Page 3 4 5 6

A ladle filled with molten iron approaches a blast furnace that will convert it to liquid steel. Sean Gallup/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Creating Steel
Steel is iron that has most of the impurities removed. Steel also has a consistent concentration of carbon throughout (0.5 to 1.5 percent). Impurities like silica, phosphorous and sulfur weaken steel tremendously, so they must be eliminated. The advantage of steel over iron is greatly improved strength. The open-hearth furnace is one way to create steel from pig iron. The pig iron, limestone and iron ore go into an open-hearth furnace. It is heated to about 1,600 degrees F (871 degrees C). The limestone and ore form a slag that floats on the surface. Impurities, including carbon, are oxidized and float out of the iron into the slag. When the carbon content is right, you have carbon steel. Another way to create steel from pig iron is the Bessemer process, which involves the oxidation of the impurities in the pig iron by blowing air through the molten iron in a Bessemer converter. The heat of oxidation raises the temperature and keeps the iron molten. As the air passes through

the molten pig iron, impurities unite with the oxygen to form oxides. Carbon monoxide burns off and the other impurities form slag. However, most modern steel plants use what's called a basic oxygen furnace to create steel. The advantage is speed, as the process is roughly 10 times faster than the open-hearth furnace. In these furnaces, high-purity oxygen blows through the molten pig iron, lowering carbon, silicon, manganese and phosphorous levels. The addition of chemical cleaning agents called fluxes help to reduce the sulfur and phosphorous levels. A variety of metals might be alloyed with the steel at this point to create different properties. For example, the addition of 10 to 30 percent chromium creates stainless steel, which is very resistant to rust. The addition of chromium and molybdenum creates chrome-moly steel, which is strong and light. When you think about it, there are two accidents of nature that have made it much easier for human technology to advance and flourish. One is the huge availability of iron ore. The second is the accessibility of vast quantities of oil and coal to power the production of iron. Without iron and energy, we probably would not have gotten nearly as far as we have today. Explore the links on the next page to learn even more about iron and steel. Print Cite Feedback

The figure shows a flowchart of the integrated manufacturing process for iron and steel using the blast furnace and basic oxygen furnace (denoted BF and BOF hereinafter, respectively), which is presently the most commonly used method (51% of world steel production). After the BF-BOF process, molten steel is controlled to a target composition and temperature and is then cast by continuous casting machine to produce slabs, blooms, and billets. These castings are rolled to the required dimensions by the rolling mill to produce steel products. The smelting and refining process for iron and steel in the BF-BOF process involves the carbon reduction of iron ore (Fe2O3) in the BF to make molten iron, and decarburization of molten iron in the BOF to make molten steel. Major reducing agent in the BF is the carbon monoxide gas(CO) generated by the oxidation of the carbon(C) in coke. Consequently, carburization takes place at the same time as reduction, producing hot metal(molten iron) containing about 4% carbon. The hot metal is decarburized to the required carbon content in the BOF. The main reaction in this process is the oxidization of the carbon in the hot metal by both pure oxygen gas (O2) and iron oxide (Fe2O3). The residual oxygen, after contributing to this decarburization reaction, remains in the molten steel. This oxygen is fixed and removed by deoxidation reagents such as silicon and

aluminum as SiO2 and Al2O3 or is removed as carbon monoxide gas in the subsequent vacuum degassing process. In addition to the BF-BOF process, there is another process which utilizes mainly scrap as an iron source, with some direct reduced iron whenever necessary. The direct reduced iron is produced by reducing iron ore with reformed natural gas, whose principal components are hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane. The scrap, along with direct reduced iron, is then melted in an electric arc furnace (denoted EAF hereinafter) to produce molten steel which is subsequently processed by the continuous casting machine, as mentioned above. The molten steel from the BOF and EAF is then deoxidized and alloying elements are added in the prescribed amounts. The molten steel is then held at the target temperature and continuously cast, and the castings obtained are cut to the prescribed length. After heating to the rolling temperature in a reheating furnace, these castings are hot-worked to the required products. Steel shapes, bars, and wire rods are worked on section and bar mills and wire-rod mills equipped with caliber rolls, plates are worked on reversing mills, and hot-rolled steel sheets are worked on hot strip mills. After pickling to remove scale from the surface, the hot-rolled steel sheets are worked to cold-rolled steel sheets on reversing mills or tandem rolling mills, and the cold-rolled steel sheets are tinned or galvanized as required to produce various surface-treated steel sheet products. Steel pipe is produced by forming and welding steel sheets or plates, or by piercing a billet and rolling to the final dimensions without a seam.

