Built in 1886, the copper-clad Statue of Liberty has required quite some maintenance and renovation to keep it in pristine condition. In 1986, for example, engineers decided to replace rusty iron components with advanced materials such as Ferralium and 316L.
Engineers tasked with working out how best to repair the Statue of Liberty decided that the ‘puddled iron’ in the internal superstructure needed replacing. For the rigid flat bars they chose
Ferralium® 255, which at the time was being made by Cabot Haynes under a licence from Langley Alloys. Investigation had shown that this alloy, when used for the flat bar structure and associated bolting, exhibited minimal reaction with the copper cladding. It offered thermal expansion and elasticity similar to that of the wrought iron, but was far stronger.
The refurbishment was successfully completed in time for the grand reopening of the Statue of Liberty, timed to mark its centenary in 1986. Ten years later, an inspection report indicated
that the corrosion problems had been corrected and that the installation had remained corrosion-resistant
