The applications of vacuum treatments for coating metals are recalled. The surface preparation, which is essential for any efficient deposition process, is first examined. The main vacuum coating techniques are described in detail, with the emphasis on technologies actually used in tndustry, with their advantages and disadvantages. Examples of the industrial application of this process are given and their economic importance discussed.

Carmakers face ever more frequently the phenomenon of spring-back after stamping, especially with new high strength steels (HSS and VHSS). Renault and Arcelor have been working together for many years on the formability and spring-back of VHSS. Recently, they aimed at establishing a method to optimize die shape in order to compensate for the spring-back after stamping. A method, named “Outifo” has been developed in order to obtain by simulation, from the initial CADs of the part and its referential stamped die, a CAD of a die with a modified shape. This allows the real stamping part, after forming and spring-back, to recover as closely as possible the geometry of the theoretical part defined by the designer.

To meet the demand for Interstitial Free and Bake Hardening steelgrades for the automotive industry, CST has developed a productionprocess for steels with ultra low carbon (<20 ppm), and low nitrogen(<30 ppm) levels, along with a narrow range of carbon content. Thenew process also ensures a high degree of cleanliness of the CCslabs.

With extremely high cooling rates, a combined laminar jet andspray nozzle design cooling facility is the most advanced tool forthe evolution of mechanical properties of high-strength steels. Themain metallurgical aspects of Accelerated Cooling (ACC) andDirect Quenching (DQ) are presented. Typical plate applicationsare brought up. Design, engineering and operational aspects ofmodern cooling facilities are explained. Of particular importancefor a homogenous cooling process is a powerful process controlfeaturing advanced process models.

In spite of its shortcomings, the salt spray test is universally used to characterize the corrosion resistance of zinc based coatings. A working group has tried to improve its reliability by the introduction of a new calibration method of the equipment. The outcome of the work is the definition of a new testing procedure, presently adopted in France for the control of coated products delivered to the automobile industry.

The instrumented bars designed and patented by Arcelor Research enable precise calibration of the actuators (roll-gap, transversal and longitudinal tilting and back-up rolls) of levellers. The calibration procedure requires to stop the cut-to-length line for 30 minutes to calibrate the leveller, if no major mechanical operation is necessary. The measurement device will guarantee the pre-setting validity and the longevity of the leveller.

TEM in situ straining experiments are of high interest in evidencing the dislocation mechanisms responsible for the macroscopic behaviour of materials. The application of this technique to biphased materials is illustrated here through various examples in which deformation is controlled either by dislocation propagation (e.g. precipitate overcoming) or by dislocation nucleation (e.g. interfacial sources).

It is economically important for manufacturers of high-temperature machines to be able to measure creep damage so they can predict residual service life more accurately. This paper describes and refines an image analysis method for evaluating creep damage in laboratory test pieces. It is a preliminary study of how to extract relevant information for damage measurement by cavities counting. Grain boundary extraction, which is directional information, is the major question to be overcome before measurement can be automated. The search for a crest-line extraction filter by the Canny method has led to the development of a directional wavelet transform filter. The results of this innovative filtering method are applied here.

Energy efficiency in BOF process is related to hot metal and scrapratio and thus to production capacity potential and specific CO2emissions. A thermal balance in the fume system, using a selectedmetrology, can be calculated dynamically and provides a valuabletool for investigating the process parameters that are relevant foroptimizing and controlling energy efficiency. The method and firstresults are presented.

The major changes that have occurred in the steel industry are described along three periods: the thirty years boom-period after World War II; the zero growth period (1973-1983); the last period, from 1983 to nowadays. Under the heavy influence of the overall trends of world economy, these periods can be distinguished, for the steel industry, by the different levels of priority for productivity, for specific flat carbon steel product developments or for environmental protection. The intricate relations that prevail between the development of new processes, innovative product metallurgies and the requirements expressed by steel customers are highlighted.

The performance of lubrication systems for cold double reductionrolling has been investigated. Pilot mill trials have been achievedwith direct and recirculated emulsion application as well as with pureoil to analyse the effect of lubrication by emulsion on role bite frictionand the associated speed effect. It is then attempted to define anoptimized lubrication system that combines the advantages affordedby the direct and recirculated application systems.