The chemical reactions occurring in metallurgical processes such as the reduction of iron ore and the decarburization of molten iron can be explained in terms of the free energy in thermodynamics. When the

free energy of reactants is different from that of products, a reaction will occur. If it leads to a decrease in free energy, it will reach equilibrium when the free energy of the reactants and products becomes equal. For an explanation of the smelting and refining reaction, Gibb's energy (free energy at constant pressure) is used, which is calculated by using temperature, pressure, and concentration as independent variables. The reactions for smelting and refining are based on those of reduction and oxidation. The figure shows the changes in the standard Gibb's energy which occur when oxides of elements are formed by the chemical reactions for producing iron and steel. This figure is called the Ellingham diagram. In general, the reaction in which an element reacts with 1 mole of oxygen to form an oxide is given by Eq. 1, and the change in the standard Gibb's energy of this reaction is given by Eq. 2, where G0 is called the oxygen potential. Taking an example of the reaction in which magnetite (Fe3O4) combines with oxygen to form hematite (Fe2O3), the Gibb's energy change at 1,000K during this reaction is about 200 kilojoules per 1 mole from the value at point A. When the straight line that connects point A with point Q is extrapolated to the line outside the right-hand margin, these two lines cross at a point where the partial pressure of oxygen (Po2) is about 106 Pascals (Pa). This shows that the reaction reaches equilibrium with a gas under an oxygen partial pressure of 10-6 Pascals (Pa) at 1,000K. In a gas with an oxygen partial pressure of higher than 10-6 Pascals (Pa), the reaction proceeds to form hematite. However, when the partial pressure of oxygen is lower than this level, hematite is decomposed and magnetite is formed; in other words, hematite is reduced to magnetite. Generally, with metal oxides, when the temperature increases, the negative absolute value of the Gibb's energy of formation will be smaller, which makes the oxides unstable and easy to reduce. Similarly, the degree of stability of various oxides can be compared by this figure. For example, the oxides of iron are progressively less likely to be thermodynamically reduced in the order of hematite, magnetite, wustite (FeO). Under the conditions for wustite to be reduced, neither alumina nor the oxides of titania are reduced, while the oxides of copper and nickel are reduced. The conditions for the formation of sulfides can also be discussed by using diagrams for the Gibb's energy of formation, temperature, and sulfur gas partial pressure of each reaction. When considering the desulfurization in iron and steel making, it is necessary to examine the Ellingham diagram in this manner.

When reducing iron ore in the form of iron oxide by using solid carbon as the reducing agent, the carbon is oxidized into carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. The chemical reaction represented by Eq. 1 in the figure occurs among solid carbon, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. Curve 1 in the figure shows the equilibrium relationship for this reaction, which is called Boudouard's equilibrium. When the gas concentration of carbon monoxide is below this curve, the reaction proceeds in the direction for forming carbon monoxide, this being called the carbon solution reaction or solution-loss reaction. In the neighborhood of 1,200K, carbon dioxide that has been formed by the reduction of iron oxide is changed into carbon monoxide by this reaction, making it possible to maintain the reducing capability of the gas. On the other hand, when the gas concentration of carbon monoxide is in the region above curve 1, a carbon deposition reaction occurs according to equilibrium theory; that is, carbon monoxide is dissociated into carbon dioxide and carbon, and carbon is deposited. However, due to its extremely slow speed, this reaction does not practically proceed at lower temperatures and low carbon monoxide concentrations. Carbon deposition actually occurs in the region where metallic iron coexists to provide strong catalytic action, and in the region of higher temperature and high carbon monoxide concentration. This region corresponds to the shaded part in the drawing. The figure also shows the regions of magnetite, wustite, and iron metal that coexist in a stable manner with carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. It also shows that, at temperatures above 1,000K, reduction from magnetite to metallic iron can be achieved with a composition at which carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are in equilibrium with each other. Examination of the foregoing equilibrium theory makes it possible to decide whether a desirable reaction is possible and which conditions need to be met to obtain such a reaction. For practical control of a reaction, however, the mechanism that controls the reaction rate should be clarified and the heat and mass transfer should be analyzed on the basis of reaction rate theory and transport phenomena.

