International Journal of Scientific Engineering and Technology (ISSN : 2277-1581) Volume No.3 Issue No.7, pp : 930-933 1 July 2014 IJSET@2014 Page 930 Early Iron and Steel production in Sri Lanka:A Scientific Perspective Prabath Hewageegana Department of Physics, University of Kelaniya, Kelaniya 11600, Sri Lanka Corresponding Email: psh@kln.ac.lk Abstract— This work investigates the nature of technological development and the viability of applying an evolutionary approach to the early development of iron production in Sri Lanka. The main objective of this paper is to use modern techniques in the fields of Physics and Engineering to investigate the wind-driven furnace used in early iron and steel producing industry dating to 300 B.C. In order to study the scientific aspects of the furnace, several theoretical calculations were carried out. Some of the crucial parameters and their optimal values are presented. Keywords— early iron and steel, wind-powered smelting, high-carbon steels, tuyeres. I. Introduction Over 250 archaeological sites and features of Sri Lankan wind- driven furnace were recorded by the 1988 archaeological survey of the Samanalawewa area (Fig. 1), in the southern foothills of the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka [1]. The main purpose of the survey was to carry out an in-advance filed study for Samanalawewa hydro-electric project. The area was not regarded as archaeologically significant and no sites had been previously recorded. These early furnaces were powered by Monsoon wind and have been dated to 300 B.C. using radiocarbon dating techniques. This proved the Syrian records that once Sri Lankans had the world's best steel technology. These ancient Lankan furnaces might have produced the best quality steel for legendary Damascus swords. It was these steel that was exported to the Middle East. There are records in Syria that the best steel they received was from "Sivhala" (Lanka) [1- 5]. A proper investigation of the nature of technological development and the viability of applying an evolutionary approach to the early development of iron production shows not only the archaeological interest but also the scientific interest, in particular in the fields of Physics and Engineering. To study the archaeological aspects of the wind-driven furnace, a series of field experiments were carried out in the early 90's in Sri Lanka. The results of these successful trials, using furnaces reconstructed from the archaeological evidence, were fully reported in the journal Nature [6] and established that wind- powered smelting was viable and that these furnaces were capable of producing both low-carbon bloomery iron and, significantly, high-carbon impurity-free steels. Fig: 1 Map of Sri Lanka marking the Samanalawewa project area. II. Motivation The air flows around and through the wind-driven furnace used in early iron and steel production in Sri Lanka has been reported in details [7]. The behaviour of fluids such as air is governed by a set of mathematical equations known as the Navier-Stokes equations, which embody the differential equation of conservation of linear momentum for an incompressible Newtonian fluid with constant properties. Unfortunately, there aren’t very many known analytical solutions available in the literature to this equation. However, only few examples of analytical solutions to this equation for simple (usually infinite) geometries have been found. There most of the terms in the component equations are eliminated and the resulting differential equations are analytically solvable. There are two reasons for this: the equations are complicated, involving five interdependent variables (pressure, three components of velocity and the internal energy), and in addition the equations are non-linear, which also increases the complexity. The Physics behind the success of the Early Iron and Steel production in Sri Lanka have not been discussed previously. The aim of this paper is to show the evidence of using an evolutionary approach in early iron and steel production in Sri Lanka which is properly aline with the advance Physics principals and modern engineering technics. III. Physics of the furnace Tuyere and its Fluid Dynamics : Circular Shape: You have probably noticed that most fluids are transported in circular