The developments of plates are strongly driven by demands from high-sophisticatedpipeline and structural applications. Such needs reflect in plates with higher thickness,larger width, higher toughness also at lower temperatures, higher strength and/or betterresistance to sour environments. The requirement profiles are, in some cases, exceptionaland have become achievable, in an extreme combination of alloying and processingtechnologies, only as a result of comprehensive development work and plant investments. Abroad potential for innovation derives by the utilization of the key-technology TMCP(Thermo-Mechanical Controlled Process). The status of present-day heavy plate productionwill be presented. An outline of the production facilities, routes and process variantswill be given. As a central element to achieve high-class requirements, aspects andparameters of the metallurgical design will be explained. The utilization will beexplained and illustrated with selected recent applications.

A new technique is presented to recycle ladle slag within the electricarc furnace through the injection system. The dilution of the chemicalspecies contained in the slag and their combination with the speciesfeaturing the EAF slag afford a double advantage: the final slagis structured by chemical species that do not lead to the formationof powders and better stabilize the foaming slag. The industrialresults are analyzed on the basis of the chemical species identificationsupported by thermodynamic modelling.

A new grade of the 200 series has been defined for theEuropean market as a candidate alternative to austeniticgrade EN 1.4301 (AISI 304). The grade was recentlyassigned a material number by VDEh (1.4618 - X9CrMnNiCu17-8-5-2). The paper presents mechanical properties ofthe grade including drawability and corrosion resistancecharacteristics. The newly designed grade has mechanicalproperties slightly superior to those of EN 1.4301 (AISI304) and equivalent to those of EN 1.4310 (AISI 301)grade. In terms of corrosion resistance, the grade is closeto that of grade EN 1.4301 (AISI 304), upgrading theclassical 200 series.

When argon gas is injected into the caster moulds, the similarity between water models and actual casting conditions comes into question. This is why LTV decided to investigate new technologies. The paper presents these technologies and discusses the programme results. PIV is a powerful laser-based technology that was used on the LTV 0.4 and full-scale water models to determine water velocities. MFC sensors are magnetic sensors that were installed on the LTV Cleveland-East 2-strand slab caster to measure actual liquid steel velocities. In addition, nails boards, X-ray and SEM analyses were extensively used to determine molten slag layer thickness profiles during casting, gas bubbles/pinholes location and steel defect composition, respectively.

A calcium treatment is performed to improve the machinability of Alkilled medium carbon steel grades. Modelling oxides with the softwareCEQCSI makes it possible to adapt the calcium level accordingto the contents in Al, S and O. The stability domain of the targetedoxides is quite narrow and highly dependent on both temperatureand composition; thus the industrial practice turns out to be difficult.This is confirmed by the analyses of inclusions in some Ca-treatedheats of ArcelorMittal Gandrange. However, their machinability propertieswere found to be 20 to 30% higher than those of the standardgrade.

The paper reviews the 200 series and points out the specificities ofthe new developed grades. Chemical compositions, mechanicalproperties, corrosion resistance properties and applications are presented.The lack of international codes for those grades is pointedout. Finally warnings are addressed for improper uses of those gradesby end-users.

The effect of methionine ethyl ester (MetOC2H5), a non-toxic compound on the corrosion of iron in citric-chloride solution at pH = 5, has been investigated by various corrosion monitoring techniques. Results obtained reveal that this compound is a very good inhibitor. Potentiodynamic polarization studies show that MetOC2H5 is a mixed-type inhibitor and that it acts on the cathodic reaction without changing the mechanism of hydrogen evolution. Variation in impedance parameters (Rt and Cdl) are indicative of adsorption of MetOC2H5 on the metal surface. The adsorption of this product on the iron surface obeys a Temkin adsorption isotherm. The effect of temperature indicates that inhibition efficiency of MetOC2H5 slightly changes with increasing temperature in the range of 30-60 °C.

The paper deals with the design of stainless steel exhaust manifolds, focusing on the development of high temperature ferritic grades and their forming capabilities related to the new forming processes, like bending and hydroforming. In particular, it is shown along the presentation, how a niobium stabilized 14%Cr grade can be used in replacement of austenitic grades in many situations of complex shaped manifolds thanks to its combined improved formability and its high temperature resistance up to 950°C. Finally, the authors present a “virtual” thermomechanical fatigue design approach, using a dedicated post processor, which would permit to optimize the design of the fabricated exhaust manifolds, and would lower the development cost and time by limiting both the number of prototype and motor bench tests and, finally, would reduce the risk of failure.

Starting from known linear models for calculating the electric energy required to elaborate a heat in an electric arc furnace, new approaches based on artificial neural networks (ANN), have been studied. The effects of strongly non-linear relations between critical furnace process parameters, and other variables, not taken into account in an equation based model, have been integrated in the ANN models. Both the off-line and on-line use of models based on time series and a new system of interconnected ANNs are described. The on-line model is designed to accurately predict the end of the heat.