Various phases such as molten iron, slag, and gas are all involved in the smelting and refining of iron and steel. Although some of these phases may consist of a single substance or compound, they are in many cases a homogeneous phase composed of multiple components, namely a solution. The extensive quantities such as the free energy, enthalpy, and entropy of a solution undergo changes depending on the quantity and composition of the solution, as well as on its temperature and pressure. However, owing to interaction among the atoms of the solution components, the way in which change actually occurs is not as simple as when elements or compounds are mechanically mixed. Therefore, the partial molar quantity defined in Eq.1 is used to represent various thermodynamic relationships for the extensive quantities of the solution. The suffixes for the partial differential coefficient in Eq.1 show that they are invariable. i can be regarded as the amount of change in the quantity M when only component i is added in an extremely small quantity at a constant temperature and constant pressure, without changing the quantities of the other components. This is defined as the partial molar quantity of component i. Among other partial molar quantities, the partial molar Gibb's energy is important in discussing the activity, etc. of a solution. It is called the chemical potential and is expressed by as shown in Eq. 2. The difference between the partial molar quantity of a component of a solution and the quantity for the pure state of the component is referred to as the relative partial molar quantity of that component, and is expressed as Eq. 3. Equilibrium of the chemical reactions related to a solution is governed by the activities of these reaction components. Therefore, knowledge of the activities of these components is necessary when considering the equilibria of reactions in smelting and refining and the reactivity of solution components. The activity of a solution component is defined in Eq. 4 as the ratio of the fugacity in the solution component to the fugacity in the standard state of that component (i.e., the ratio of the vapor pressures of the component when its vapor pressure is low). The reference and standard state for activity can be arbitrarily selected. In general, the reference and standard state are adopted as shown in Eqs. 5-a, 5-b and 5-c for the smelting and refining of iron and steel. The figure shows the relationship between the activity and concentration of a solution component, A, B and C representing the standard state of activities in accordance with the respective reference states of Eqs. 5-a, 5-b and 5-c. The relationship in Eq. 6 holds between the relative partial molar Gibb's energy and the activity of an actual solution component.

The activity of a component in actual solution deviates from Raoult's law or Henry's law, and hence the activity coefficients defined by Eqs. 7-a, 7-b and 7-c are used to indicate the degree of the deviation. For considering the activity and activity coefficient of the components in a multi-component solution, more detailed knowledge of the thermodynamics, such as interaction coefficients and interaction parameters, is required.

The various smelting and refining reactions involved in the iron and steelmaking processes generally proceed at high temperatures, so there are few cases where the chemical reaction rate controls the overall reaction rate. For example, the desulfurization of molten steel by slag shown in Eq. 1 is composed of the elementary reactions given by Eqs. 2 and 3 and the associated reactions given by Eqs. 4, 5 and 6. It is known that these elementary and associated reactions are rate-controlled by mass transfer of the reactants in less than 1 second from the start of the reactions. As with decarburization, desulfurization and dephosphorization, when the overall reaction is rate-controlled by the reactant's mass transfer to the reaction interface, the change in the reactant's mole number "n" after time "t", i.e., the reaction rate "-dn/dt", can be expressed by Eq.7 as a function of area "A" of the reaction interface, mass transfer rate constant "k", the reactant's molar concentration "C", and equilibrium concentration "Ce". To increase the rate "-dn/dt" of the overall reaction (the overall mass transfer rate), it is necessary to make "Ak" (the volumetric coefficient of mass transfer) large and "Ce" small. The conditions for making "Ce" small are determined by a thermodynamic consideration. For any reaction of a gas/metal system or a slag/metal system, "Ak" can be made very large by blowing gas or slag into the metal bath or by enhancing the stirred flow and intermixing the slag and metal. The area "A" of the reaction interface increases markedly when gas is blown into the metal bath in a gas/metal system, and slag is blown into the metal bath (or metal is blown into the slag bath) in a slag/metal system; in such cases, the constant "k" also increases at the same

