Polypyrrole films are electrodeposited on zinc and other common metals in a one-step process by using a salicylate salt in a pH 5 aqueous solution of pyrrole. This electrolyte passivates the substrate and makes it possible to obtain strongly adherent PPy films, with controlled thickness by electrolysis at constant current. With this technique, the current efficiency is high and the deposition rate is high enough to be compatible with the imperatives of industrial production (2 μm in 3 s with a 200 mA/cm2 current density).

A new 400,000 ton/year 2-stand temper and double reduction mill has started production in April 1999 at Dongbu Steel Asan Bay Works in Korea. This facility produces skin-passed and double reduced tin mill black plates. The line incorporates state of the art technologies including AC motor driven 4-high CVC mills and computer integrated automation systems. The line has the capability of producing products 600 mm to 1,250 mm wide and in gauges from 0.15 mm to 1.0 mm for skin-passed products and from 0.15 mm to 0.36 mm for double-reduced products. An outline and the features of the line as well as the quality characteristics of the products are presented.

VAI-Q Strip is a quality control system, based on physical-metallurgical models, for hot-rolled strip. This joint development of VOEST-ALPINE Industrieanlagenbau and VOEST-ALPINE Stahl Linz allows the automatic on-line control of the mechanical properties using very accurate prediction methods. Since the beginning of 2000, an extended version of the system is in operation at VOEST-ALPINE Stahl Linz and very good quality results, as well as cost savings, have been achieved.

Deposition of zirconia inside hollow substrates in remote Ar-O2-H2 post-discharges is considered. The inner surface of cylindrical substrates is coated by a thin film of monoclinic zirconia at 573 K and above. A complete modelling, required to control the process, is developed by solving the conservation equations of continuity, momentum and energy. By this means, the thickness homogeneity of the layers is improved and almost constant deposition rates are obtained along the substrate.

The forthcoming European legislation on cars and environment protection has an impact on the materials used for the production of cars. Weight reduction to limit the emission of green house effect gases is possible using new designs with recently developed high strength steels. Examples are described for the body in white and for hang-on panels. Specific steel products provide increased energy absorption capacity and stiffness, and the present coating technologies provide sheets with the required corrosion resistance. Methods are also developed to produce good quality scrap from the vehicles at their life end; they lead to a high degree of material recycling and to a reduction of waste.

Refractory ceramic fibre has been classified by the European Union as a category 2 carcinogen. At the request of the Usinor group's management, a working party involving medical doctors, users, refractory researchers and fibre manufacturers was set up to review refractory ceramic fibres applications in the steel plants, to measure fibrous dust in the atmosphere of work areas, to propose a code of practice applied to refractory fibres and finally to propose substitutes for refractory ceramic fibres where it is technically possible by a less dangerous substance.

The observation and Raman analysis of the surface of a PET polymer after the impact of an aluminium particle, combined with thermal modelling, have shown the presence of a zone with modified crystallization. This heat affected zone, with a thickness of a few microns, has different shapes depending on the geometry of the splat particle which is at its origin. This is the sign of a sharp temperature increase followed by a very rapid cooling. As a result, the proposition of crystallized phase is gradually decreased, and an amorphous phase is formed in a thin layer close to the surface. These results have been used to develop a protective plasma spraying technique for the coating of organic parts.

This paper reports on some aspects of a ENI Group feasibility study of high pressure (> 100bar) - high strength pipelines designed for transportation of large quantities of naturalgas over long distances (> 2500 km). The experimental results obtained in collaborationwith Centro Sviluppo Materiali (CSM) and ILVA L.T. clearly showed the full reliability ofmodern high strength linepipe materials of X70-X80 grade, with respect to fracturebehaviour, even at low temperature, in very high pressure regimes.

The acoustic near field method consists in studying the alteration of the resonance curve of a horn whose tip, the probe, is immersed in the sample. The operating mode in a medium in which strong variations of the rheological properties take place, is modelled for two horn shapes, one with a conical probe, the second one with a stepped cylindrical probe. The experimental curves obtained during the cement setting prove the validity of the simulations. The sensitivity of the horn to a given step of the setting is achieved by adjusting the probe shape.

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.

They have been applied to the production of plates, beams and bars for bridges, buildings and mechanical equipment. These products are characterized by a great metallographic homogeneity, high strength with minimized scatter, high toughness of the base metal and the welded joints, the possibility to weld without preheating, etc.

Iron-aluminium alloys containing up to 9 wt-for the development of high performance lightweight steels for automotive applications and for building constructions. Some of these alloys have a b.c.c. structure and have interesting physical and mechanical properties. Macro-alloying with manganese favours the formation of the austenite phase. Micro-alloying and thermomechanical processing including texture development will improve the plastic anisotropy properties and the strain hardening exponent.

The hydroforming technology is well-known since several years and undergoes an extremely dynamic development in automotive applications, especially in Germany and the United States. The hydrofoming of sheet metal pairs is still at a pre-industrial stage. This publication presents the process and draws attention to some particular results of research work. Principal working directions for investigations, regarding the transfer of the hydroforming process for sheet metal pairs to industry are mentioned.