Certification initiatives are product-focused, rely on standards and use sustainabilitymetrics to inform end-users on the provenance of commodities. In the metals sector, thephenomenon of formal certification programs has recently gained traction. Four initiativesare reviewed to illustrate the status and prospects of metal certification. The prime caseis the Conflict Free Smelter Program operated by the global electronics industry. Thisscheme has developed and applied standards on mineral chain-of-custody, including use ofthird-parties to audit smelters and refineries all over the world. Additional programsdiscussed are the Green Lead Project, Fair Trade and Fair Mined gold, and the ResponsibleJewellery Council. Collectively these initiatives address a variety of sustainabilitycriteria, including social, economic and environmental dimensions, but focus only onprecious and specialty metals (Au, platinum group, Pb, Sn, Ta and W). Metalscertifications programs are building capacity and infrastructure compared to matureprograms in agriculture and other commodity sectors. Opportunities and issues for growthof metals certification are considered.

Nippon Steel Corporation started the operation of a dust recycling plant based on technologies of the rotary hearth furnace. The Kimitsu plant has a large 180,000 ton-per-year capacity. New technologies of pellet making, zinc recovery, iron oxide reduction, DRI pellet sintering, etc. are developed and adopted. The dust and sludge are reduced and transformed in almost zinc-free DRI pellets that are strong enough for the BF charge. This plant has solved the problem of the increase in zinc load of the BF when charging dust and sludge.

Shipping containers have many names: cargo containers, sea cans, metal boxes, freightcontainers. Originally they were constructed, as the name reveals, “tocontain” and store items and mainly to transport goods. Freight containers are built tostrict international quality standards, to survive harsh treatment and a violent life inthe marine environment 1. The main technical detailsregarding containers were specified in an ISO (International Organization forStandardization) standard in January 1968 2. Thehistory of the shipping container starts like any other invention with a simple thought.It takes Malcom McLean, father of the shipping container, over 20 years to realize hisrevolutionary idea for the shipping industry and create a closed transport chain ofuniversal freight container for ships, trucks and trains 3. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that shipping containers have laid thefoundation for globalization and changed the world. Over 95% of the worldwide tradeaffairs are winded up in containers. Today, international freight transportation is nolonger conceivable without containerization. There are approx. 28 million containerscirculating the globe. In the last couple of years up to 3 billion TEU (Twenty-footEquivalent Unit) shipping containers were produced annually, mainly in Asia 4. Most of the freight containers are made out ofCOR-TEN-Steel, which ensures strong carrying and loading capacity and supportswithstanding deformations or corrosion. Once they have served their purpose, shippingcontainers are being recycled as scrap. Another possibility is to be used in thearchitecture as spatial modules. A container’s life is ca.12 years and every year up to1.5 billion TEU are considered disused. The continued availability of shipping containersas a building block is thus assured. Therefore, the construction business with containershas a great potential regarding sustainability. In the last 15 years shipping containerconstruction has become popular for not only living spaces and homes, but for offices,studios, schools – the variety of uses is huge. Containers offer suitable solutions for awide range of uses. The increasing interest in these “icons of globalization” can beexplained with the fact, that they are relatively inexpensive, structurally sound and inabundant supply 6. Using old freight containerscould be seen as an environmental protection strategy and also as a redesign of technicalartefacts. Building with shipping containers is a new more affordable method ofconstruction and design. Due to metamorphose in functionality and meaning of containers –from a cargo box into a habitable space – we realize how big the technical range ofdiversity is. Technique reaches and changes the “Social” through design. The impreciseterm design, which has become a vogue term nowadays, is the interfacebetween technique, body, mind and communication 5.Designed objects are always also symbolic objects for different milieus; design has aneffect on awareness raising, thus on environmental awareness. An ongoing project at RWTHAachen University gives attention exactly to those disused shipping containers, theireventuality and boundary as environmental protection strategies in the living area, aswell as to the well-known cleavage between environmental awareness and environmentalbehaviour. The project focuses on the living situation in Germany and its potential forsuch new and innovative living concepts.

The present work is concerned with the determination of boron activation energy in theC35 steel and an estimation of the mass gain generated by the boriding treatment. Theboride layers are produced by the pack-boriding method on the C35 steel in the temperaturerange of 800−1000 °C for atreatment time ranging from 0.5 to 8 h. The presence of both FeB and Fe2B phases was confirmed by theX-ray diffraction technique and by a microscopic examination of the cross-sections ofborided samples. The boron activation energy was evaluated as 153.1 kJ mol-1 in the temperature range of800−1000 °C. This value ofenergy is in agreement with the literature data. The mass gain was measured by weighingthe samples before and after the boriding treatment by the weighing technique. Theevolution of mass gain as a function of temperature and time can be described by aparabolic law. Finally, an iso-thickness diagram was established to be used as a tool tooptimize the boride layers thicknesses according to the industrial application.