time because of the stirring of slag or metal which accelerates the transfer of the reactants to the reaction interface. Taking a molten steel bath of volume "V" as an example, it is conceivable that the rate at which the reactants in the bath reach the reaction interface is proportional to circulating flow rate "Q" of the molten steel in the bath. The rate "Q" is related by Eq. 8 to the uniform mixing time " ", which refers to the time necessary for the reactants to disperse uniformly in the bath. Time " " is related by Eq. 9 to the stirring power density " ", which refers to the power of stirring applied per unit weight or volume of the bath. In the refining reactions for a gas/metal system and slag/metal system, there are many cases in which Eq. 10 can be applied, even when the power for stirring is applied in different manners, such as by gas blowing, electromagnetic induction, or mechanical rotation. The reason why "n" takes the value of 0.3-0.4 has been explained for the respective stirring method in terms of transport phenomena. However, "n" may sometimes reach 0.4-1.0 when " " increases further and metal particles disperse into the gas or slag, or gas bubbles and slag particles disperse into metal. As in the example for the rate of ore reduction by gas flowing through the charged layers of coke and ore in a BF, research on the solid phase reaction rate has also progressed to such an extent that ore reduction can be treated as the problem of a migrating boundary layer, and analysis is made by linking the ascent of the gas with the heat and mass transfer caused by the descent of lump ore and coke into the lower shaft of the BF.

Among the elements composing the crust of the earth, iron exists in the largest quantity next to oxygen, silicon, and aluminum. Iron exists as natural ores in the form of oxides, and the estimated amount of ore deposits in the world is approximately 800 billion tons. Typical ores are hematite (Fe2O3) and magnetite (Fe3O4), having theoretical iron contents of 70% and 72%, respectively. The iron content of practical ores is about 65% at maximum, and these ores include 2-6% silica and 1-3% alumina (Al2O3). Representative sources of iron ores are found in mainland China, Brazil, Australia, the former USSR, America, India, Canada, South Africa, and elsewhere. The phosphorus and sulfur contents of ores differ greatly according to their origin. High-grade iron ore is crushed for sizing, producing both fine ore as well as lump ore. To beneficiate lowgrade ore, it is first pulverized into finer particles called pulverized ore. Both fine and pulverized ores are then subjected to pre-treatments before they are charged into the BF; that is, the fine ore is processed into sintered ore by sintering, and pulverized ore is processed into pellets by pelletizing. In Japan, the proportions of iron ores charged into the BF are, at present, 15% lump ore, 10% pellets, and 75% sintered ore. Thus, pretreated iron ores represent a large majority of the ore used. In the sintering process, fine ores 2-3mm in diameter are mixed with coke breeze as a fuel. Burnt limestone powder is used as a flux. These materials are charged in an iron box called a pallet before being ignited. Fine ore particles are partially melted and combined by the combustion heat of the coke to form an agglomerate which is then subjected to crushing and screening processes in order to obtain sintered ore 15-30mm in diameter. The Dwight-Lloyd type of sintering machine is mainly used, sintering being conducted continuously by transferring pallets placed on a caterpillar. Pelletizing is a process that involves mixing very finely ground particles of ore of less than 200 mesh with fluxing materials such as limestone and dolomite and then shaping them into balls 10-15mm in diameter by a pelletizer, and hardening the balls by firing with heavy oil and/or coal as a fuel. Cold-bond pellets are also produced by pelletizing, and do not require firing. At present, small-scale equipment for producing coldbond pellets is in operation mainly to treat the dust collected in steel works. This technology offers great promise for the future in terms of energy-saving and reducing environmental pollution. Compared with sintered ore, pellets have a higher iron- and a lower gang-content, and pelletizing is suitable for treating the very fine ore that will predominate in the future. However, pellets have the disadvantages that more fossil fuel is consumed during pelletizing and it is difficult to control the radial distribution of the thickness of pellets charged in the BF.

