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Where Does the Steel We Use
Everyday Come From?
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Jon Takosky
10/19/2010
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× dience and Scope
The purpose of this article is to inform interested college students and other interested people
about the steel making industry. Although people use steel every day, few really know all the
stages involved in the steel making process. This article will provide an inside look at the process
of making steel. Some of the steps are very technical and in-depth, so this paper will aim to give
the reader an overview of the entire process while touching on the technical steps. This paper
will allow a reader who has little or no experience about the steel industry to understand where
steel comes from.

Introd ction
People have been using steel for centuries. Today people
use steel in just about every aspect of their lives, but few
people fully understand the steel making process. Over
the years, the steel making process has evolved
drastically from the early technique first used to the
automated, large-scale processes used today. These
processes used today involve many steps, machines, and
techniques. The steel industry today also includes many
different, grades, and types of steel. One of the main
steel making processes is the production of carbon based
steel-sheet coils. The making of many of the other
different grades of steel involves the same process, only
different materials are used. This process takes scrap
metal and other materials and turns them into a coil of Fig re 1. × 2 ton coil of sheet steel
sheet-steel weighing an average of two tons.

Process
The making of the steel sheet rolls begins the same way that most large scale metal making
processes start. The first step is to melt down the scrap metal and other materials down in ladles.
The process of melting down the materials can be done using different techniques. The two main
techniques that are used in the steel factories today are the use of an electric arc furnace and the
use of an oxygen lance.

Melting Processes
The two main melting processes used in the steel industry today are an electric arc furnace and
an oxygen lance. The final product of each melting process is the same, but the size of the plant
and the products it produces decide which process to use. An electric arc furnace is better for
larger more diverse companies, while an oxygen lance is used in more small-scale production
where the same product is produced.
Electric ×rc F rnace
ac Consists of three main parts
pc m
- the sidewalls and the lower bowl of
the furnace.
pc r
  the refractory that lines the shell.
pc ‰
 the cover of the furnace that is often
removable for operational purposes.
ac The roof of the furnace is removed and the scrap
metal is loaded into the furnace.
ac The furnace then begins to preheat, or charge, the
scrap metal.
Fig re 2. Electric ×rc F rnace
ac The graphite electrodes then enter the furnace.
ac The electrodes then create an arc with the scrap metal.
ac The arc, combined with pumped in oxygen, then melts the contents of the ladle.
ac The chemical makeup of the metal is then tested, and material is added to reach the desired
chemical qualities.

Oxygen Lance
ac Scrap metal is taken to a blast furnace where it is preheated.
ac The preheated metal is then placed in a ladle.
ac A water-cooled oxygen lance is then lowered into the ladle.
ac The lance blows 99% oxygen into the metal, igniting the
carbon in the steel, which not only melts the metal, but also
burns off impurities in the mixture.
ac The lance continues to heat the metal until a temperature of
around 1700°C is reached.
ac Chemical readings of the metal are taken and different
materials are added to create the desired chemical makeup. Fig re 3. Oxygen Lance

After the metal is melted and the proper chemical measurements are
taken the furnace is emptied. The shells are tapped and the molten
metal is emptied out of the ladles. The molten metal is then casted
into ingots. An ingot is basically a roughly shaped block of steel.
The ingot is formed, creating an easy way to transport the steel.

Fig re 4. Casted Steel Ingot.

Creating a Slab
The casted ingots are now ready to be made into steel slabs.
Before the ingots can be made into slabs they head to the
soaking pits, an area where the ingots are heated up to the
desired temperature. The ingots need to be heated up so the
metal can be shaped into a slab. The ingots are then sent
through the blooming mill. The blooming mill is a heavy duty
hydraulically controlled rolling machine that is used to form
the ingots in to rectangle slabs. The steel takes multiple passes
through the blooming mill, after each pass the machine presses
the sides, creating flat uniform sides. After the desired
thickness is reached mill also uses a hydraulic press to shear
off the uneven ends of the red-hot slab. Fig re 5. × steel slab exiting the
blooming mill.

The slabs of the metal are then transported by crane and train to the storage area. While the slabs
are in this storage area the surfaces are often grinded, creating a uniform surface. The uniform
surface helps ensure the surface quality during the rolling process. The grinding is often done
using two different methods. The first method implements a moving grinder wheel and the
second implements a stationary grinding wheel that the slab moves under. Due to space
restrictions smaller steel mills often use the moving grinding wheels, while larger mills often
implement both techniques.

Hot-Strip Mill
With the grinding complete the slabs move on
to the hot strip mill. Cranes transport the slabs
to the hot strip mill¶s pre heat furnace. In order
for the slabs to be rolled down, the slabs have
to be heated to around 1000°C. With the slabs
preheated, the slabs begins passing through the
hot strip mill. The average hot strip mill has
multiple rollers. Not only are there multiple
rollers, each roller is usually backed up,
meaning there are multiple rollers stacked on
top of each other to increase the rolling force, Fig re 6. Hot strip mill showing back p rollers and a
producing a higher quality product. Each slab piece of steel passing thro gh the rollers.
starts off by passing back and forth under the
first roller; each time the thickness is decreased and the length is increased.

After the slab¶s thickness has been decreased the steel is sent through an average of six to seven
more rollers. This time though the steel only makes a single pass under each roller. Each roller
once again decreases the thickness and increases the length. As the slab, which now is a long thin
sheet of metal, exits the rolling mill it has an increased velocity due to the expansion in length.
At the end of the line the sheet hits the coiler, which guides the incoming sheet. The coiler
combined with the increase in velocity causes the sheet to roll up into a coil. After the sheet is
rolled up, the coil is banned and the sent to storage where it waits to be shipped and finished.
Concl sion
People use steel in just about every aspect of their everyday lives. People sometimes take the
steel for granted and put little thought into where it comes from. The process of making steel is a
very technological and work intensive process. The process involves not only mechanical
machines, but also chemical formulations and computer automations. Although the process
simply starts with scrap melts and ends with a simple coil of steel, the processes in between are
very intense. The steel making process involves many steps and stages, which have evolved over
time. As time goes on people will continue to use steel, and the steel making process will
continue to be one of the world¶s most important processes.
Works Cited

Figure 1- http://www.edu.dudley.gov.uk/science/AppliedScience/corus/tour/strip/page2.htm

Figure 2- http://www.rhi-
ag.com/internet/en/refractories/Stahl/Aggregate__Stahl/EAF_20default.html

Figure 3- http://www.findtheneedle.co.uk/products/1166482-basic-oxygen-furnace-40bof41-45-
slag-splashing.asp

Figure 4- http://www.shultzsteel.com/vertint1.asp

Figure 5- http://annualreport2004.bluescopesteel.com/results/hot-rolled-products.html

Figure 6- http://www.automationtatasteel.com/p_autoroll.htm

Steel Making Process- http://www.topforge.co.uk/Processes.htm

Steelmaking- http://www.keytometals.com/Articles/Art2.htm