Eko Stahl installed a roll gap lubrication system in stands F2-F4 of its HSM in 2001. The main objectives were energy saving, reduction of roll wear and vibration. The paper describes the equipment and its startup, the consequences of roll gap lubrication, looper angles and AGC, the cost saving results by energy saving and roll wear reduction. The influence on surface quality and environment is described as well as the ongoing optimization process.

Flexible production of a continuous range of profiles and sections using the same set of tool rolls is now possible with the world-unique FCF system. Developed by VAI, this technology was installed for the first time ever at voestalpine Krems, Austria. This paper presents the main design features of FCF technology in addition to production results and benefits.

A closed-loop blast furnace automation system was jointly developed by VOEST-ALPINE Industrieanlagenbau (VAI) and VOEST-ALPINE Stahl Linz (VASL). The system, with the tradename VAiron, makes not only the operation of the blast furnace entirely transparent, but stabilizes it also, and permits therefore significant improvements in the regularity of hot metal quality and substantial reductions in production costs. The final goal of the development is the "fully automatic blast furnace" .

A comparative study between the mineral coals used byArcelorMittal Tubarão has been carried out, aiming atdetermining complementing criteria to the current energy modelfor the mineral coals purchasing qualification used for injectionin the blast furnace. Material characterization techniques wereemployed allowing the mapping of the characteristics of thecoals which potentially affect the stability of the pig ironproduction process.


Freckle defects were found in electro-slag remelting (ESR) ingots, which severely limitthe development of the larger-diameter ingots. The macrostructure and the composition ofthe freckles in a low-alloy structure steel ESR ingot were investigated to clarify thefreckle formation mechanism. The results shows that the freckles in the ingot were causedby the upward solute-rich liquid flow in the mushy zone, and the composition of thefreckles corresponds to that of the liquid, with a liquid fraction of 0.36 to 0.43. Therelative Rayleigh number (Ra), a freckle criterion considering the effect of atilted solidification front, was adopted to evaluate the freckle formation tendency in theindustrial-scale ESR ingots based on the results of the experiments, kinetic simulationand thermophysical property calculation. The calculated results of Ra are in good agreementwith the actual distribution of the freckles in the ingot.

After the desciption of the Perrin process in the first part of the paper, the second part deals with the socio-technical and enterprise aspects of the history of this process. The development block concept is used to analyse the different phenomena explaining the fate of this technical invention. The critical role played by Perrin himself is emphasized. The reasons why, despite favourable enterpreneurial conditions, the process was not more widely used are discussed.

Led by increasing stainless steel demands worldwide, Avesta Polarit Tornio, now Outokumpu Stainless Tornio, decided to extend its slab production capacity from 650,000 to 1.65 million tons per year of cast products. To supply 1.0 million tons of additional slabs, a complete new steel plant was successfully started up in September 2002. The process route includes a 140 MVA electric arc furnace, a 150 tons AOD, a twin ladle furnace and the world most advanced continuous casting machine. Technological highlights together with operational results are presented.

The studies developed at CST sinter plant in order to point out any factor that may have an effect on plume visibility are reported. Specific software and indexes have been developed. The approach included a retrospective analysis followed by further industrial tests at the sinter plant with different material input (fuels and raw materials). The results are discussed with reference to potential effects on the plume visibility. Further steps are considered to progress the stack plume project.

As any other industrial process, galvanizing has its own history and this is the first time that an exhaustive report of it is presented. Protection of flat steel against corrosion by an other metal is indeed a very old process, that goes back to the Middle Ages. The first coated sheet was a tin coated sheet, known as tin-plate, preceding by several centuries the very galvanized sheet.

Deposition of Ni3P nano-scale layer on B4C nanoparticles in fourcontents of sodium hypophosphite as reducing agent including 5, 10, 15 and 30 g/l viaelectroless coating were done to investigate the effect of reducing agent content on thecoating thickness of deposited Ni3P. The bath pH and temperature was 5.5 and 85°C, respectively and the coating time was 25 min. The powders were characterized bytransmission electron microscopy (TEM) and the phases present were revealed by X-raydiffraction (XRD). Nickel and phosphorous contents of the coatings were measured byinductively coupled plasma analysis (ICP). The results revealed that by increasing thereducing agent content from 5 g/l to 30 g/l the average coating thickness increased from19 nm to 28 nm. Although the increasing effect of adding sodium hypophosphite content waspreserved, there is a critical amount for sodium hypophosphite content to increase thecoating thickness.