The blast furnace (BF) has a vertical cylindrical structure externally covered with a shell of thick steel plate and internally lined with refractories. The refractory structure is cooled by water-cooled metal components called staves, which are embedded between the shell and the refractories. The furnace body is composed of (i) the shaft, which tapers outward from the top, (ii) the belly, which is a straight cylinder, (iii) the bosh, which tapers inward toward its bottom and is located immediately under the belly, and (iv) the hearth, at the bottom of the furnace. The shaft, belly, and bosh are usually lined with chamotte brick and silicon-carbide brick, and the hearth is lined with carbon brick. Depending on the size of the furnace, the side wall of the hearth is radially fitted with some 20 to 40 of water-cooled copper tuyeres, which are used to inject the hot blast into the furnace from the hot stoves through the hot-blast main and bustle pipes. Tapholes for discharging hot metal and cinder notches for discharging slag are also installed in the hearth section. The largest BFs at present are about 80m in total height, with a furnace body height of about 35m and a maximum internal diameter of about 16m, and have an internal volume of about 5,200m3. A furnace of this size can produce approximately 10,000 tons of hot metal a day. All BFs have auxiliary equipment such as (i) belt conveyors for transporting raw materials (ore and coke) to the furnace top, (ii) hoppers for temporarily storing these raw materials, (iii) a bell-type or bell-less-type device for charging the raw materials into the furnace with appropriate distribution in the radial direction, (iv) hot stoves for heating the blast, (v) blowers for feeding the blast, and (vi) equipment for dust removal, and recovering and storing the gas from the furnace top. Blast furnaces in which pulverized coal is injected from the tuyeres (PCI = pulverized-coal injection) are provided with equipment for pulverizing the coal and feeding it under pressure. With bell-type charging equipment, the raw materials enter the furnace through the gap created by moving down a small inverted bell. This bell closes and a larger bell (big-end-down) opens to allow material to fall into the shaft below. With bell-less charging equipment, the raw materials are dropped into the furnace through a rotating chute. The hot stove is a cylindrical furnace about 12m in diameter and some 55m in height, and has a chamber filled with checkered silica bricks. The hot stove is a type of heat exchanger in which the heat produced by combustion of the BF gas is stored in the checker-work chamber, after which cold air is blown through the hot checker-work to produce the preheated hot air blast to the furnace. Two or more stoves are operated on alternate cycles, providing a continuous source of hot blast to the furnace. A BF is usually operated with a furnace-top pressure of about 250 kilopascals. To recover the energy from the large volume of high-pressure exhaust gas, the BF is equipped, after dust removal, with a top-pressure recovery turbine (TRT), for generating electric power by utilizing the pressure difference between the furnace-top and gas storing holder.

A total of about 1,600 kg/ton-hot metal of such iron-bearing materials as sintered ore, lump ore and pellets, and about 380 kg/ton-hot metal of coke as the reductant are charged in alternate layers from the top of the BF. It has recently become common practice to inject usually 90-120 kg/ton-hot metal of pulverized coal as part of the reductant from the tuyeres in the lower part of the furnace. At present, heavy-oil injection from the tuyeres is rarely used for economic reasons. Approximately 1,000 Nm3/ton-hot metal of hot blast is also blown through the tuyeres after preheating to 1,423-1,523K (1,150-1,250 ) at the hot stoves. The humidity and oxygen concentration of the hot blast are also controlled. The hot blast reacts with the coke and pulverized coal in the belly and bosh of the BF to form a mixture of carbon monoxide and nitrogen. This mixture ascends in the furnace while exchanging heat and reacting with the raw materials descending from the furnace top. The gas is eventually discharged from the furnace top and recovered for use as fuel in the works. During this process, the layer-thickness ratio of iron-bearing materials to coke charged from the furnace top and their radial distribution are controlled so that the hot blast can pass with appropriate radial distribution. During the descent of the burden in the furnace, the ironbearing materials are indirectly reduced by carbon monoxide gas in the low-temperature zone of the upper furnace. In the lower part of the furnace, carbon dioxide, produced by the reduction of the remaining iron ore by carbon monoxide is instantaneously reduced by coke (C) into carbon monoxide which again reduces the iron oxide. The overall sequence can be regarded as direct reduction of iron ore by solid carbon in the hightemperature zone of the lower furnace. The reduced iron simultaneously melts, drips, and collects as hot metal at the hearth. The hot metal and molten slag are then discharged at fixed intervals (usually 2-5 hours) by opening the tapholes and cinder notches in the furnace wall. The materials discharged from the BF are hot metal at 1,803K (1,530 ), about 300 kg/ton-hot metal of molten slag, and dust-bearing exhaust gas discharged from the furnace top. Hot metal is poured into a