The hot ductility of Ti-bearing steel was studied by theoretical calculation and athermal simulation experiment. Meanwhile, microsegregation and precipitates were analyzed.The results showed that the S, P and O elements were enriched at the grain boundaries,while the hot ductility was deteriorated by inclusions of (Fe, Mn, Si, Al)(S,O) in theinterdendritic region. At a temperature of 1300 °C, large TiN particles have little effecton the hot ductility. In the temperature range from 1000 °C to 900 °C, the Reduction ofArea (R.A) declined rapidly from 81.77%to 31.77%, with the size of particles decreasing from 5 to 20 nm and quantity increasingfrom 1.2 inds/μm2 to 354 inds/μm2,respectively. In the temperature range from 900 °C to 850 °C,R.A decreased from 31.77% to 30.12%with the ferric films gradually thickening. The critical stress, 63.58 MPa, was equal totensile strength at 912 °C. Intergranular fracture occurred easily with higher criticalstress below 912 °C.

Existing rolling mills entering the markets for high quality steel may be limited by their descaling systems installed in terms of pressure and flow rate. In addition to the potential for optimizations of existing systems, the potential for optimization of the nozzle design itself has now been fully utilized in order to maximize the impact at a given water flow and pressure. New design methods and production technologies have been applied.

The selective oxidation of three CMnSi steels with differentC levels was studied by XPS. The formation of a graduallycovering SiO2 film is observed until a transition temperatureabove which the oxide film disappears, resulting in a renewedappearance of metallic iron at the surface. This change inoxidation behavior is thought to be due to the SiO2 reductionby solute C which is thermodynamically favorable at hightemperature. At the same time the precipitation of a BN filmon the metallic surface was observed which prevented anyfurther oxidation.

The application of finite element techniques to modelling the longproducts rolling process, the use of a customized interface to enablethe rapid set-up of sequential simulations, and the benefits thathave been obtained are described. The paper also discusses theenhancements to incorporate a design of experiments/design optimisationmodule and to enable material tracking.

The context of strong local sensitivity to dust emissions from an integrated steel plant like Sollac Dunkerque justifies the monitoring of the emissions of abnormally coloured smokes from this plant. In a first step, the watch was done "visually" by screening and counting the puff emissions through a set of seven cameras and magnetoscopes. The development of a new device making automatic picture analysis allowed to render the inspection automatic. The new system detects and counts the incidents and sends an alarm to the process operator. This way for automatic detection can be extended, after some tests, to other uses in the environmental field.

Blast furnace No. 1 of Companhia Siderúrgica de Tubarão has been in continuous operation for 20 years, accomplishing a high operational performance with high productivity and low fuel consumption. With a view to reach the major objective of 18,500 t/m3/IV of productivity, several works have been carried out in order to extend the furnace campaign until 2008. This paper presents the results of these activities along with a proposal for a new concept of hearth wear.

CPM developed a mechanical sensor to measure coke oven wall deflections. This sensor was used in Dunkirk coke plant under normal operating conditions and showed reversible deflections between 1 and 1.5 mm when plastic layers meet at the oven centre. Special blends, with a high content of low volatile coals, were charged in several ovens of the Drocourt coke plant. In those conditions, CPM noticed the same phenomena as in Dunkirk plant but also reversible wall deflections just after charging.

In Europe, like elsewhere, the share of steel produced by electric arc furnaces from scrap increases. As the amount of internal scrap has decreased considerably, the steel plants recycle more and more collected obsolete and capital scrap. This source of iron has increased rapidly and will continue to increase. In spite of that, some plants may have to include in their EAF charge prereduced iron coming from countries where natural gas is available at low cost.

Today, the numerical simulation of fluid dynamic phenomena(CFD) in steelmaking applications is state of the art. Thelatest simulation results for the BOF and AOD as well asthe thin strip casting process are described. The basicinfluence of the process parameters, e.g. blowing andstirring rate, vessel dimension, location of top lance, numberand arrangement of porous plugs, on the converter meltflow and mixing time is simulated. In the case of thin stripcasting, the free melt flow on the moving belt is influencedby an induced electromagnetic field. The respective MHD(magneto-hydrodynamic) is presented.