This paper describes innovative solutions developed by VOEST-ALPINE Industrieanlagenbau (VAI) for bar and wire-rod mills and concerning mechanical equipment as well as automation systems. Among them, the Precision Rolling System (PRS) was first implemented at Chaparral Steel (USA) and the Minimum Tension Control is applied at BMZ (Belarus). Benefits are: improved product quality, greater mill availability, increased flexibility and productivity.

Since 1953, under successive 5-year development plans, the structure and the production level of the Chinese steel industry has considerably changed. Although the share of flat products has increased, China remains a net importer of these products and other high value added products. In connection with the development of the consuming industries, the Chinese steel industry is undergoing important transformations, in structure, technology, capacity and efficiency.

Recent studies have shown that in certain situations, usually described by mixed lubrication models, a continuous ultra-thin film could separate two solids, even at the scale of asperities. In this paper, the consequences of this assumption are examined in the case of cold rolling geometries. The tribological behaviour is derived from the resolution of the Reynolds equation. The influence of the rheological parameters of the lubricant and of the existence of a cavitation zone is discussed.

The principle of mass flow AGC of tandem cold mill as wellas advanced mass flow AGC are introduced and analyzed.Based on advanced mass flow AGC, the effect of laservelocimeters to jointly control strip's thickness is analyzed.On the basis of the advanced mass flow AGC systemof tandem cold mill in Baosteel, the characteristics andmerits of advanced mass flow AGC in application of laservelocimeters are analyzed in detail.

High strength steel is an interesting alternative for making steel structures more competitive. Its production and use in Europe is small compared to markets as Japan and USA. It would be of mutual benefit for producers and users if the use increased. The paper gives examples of successful use and a state of art concerning design of such structures. Possibilities for further development and obstacles to be overcome are also discussed.

Steam ejector vacuum pumps (SVPs) are mainly used on larger melt sizes up to 350 t inintegrated steel plants because of the availability of steam. The use of dry operatingmechanical vacuum pumps (MVPs) for steel degassing has made a tremendous step forward inthe past 10 years but is still confined to melts below 150 t while its progress towardslarger melt sizes is not completed. Besides the consideration of investment and operatingcosts there is no restriction in using any type of modern vacuum pump system for allvacuum processes and plant designs. Both systems fulfil all metallurgical requirements.Considering the significant savings in operating cost offered by MVP systems it is worthreconsidering the efforts for reducing air leaks, the use of protective gases and pressurelosses between the pump set and the metallurgical reaction vessel. Both systems have madeprogress in energy optimising but the MVPs have a striking energy advantage. Only theoverall costs should be considered, including those necessary to meet emission constraintsand safety standards, and only the pressure prevailing at the reaction vessel is to beconsidered when comparing vacuum pump systems. Also, the means and use of dust abatementsystems should be reconsidered since they offer cost savings by reducing the frequency ofcleaning, less wear, little sludge handling and the significantly lower design suctioncapacity of SVP systems. The SVP mass flow need is to be corrected by a specialcoefficient before being applied to the volume conveying MVPs. Depending on theoperational pressure required for the pump design, MVP systems can reach the sameperformance at the reaction vessel with much less mass flow capacity than that needed by aSVP system.

Work based on both water model experiments and numericalinvestigations is presented. Basic flow pattern in a continuousslab casting mould adopting a BSP type nozzle is studied bynumerical simulation performed by the in-house code ofVisual Cast II, hiring the k-ε model, with results validatedby water model experiments. The structure of turbulence inthe mould is further studied by LES. The preliminary resultsreveal a certain match on transient flow patterns with thewater model experiments.

The impact of the ferritic rolling schedule on oxide scale formation and on pickling rate has been compared to its austenitic counterparts. The effect of thin hot strip development on pickling plant productivity and on pickling cost price was also analysed. Different potential improvements to increase pickling rates were investigated and economical solutions are proposed.

The determination of residual stresses in coatings generally goes with the simultaneous determination of their elasticity constants. The main experimental methods used for that purpose are briefly reviewed and their advantages and limitations discussed: mechanical tests on self-bearing layers or on coated substrates, indirect physical methods.

Homogeneity methods are very helpful in the interpretation of X-ray line shift and broadening. The use of self-consistent models becomes general, but the information given by these models, which is shown to be strongly linked with diffraction measurements, can not yet be completely exploited. It is in particular shown that the intra-phase heterogeneity of strains should in certain cases be reflected by the line broadening behaviour.