torpedo car, where it is subjected to hot metal pretreatment, and then transferred to the steelmaking plant. Molten slag is crushed after cooling and is recycled as a material for roadbed and cement. After dust removal, the exhaust gas is used as a fuel for the reheating furnaces. The capacity of a BF is expressed by the weight of hot metal that can be produced per day. Representative technical indicators stand for (i) the tapping ratio, which shows the tapped quantity of hot metal per day per m3 of inner volume of the furnace, and(ii) the fuel ratio, which shows the consumption of coke andauxiliary fuel required per ton of hot metal. In Japanese BFs,tapping ratios of 1.7-2.1 ton/m3/day and fuel ratios of 470-500 kg/ton are typical. The greatest tasks to be achieved in blast-furnace operation are to decrease the unit energy consumption, ensure stable operation in terms of the tapped quantity, composition, and temperature, and to extend the life of the furnace. In recent large-scale BFs, unit energy consumption has been decreased to 13 gigajoules/tonhot metal, out of which the energy required for ore reduction accounts for about 60%. Careful preparation of raw materials for physical and chemical consistency is an effective way of stabilizing operation over long periods. It is also necessary to understand the physical and chemical behavior accurately in each part of the furnace during operation. For this purpose, monitoring the conditions inside the furnace and applying artificial intelligence for data processing and judgment have been put into practical use with great success. For the future, it will be necessary to understand the complex conditions inside the furnace and use such data to further stabilize furnace operations. Because blast-furnace relining is extremely expensive, total production costs can be reduced substantially by extending furnace life. Technological advances in operation and maintenance to date have extended the life of BFs to as long as 16 years (current record), but further technical development is desired to extend furnace life to twenty years or more.

Increasingly stringent quality requirements have heightened the demand for steels with very low levels of impurities such as phosphorus, sulfur, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen, and of nonmetallic inclusions such as MnS, SiO2, and Al2O3. Such high purity cannot be attained by BOF blowing for decarburization since its refining capability is limited. Hot metal produced in the BF is conventionally transferred either to a ladle or to a vessel called a torpedo car and is then charged into the BOF. The oxygen blowing process in which hot metal is decarburized and converted to steel is carried out mostly in the BOF. However, a method for dividing the refining capability and allocating the divided function to processes before and after the BOF has been put into practical use. The processes in which impurities are removed from the hot metal are called hot metal pretreatment, whereas the processes in which the molten steel tapped from the BOF is subjected to further refining and degassing are called secondary refining. At present, an integrated process of smelting in the BF, hot metal pretreatment, decarburizing in the BOF, and secondary refining has become the standard manufacturing process for high grade steels. Hot metal pretreatment includes the desiliconization, dephosphorization, and desulfurization of hot metal. The silicon in the hot metal is oxidized in the BOF, where it reacts with added lime (CaO) and iron oxide (FeO) to form a CaO-FeO-SiO2 slag. If the silicon content of the hot metal is low, this reaction is shortened in the BOF, the production efficiency is improved, and the volume of slag generated is small; therefore, decarburizing with a high iron yield is possible. Desiliconization is therefore conducted as a pretreatment process by adding iron oxides such as mill scale and sintered ore fines to hot metal in the runners in the casthouse of the BF or in the transfer vessel. Dephosphorization is usually carried out by injecting a dephosphorizing agent containing lime, iron oxide, fluorspar, etc. into the hot metal in the transfer ladle or torpedo car together with a gas. This promotes the transfer of the phosphorus in the hot metal to the slag phase, which is then discharged. Dephosphorization is usually carried out after desiliconization, because the dephosphorization reaction proceeds more quickly at lower silicon contents. Although hot metal is desulfurized to some extent by the dephosphorization treatment, extra low sulfur steels require further desulfurization, which is performed by separate injection of desulfurizing agents such as CaO, Na2CO3, CaC2, and Mg into the hot metal. Such treatments can be made more effective by identifying and enhancing the elementary rate steps that control the dephosphorization and desulfurization processes. A good understanding of thermodynamics and transport phenomena is indispensable in achieving these objectives.