The condition of the coke bed in the lower zones of the blast furnace determines the nature of liquids flow into and through the hearth. Methods for monitoring the condition of deadman cleanliness and coke bed voidage at the taphole level have been developed. Influences on metal chemistry and hearth refractory heat loads are discussed. This paper also discusses strategies for management of taphole performance by application of operator guidance techniques which employ real time data acquisition and the on-line application of mathematical models of liquids removal during casting. Recommendation strategies for installed clay volume and taphole opening/closure times are discussed.

After two previous reconsideration steps on cathodic charging and hydrogen stress cracking, then permeation measurements, a third step is presented on the SOHIC mechanism, and more generally any interaction between internal hydrogen and moving dislocations. This results in a unified mechanism for all forms of hydrogen damage, built ex-nihilo from the mere data on metal electronic structure, the physical state of the H+ ion in water, steel micrographic structure and dislocations movement. There are already many practical and theoretical consequences.

"Martensite-retained austenite" constituents play an important role on Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) toughness in the welding of structural steels. The influence of thermal cycles - especially in the case of multipass welding - and of steel composition on the presence of such constituents is discussed here. Fracture initiation mechanisms related to these constituents are also examined.

In order to obtain the dynamic variation rule of the sulfur content of liquid steel inthe LF refining process, a complete mathematical model including a desulfurization kineticmodel and temperature model in the deep desulfurization process is presented, based on thepractical production and reaction mechanism of ultra-low-sulfur steel in a LF. The resultsshow that the calculated values of the sulfur content in liquid steel using the model fitthe experimental values well, and the relative error is less than 8%. The effects ofrefining slag on the desulfurization process are analyzed in this paper, which shows thatslag basicity is most important at the early and middle stages of the process, while slagweight is most important at the middle and late stages. The effect of the above factors onthe final sulfur content of liquid steel is further analyzed quantitatively. The simulatedresults provide a theoretical basis to segment control the refining process in order toachieve the maximum effect, improving efficiency, saving energy and reducingconsumption.

The development of new technologies is often connected withthe use of non-renewable resources. In recent years a qualitativeshift in the demand of bulk metals (e.g. Fe, Al, Cu) to more scarcemetals (e.g. Te, Ga, Re) is recognisable. Novel technologiesand products rely more and more on very specific metals whichare indispensable for their function. Although such metals aregenerally used in low concentrations in products, the demandhas raised significantly due to mass production. Some of them areof high importance due to their strategic relevance to emerginginnovative technologies.
Lithium so far has gained relatively little attention, although itfulfills the main criteria of a strategically relevant metal. In recentyears, however, recognition of lithium increased as a result of thegrowing market for lithium-based rechargeable batteries in mobileinformation/communication consumer products and in electricvehicles. Both areas of demand led to a skyrocketed use of lithiumin recent years.
Other technologies in the future like fusion power generation willraise lithium consumption at an accelerated rate. It is thereforenecessary to determine the availability of lithium in the mediumand long term in order to prevent technology failures and to ensurea more sustainable development. The authors will provide a wellfoundedknowledge base, outline the availability of worldwidereserves and resources, and describe the structure of present andfuture demands for lithium.

The “cost tool” is a model that calculates the CAPEX & OPEXof the ULCOS routes. Along with the “CO2 tool”, it providesone of the key elements necessary for selecting the bestroutes: it was used for decision making when the programmoved from phase I, where 80 different routes whereunder investigation, to phase II, where 5 routes only arestudied further; it now provides updated information on theon-going routes of the last phases of the program. OPEX arecalculated by an extension of the CO2 tool, based on plantby plant simulation of the flow sheet, and CAPEX result fromthe concepts provided by the line SPs scaled by standardchemical engineering design rules. The tool is embedded in asophisticated futures studies framework, using the same longterm(2050) scenarios as the economic modeling of energyfutures carried out by LEPII [E. Bellevrat, P. Menanteau - Scenarios and economic mod-eling, Proceedings, ULCOS-4, Essen, October 2008.], which assumes a series offutures ranging from mild to strong CO2 constraint. This givesan unusual vision of when and how the CO2 externalitywill be internalized in the economy. Indeed, as claimedby the Steel Industry, the existing process routes are veryefficient and, therefore, in the context of prices encounteredsince 2000, there are not any no-regret ULCOS routes. Theselection of ULCOS routes has been carried out in coherencewith the tool conclusions, although other, non-model basedconsiderations have also been taken on board.


The development of new highly sophisticated steelgrades with extreme demands on cleanness requiresaccurate refining. The paper gives an overview on thestate-of-the-art in secondary metallurgy and describesthe trends in secondary metallurgy research in Germany.