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.

Several ferritic stabilized and austenitic stainless steels were investigated under cyclic high temperature corrosion conditions in order to assist material engineers in the choice of materials assigned to automotive exhaust systems. Cycle conditions were chosen to be representative of an actual vehicle use. The importance of spalling phenomena was confirmed. Due to their low thermal expansion coefficients, the ferritic stabilized grades behave fairly well, even in these rather severe high temperature conditions. The influence of nature and concentration in stabilizing elements (Ti, Nb) on the cyclic oxidation behaviour is pointed out.

The Arvedi Endless Strip Production plant to be startedin Cremona, Italy, is presented. The design and plantconfiguration of this facility will allow fully-continuous castingand, for the first time in the world, endless rolling of highqualitystrip in a wide range of steel grades.

The addition of boron to steel introduces the possibility ofsteel initially completely solidifying and then remelting inthe interdendritic regions at very low carbon levels. For allcarbon levels, a low melting Fe-B alloy exists as a liquiddown to around 1100°C. This liquid is found in steel with aslow as 0.0004% boron due to the boron segregation. Thepersistence of this liquid leads to hot shortness, breakouts,and other casting defects. Pseudo-binary phase diagramsfor low boron concentrations have been developed usingThermoCalc software and were confirmed using experimentaltechniques.

Dissolution of ZrO2 oxide in synthetic CaO - Al2O3 - SiO2 -Na2O - B2O3 mould fluxes was investigated in situ using aConfocal Scanning Laser Microscope (CSLM). Evolution ofparticle radius with time is obtained exhibiting strong dependenceon temperature and basicity of the mould fluxes. Therate-limiting step of the dissolution process was discussed, andbasicity was shown to significantly influence the rate-limiting step.

LKAB's experimental blast furnace with a hearth diameter of 1.2 m and a working volume of 8.2 m3 produces approximatively 35 tons of hot metal/day and, not the least, valuable information. The furnace is used for the evaluation of burden materials and combinations as well as of modified or new blast furnace operational concepts and equipments. Nine campaigns ranging from 6 to 11 weeks have been performed since the start up in 1997.

This paper describes a new approach for the functional characterization of the surface topography of metallic products. The aim is to determine in a quantitative and unbiased way the roughness parameter which describes best the property or the function of the material. To achieve this, a new numerical statistical treatment had to be defined and a specific software had to be designed and developed. With these tools, more than 100 roughness parameters can be calculated. The most pertinent one for the description of the relationship between brightness and roughness of cold rolled steel sheets is the fractal dimension.

Many materials can only be recycled a limited number of times because of physicaldegradation (paper and board), chemical degradation (plastics), or impurities (severalmetals). Management of the quality of materials is a key to high long-term recycling ratesand, hence, to the sustainable future. This key includes several elements, such as:retaining the quality of materials in the production and use of products; retaining thequality of materials in the recycling processes; and using high-quality materials onlywhen it is required. Pinch analysis is a set of methods to optimize physical flows bytaking the quality into account. It was originally developed for minimizing the energydemand in process industries. It has been adapted for optimization also of water andsolvents flows. A Japanese research group applied part of the method on flows of steelwithin Japan and globally. We present a pilot study that illustrates how all the elementsof the basic pinch approach can be applied to global systems of material flows. Ourmaterial pinch analysis (MPA) distinguishes between three categories of steelapplications, each with its own requirements on the material quality: rolled steel,sections and re-bar. Copper in wiring etc. increases the copper content of steel recycledfrom machinery and eventually restricts the recyclability of the steel in a global systemwhere steel use does not increase. This is important because an MPA is mainly relevantwhen impurities or other quality aspects restrict the recycling rate. Our quantitativeresults should not be considered accurate reflections of the reality, because the pilotstudy is to a large extent based on assumptions and crude data. However, the model gives afirst indication that the maximum recycling rate of steel is approximately 80% in apotential future when steel use does not increase, unless technology is improved. A fullMPA with more thorough data collection would more accurately define the maximum long-termrecycling rate and the minimum quantity of ore-based material. In addition, a full MPAwould give information on for what applications ore-based material should be used, andwhat scrap flows should be discarded rather than recycled. Such information can beimportant for policy-making aiming at increased resource efficiency. If it is importantfor policy-making it is also likely to be important to industrial companies that can beaffected by policies.

A zinc-pigmented corrosion protection primer is being used by the automotive industry. This state of the art “first generation” type coating is now applied on a chromate-free pre-treatment. It has been further developed and is now called the “second generation” corrosion protection primer. This new coating type has a higher thickness with double the amount of corrosion resistance and has a curing temperature suitable for BH-grade steels. The properties in corrosion, forming, welding and adhesive bonding together with the potentials for the automotive industry in using it will be presented from the viewpoint of a steel and automotive producer.

A thermodynamic approach has been used to progress in the understanding of the chemical processes taking place in the casting furnaces. The ceramic mould materials used for the casting of superalloys vaporize at high temperature under vacuum and the vapors condense then in the colder zones of the furnace. In addition, the graphite of the furnace resistor perturbs the vaporization regime of the moulds and is at the origin of other vaporization and condensation processes. The deposition regime of impurities leading to inclusions formation during the casting of the metal is modified. The thermodynamic analysis is confirmed by observations made on the superalloy casting furnaces. The deposits observed and characterized correspond to those predicted by the thermodynamic analysis, but the mass losses of the moulds producing these deposits are 60 times smaller than predicted.