The productivity and yield that are so important for operating a continuous caster can be markedly improved by casting many heats continuously without interrupting casting. This is called continuous-continuous casting or sequence casting, and has the advantage of eliminating the need for preparations for starting casting. Consequently, productivity is increased and the amount of the cast strand which must be cropped at the initial and final casting positions due to poor quality is decreased. Techniques have been developed for sequence casting, which allow the mold width to be changed and different steel grades to be cast without interrupting casting operations. These allow strands of different width and grade to be cast continuously without interruption. Submerged entry nozzles wear and become clogged as throughput of the melt increases; therefore, methods have been developed for the quick, automatic exchange of submerged entry nozzles without suspending the casting operation. As one extremely serious practical problem, in "breakout", the solidified shell grows unevenly, the thinner portion of the shell ruptures, and the molten steel leaks from the mold, requiring a full stop of the line. Thermal monitoring techniques for predicting breakout are used at many casters. Productivity can be improved by raising the casting speed, as well as by improving the operating rate. Progress in techniques and equipment has now enabled a casting speed of 1.5-2.8 m/min in continuous slab casters, which corresponds to a production capacity of 5 ton/min per strand. Thus, approximately 3.6 million ton/year can be produced with a 2-strand continuous caster. The sequence of the casting operation starts with inserting the dummy bar into the mold to seal the bottom end. Molten steel is then poured into the mold from the tundish while taking great care to prevent contact with the air. The withdrawal of the cast strand is started by pulling the dummy bar downward. The molten steel flowing into the mold is rapidly cooled and forms a thin solidified shell composed of fine granular crystals on the surface and an array of fine columnar dendrites inside. The solidified shell becomes thicker due to the growth of columnar dendrites as it descends through the mold. A lime silicate flux is added to the molten steel surface in the mold to prevent heat loss from the molten steel surface and absorb nonmetallic inclusions as they surface. This flux also infiltrates between the mold and the cast strand, and provides

lubrication which also prevents sticking of the cast strand to the mold during the oscillation of the mold. At the same time, the layer of mold flux between the steel and mold reduces heat transfer and avoids a rapid decrease in the temperature and resulting deformation and crack formation of the strand. Surface defects are formed on the cast strand when the level of the steel bath fluctuates in the mold. The level is therefore measured with a sensor and kept as constant as possible by controlling the flow rate of molten steel from the tundish. Electromagnetic braking of the melt flow in the mold is now a representative technique for meniscus level control. The cast strand, which still contains unsolidified molten steel, exits the mold and is withdrawn downward while being supported by a group of rolls and water-cooled with the sprays. During this process, columnar dendrites continue to grow, and equiaxed dendrites are finally formed to complete solidification. At this time, the solidified shell is subjected to high thermal strain, shrinkage, and transformation caused by cooling, and to ferrostatic pressure. Since the hot solidified shell is substantially lower in strength and toughness, the cast strand is susceptible to surface and internal cracks. Consequently, during spraying the cooling pattern is carefully controlled to prevent the growth of cracks due to strain while ensuring solidification by cooling. This pattern control involves controlling the intensity of the water-mist spray along the widthwise and drawing direction of the cast strand as required by the steel grade. Reduction is then applied to the cast strand at the crater bottom to reduce center segregation. After cutting to length with gas torches, the cast piece, or slab, is delivered to the hot-rolling process. As the productivity of the cast strand has increased and defects have decreased to the extent that no off-line surface conditioning by scarfing and grinding is required, hot-charge rolling and hot direct rolling have been widely adopted. In hot-charge rolling, the hot slab is charged into the reheating furnace, but is rolled without substantial reheating, while hot direct rolling is performed immediately after casting, omitting the reheating process completely.

http://www.jfe-21st-cf.or.jp/chapter_2/2j_1_img.html

1. ArcelorMittal SA - 98.2 MMT

ArcelorMittal S.A. is the worlds largest steel producer, accounting for more than 6% of global crude steel production. Headquartered in Luxembourg, ArcelorMittal has operations in over 60 countries and annual gross revenues in excess of US$ 70 billion (2010).

