill firm and can strike ten to twelve blows per minute with a pressure of 80 lb. per square inch. ... To maintain the air pressure constant, whatever be the demands made on the reservoir, a hydrostatic compensator was added. On the side of the Pentima hill adjoining, and at a height of 55 m. above the level of the works, a reservoir was excavated and connected by means of 600 mm. ... iron pipe to the compressed air reservoir at the lowest extremity of the latter, the upper end being in connection with the air compressors. .... The 108-ton hammer has a cvlinder 20ft. in length and 6ft. 3in. in diameter. the area of the piston being SO square feet. The full stroke is 16ft. 4in. The piston, the rod, and the hammer weigh together 108 tons, and the blow given at full stroke represents 540,000 kilogram-metres. The hammer block or anvil and the dies weigh up to 30 tons each piece. With an air pressure of only 74 lb. the blow of the hammer can be carried to 140 tons. .... Belonging to this hammer there are dies, mandrils, and hammer blocks to the weight of 1100 tons. The bed-plate, beneath the hammer block which is quite independent of the foundations supporting th e hammer frame, is a. casting of 1000 tons weight. This was cast in one piece, specinl precautions being taken to avoid the injurious effects which would arise from a temperature carried too high in so large a mass. During the casting large quantities of "pig" were dumped into the molten iron to lower the temperature locally, and a piece of cylindrical steel 14in. in diameter and 13ft. long was placed in the centre of the mould. This is shown in Fig. 2, surrounded by stacks of pig iron. The bed-plate, about 22ft. long along all sides, is surrounded by the masonry foundation carrying the hammer frame. Beneath the bed-plate the lowest foundation is a layer of concrete 8ft. in depth, followed by three courses of squared sandstone, each 2ft. in depth, and then a course of refractory brick 10in. deep, upon the top of which was run a sheet of metal 6in. thick, and weighing 40 tons. Upon this latter plate was built the mould for the anvil bed-plate, and this was entirely of refractory masonry. This masonry had a depth of 24in. at the bottom of the mould. The plan, Fig. 4, shows the arrangements made for running the bed-plate ; and the section, Fig. 3, shows the bed-plate completed, with the anti-vibration timbers or laggings of oak around its sides. When the mould was completed a few tons of molten metal were poured in to dry the mould and warm it, and the following day about 280 tons were run in from the cupolas of the steel works on the spot, while 360 tons were melted at the old foundry and hauled a distance of 2400 m - 1 1/2 miles - by locomotives, to the site of the big casting. The heat then became so great that it was considered prudent to leave the casting until the third day, when the mass was still perfectly liquid. On that day the casting was recommenced and completed. The block remained as it was cast - not turned bottom side up as had been done in cases of lesser plates in other steel works [For instance at Perm, Russia]. The immense headers provided for the Terni casting ensured a sufficient compression of the upper surface of the plate. Several months were allowed for the mass to cool down, and it then became possible to saw off the headers; but it was not until the sixth month after casting that it became cool enough to break up the mould and commence the erection of the hammer frame over the still smoking floor of the shop.'