The new grade has significantly improved corrosion resistance in chloride solutions compared with currently available super duplex stainless steels (e.g. UNS S32750) and the 6Mo austenitic stainless steels (e.g. UNS S31254). Some references in industrial heat exchanger applications are highlighted.

Electric vehicles in Germany are expected to have an average lifetime of twelve years. During their long use-phase these vehicles rely on electricity from the power grid. A historic review shows that over the last twelve years the German electricity-mix has undergone a massive transition. Renewable energy sources are on the rise, while nuclear power is phased out. This trend is expected to continue. Since the environmental impacts of electric vehicles depend on the electricity-mix, this study performs a life cycle assessment that respects the transitions in the observed time-span. This study defines the new term “time-resolved LCA”, in contrast to conventional LCA- and dynamic LCA-methodology, as an LCA-approach which is based on statistical, time-resolved data. Time-resolved LCA aims at becoming a simple and feasible method to reduce model-uncertainty in LCA. The authors conclude that time-resolved LCA improves model-quality significantly. Most environmental impacts of electric vehicles decrease, when the more precise time-resolved approach is employed. Further implications of the new approach are outlined.

The mixed regime of lubrication is most frequently encountered in cold strip rolling processes. A model is presented hereafter. The lubrication at the interface is closely coupled with the mechanics of the rolling process. Therefore, the proposed model combines a macroscopic model of rolling (elastic-plastic slab method) with a microscopic mixed lubrication model, consisting of a Reynolds equation for rough surfaces (describing the formation of the lubricant film) and an equation for the evolution of roughness, describing the conformation of the strip surface to the roll. The bases of the model are presented and compared to models in the literature; its hypotheses and results are discussed, a few applications are given.

The Steel Industry today is a large and capital-intensive industry, which has reached a high level of sophistication, complexity and efficiency. This benefits the consumer, as the price of steel has been steadily decreasing, which helps bring down the price of consumer goods. Steelmaking has therefore become focused on a small number of process routes, which connect together standard, mainstream and high performance technologies. It seems therefore that the industry is very mature and that little leeway is available for change, as past progress has already brought it close to physical limits. This is a view of the Steel Industry, which is contemporary and central to the strategy of this business. A Steel Mill that does not operate within the paradigms of the mainstream state-of-the art technologies will be doomed by economic troubles and eventual bankruptcy. However, Steel or Iron have remained at the core of civilization for roughly 3,000 years and the model of the Steel Industry discussed above is only roughly 30 years old. There have been many more different models in the past, from Prehistory to History, and it is likely that even more will emerge in the Future. Indeed, it is reasonable to assume that Iron and Steel will continue to be used for a very long time. The present paper discusses Steel from the standpoint of an Enduring Material and the Steel Industry from that of a Cumulative Technology and explores how these two important concepts have led to industry changes in the Past and will most likely contribute to more changes in the Future.

General indications are first given about the purpose and the use of surface modification techniques in art. The activity in this field at the "Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France" is then described: surface assessment, techniques of restoration, recommendations for conservation. The authorized range of scientific investigation on patrimonial objects is discussed. A methodological analysis of various surface characterization methods and surface treatments is proposed. A limited number of demonstrative examples show the application of these methods in different areas at the Louvre.

The 3rd octave chatter in cold rolling mills is a major issue for theindustrial production of thin sheets with very tight tolerances, likepackaging steels for instance. In this context, an experimental andtheoretical approach, completed in partnership by Arcelor and VAI,afforded a precise analysis and innovative results, in the followingfields : global on-line tandem mill instrumentation and efficient signaltreatments implementation ; clear differentiation between brummer (non divergent mode) and chatter (divergent mode) ; modelling ofinteractions between chatter and technology (analytical and F.E.approaches) ; advanced chatter monitoring and industrial implementation.

A finite element 3D polycrystalline aggregate made of 216 grains is subjected to a mean axial deformation up to 1%. The heterogeneities inside the polycrystal are due to the crystallographic orientations of the grains - this appears at the scale of the mean responses per grain - and to the local interaction between neighbouring grains - this appears at the intragranular scale. The intragranular heterogeneity is measured as a function of the distance to the grain boundary, inside a single grain and for all the points of the microstructure. It is characterized by dispersions of the local responses due to grain boundaries. These measurements correspond to dispersions - variances -; the statistical errors have also been determined.

By depositing PVD coatings on already conventionally galvanized steel sheets novel zinc alloy coatings have been developed. One of the biggest advantages of PVD coatings lies in the broad choice of coating materials as there are no constraints due to chemical reactions between the substrate and the coating. This leads to a variety in the coating compositions. Accordingly, PVD processes enable customized solutions for various purposes. Magnesium on galvanized sheet steel has been identified as a very promising coating system. Corrosion performance is improved considerably while other properties like forming, joining and painting are comparable to or better than the untreated galvanized material.

CVC plus® is a worldwide established and well proventechnology package to control profile and flatness in hot stripmills and plate mills. Latest developments of this technologyare the application of CVC plus® grindings on work and backuprolls, CVC plus® grindings of higher order and intelligentshifting strategies. The capability of the developments isdemonstrated with recent operational results.

It is necessary for a machine casting products of medium thickness to cast at a speed as high as possible for productivity. But, longitudinal surface cracks and fluctuation of molten steel level increase as the casting speed increases. The peritectic steel grade is most sensitive to such defects and phenomena. Thanks to various technological developments, the peritectic steel grade could be cast at a casting speed of 5.0 m/min, which is the highest used ever.