Ads
Network Security Scannerwww.gfi.comNetwork Security for Businesses of All Sizes. Download Free Trial Now! Asia Business Strategiesexecutive-education.nus.edufor leaders - 5d program at NUS Business School in Singapore IBM Operational Risk Mgmtwww.IBM.com/OpenPagesLearn The Importance Of Risk Mgmt. Don't Let Your Business Fall Behind

2. Baosteel - 37.0 MMT

Baosteel Group Corporation (Baosteel) is Chinese state-owned enterprise consisting of Baoshan Iron & Steel Co. Ltd., Guangdong Iron & Steel Group Co. Ltd., Xinjiang Bayi Iron & Steel Co. Ltd., Ningbo Iron & Steel Co. Ltd. along with numerous steel processing, engineering and investment entities. The company's three major steel production series include straight carbon steels, stainless steels and special steels. At the end of 2010, Baosteel possessed assets valued at RMB 432.1 billion, had an annual operating revenue of RMB 273 billion and employed 118,500 people.

3. POSCO - 35.4 MMT

Established in 1968, Pohang Iron and Steel Company (POSCO) operates two integrated steel mills in South Korea and a joint venture with U.S. Steel (USSPOSCO) in California. Major steel products include hot rolled steel, steel plate, wire rod, cold rolled steel, electrical steel and stainless steel products.

4. Nippon Steel Corp. - 35.0 MMT

Nippon Steel Corporation is Japan's largest steel manufacturer, producing roughly 35 million metric tons of crude steel in 2010. Nippon Steel employs over 50,000 staff and is traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

5. JFE Holdings - 31.1 MMT

JFE Holdings Inc. (Japan) is the parent company of JFE Steel Corp., one of the world's largest integrated steel producers. Operating two major steelworks in Japan, JFE Steel was formed in 2002 as a result of the merging of NKK and Kawasaki Steel Corp. The company had sales of 2,747.4 billion yen in 2010 and is traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

6. Jiangsu Shagang Group - 23.2 MMT

Jiangsu Shagang Group, or Shagang Group, is the parent company of Shasteel, the largest privately-owned steel producer in China. Established in 1975, by the end of 2010 Shasteel possessed assets worth RMB 132 billion and employed more than 35,000 staff. The company's annual production capacity is 29 million tons of iron, 35 million tons of steel and 33 million tons of rolled products.

7. Tata Steel - 23.2 MMT

Tata Steel (formerly Tata iron and Steel Company Limited) is a subsidiary of the Tata Group. Established in 1907, Tata Steel has an annual crude steel production capacity of over 28 MMT and has operations in 26 countries. With operation revenues of US$ 22.8 billion in fiscal 2010, the company also employs over 80,000 staff across five continents.

8. US Steel - 22.3 MMT

The United States Steel Corporation (US Steel) was formed in 1901 and is the largest domestically-owned integrated steel producer in the US. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the company's integrated steel facilities include Gary Works, Great Lakes Works, Mon Valley Works, Granite City Works, Fairfield Works, Lake Erie Works, Hamilton Works and US Steel Kosice (Slovak Republic). US Steel had revenues of US$ 17.37 billion in 2010 and employs approximately 42,000 staff.

Ads

Coil Center control from process to logistics

Harada Kogyo Co., Ltd. is a Coil Center which mainly processes and sells steel sheets and special steel sheets. The type and amount of handling are scales of eminent West Japan. A Leveller machine processes coils into fixed scales and flat sheets, and a Sharing machine accurately processes them into smaller sheets. A Slitter machine processes coils into narrow coils (hoops). In addition to steel processing, we offer total service, which includes transportation & warehousing, design & construction of logistics equipments, including steel racks. With many varieties, Small lots, and Short delivery time, we will carefully fulfill these various customer requirements.

As a professional company of steel processing & trading

We conduct professional works for processing and trading of steel plates, initiating Just-In-Time Delivery with controlling accurately time, place, quantity & quality.

Type Normal Steel plates

JIS Spec.

Usage

SPHC-P, SPCC-SD, SECC, SEHC, Light electrical components, Auto parts, SGHC, SGACC, SGAHC, SGCC, Steel furniture, Agricultural machinery, ZAM etc.

Special Steel plates Others

SK2 - SK7, S35C - S55C S30CM - S75CM, SCM415 SCM445

Auto parts, Machine part, Various tools

Chromemate-free steel, Stainless steel, Steel tube, Steel angle, Steel flat bar, Punching metal sheet

* "ZAM" is a registered trademark of Nisshin Steel Co., Ltd. It is hot dip Zinc-AluminumMagnesium alloy coated steel.