MDP 233 Modern steel

making course Prof. Dr. Mohamed

Year 2016-2017 Ahmed Taha
Lecture No.1
Why steel?
Why steel?
Why steel?
Why steel?
Overview of Modern steel production
Steel production
World steel production
World steel production
World steel consumption
Ferrous Metals and Alloys

Production - General
Properties - Application
 ferrous metal

What is a ferrous metal or ferrous

alloy? It is simply a metal or alloy that
contains Iron (the element ferrous) as the base
(starting) metal.

26th element
Iron or Ferrous
55.85 Atomic Mass
 General Categories of Ferrous
Metals and Alloys

Carbon and alloy steels

Stainless steel
Tool and Die steel
Cast Irons
Cast Steels
**Ferrous tools first appear about 4000 to
3000 BC, made from meteoritic iron. Real
ironworking started in about 1100 BC in
Asia Minor, and started the Iron Age.
APPLICATION OF FERROUS
(IRON) METALS / ALLOYS
Production of Iron and Steel
 Raw Materials for Production

Iron Ore

Limestone ---------------------

Coke
 Iron Ore

Abundant, makes up 5% of earths crust

Is not found in free state, must be found in
rocks and oxides, hence Iron ore.
After mining, the ore is crushed and the iron is
separated, then made into pellets, balls or
briquettes using binders, such as water.
The pellets are typically 65% iron, and about
1 in diameter.
 Coke
Coke is formed by heating coal to 2100*F (1150 C),
then cooling it in quenching towers.

You need more than Iron? Why coke is used

1. Generates high heat, needed in order for
chemical reactions in
ironmaking to take place.
2. Produces CO (carbon monoxide) which
reduces
iron-oxide to Iron.
 Limestone

Limestone (calcium carbonate) is used to remove

impurities.

When the metal is melted, limestone combines

with impurities and floats to the top of the metal,
forming slag. The slag can then be removed,
purifying the iron.
Iron making
 Raw Materials Pig Iron

The three raw materials are dumped into a blast furnace.

Hot air (2000*F) is blasted into the furnace, which helps

drive the chemical reaction. The coke forms CO and the
CO reduces the iron oxide to iron.

The slag floats to the top and the metal is transferred to

molds and cools. IT IS NOW PIG IRON, ready for more
iron work or steelmaking.
Blast Furnace

(Same height as a 10 story building)

Direct reduced Iron DRI
Steelmaking
 Pig Iron Steel
To make steel you are simply removing more impurities, such as,
manganese, silicon, carbon, from the pig iron.

Impurities are removed by re-melting the metal and adding

carbon, steel scrap, and more limestone.

The metal can be melted using one of three methods.

Open-Hearth furnace
Electric furnace
Basic Oxygen furnace. (BOF)
 Open-Hearth Furnace

Uses a fuel to generate heat, and melt the metal.

Basic-Oxygen Furnace
Fastest steelmaking process can
make 250 tons of steel / hour
Melted pig iron and scrap are poured
(charged) into a vessel.
Fluxing agents are added, like
limestone.
The molten metal is blasted with pure
oxygen. This produces iron oxide
which then reacts with carbon to
produce CO and CO2. The slag floats
to the top of the metal.
Higher steel quality than open hearth.
Used to make plate, sheet, I-beam,
tubing and channel.
 Electric Furnace

Uses electric arc from electrode to metal to heat and melt it.
Can produce 60-90 tons of steel per day.
Steel is higher quality than open-hearth and BOF
 Vacuum Furnace

Uses induction furnaces.

Air is removed from the furnace, this
removes the gaseous impurities
from the molten metal.
Produces very high-quality steel.
Casting Ingots
 Ingots

While steel is still molten, it is poured into a mold. The

mold may be a square, rectangle or round. The metal
becomes an ingot in the mold.
They can weigh 100 lbs to 40 tons.
The ingot will be removed from the mold and heated
uniformly to be rolled or formed into a final product.
HOWEVER While the molten metal cools, or
solidifies, gasses evolve and can affect the quality of
the steel. This leads to three types of steel: Killed
Steel, Semi-Killed Steel, and Rimmed Steel.
 Killed Semi-Killed Rimmed Steel

Killed Steel This is a fully deoxidized steel, and thus, has

no porosity.
This is accomplished by using elements like aluminum
to de-oxidize the metal. The impurities rise and mix
with the slag.
It is called killed because when the metal is poured it
has no bubbles, it is quiet.
Because it is so solid, not porous, the ingot shrinks
considerably when it cools, and a pipe or shrinkage
cavity forms. This must be cut off and scrapped.
 Killed Semi-Killed Rimmed Steel

Semi-Killed Steel: This is practically the same

as killed steel, with some minor differences.
It is only partially de-oxidized, and
therefore, is a little more porous than killed
steel.
Semi-Killed does not shrink as much as it
cools, so the pipe is much smaller and
scrap is reduced.
It is much more economical and efficient to
produce.
 Killed Semi-Killed Rimmed Steel

Rimmed Steel: This is produced by adding

elements like aluminum to the molten metal to
remove unwanted gases. The gasses then
form blowholes around the rim.
Results in little or no piping.
HOWEVER, impurities also tend to collect
in the center of the ingot, so products or
rimmed steel need to be inspected and
tested.
 Continuous Casting

-Molten metal skips ingot

step, and goes directly the
furnace to a tundish

-Metal solidifies in the mold

-The metal descends at about 1/sec
-The solidified metal then goes through
pinch rollers that determine the final
form.
 Benefits of Continuous Casting

Costs less to produce final product

Metal has more uniform composition and properties than
ingot processing.
 Types of steel

Carbon and Alloying

Steel

Stainless Steels

Tool and Die Steels

 Carbon and Alloying Steels
Carbon and alloying steels are the most
commonly used metals
The structural makeup and controlled
processing of these steels make them
suitable for many different functions.
Basic product shapes include plate, sheet,
bar, wire, tube, castings, and forgings.
Increasing the percentages of these
elements in steels, increases the
properties they impart.
 Effects of Elements in Steels

Different elements are added to steels to

given the steel different properties.
The elements pass on properties such
as harden- ability, strength, hardness,
toughness, wear resistance, etc.
Some properties are beneficial while
others are detrimental.
 Effects of Elements in Steels
Boron: Improves hardenability without the loss of (or even with
some improvement in) machinability and formability.
Calcium: Deoxidizes steels, improves toughness, and may
improve formability and machinability.
Carbon: improves hardenability, strength, hardness, and wear
resistance; it reduces ductility, weldability, and toughness.
Cerium: controls the shape of inclusions and improves
toughness in high-strength low alloy steels; it deoxidizes steels.
Chromium: improves toughness, hardenability, wear and
corrosion resistance, and high-temperature strength; it
increases the depth of the hardness penetration resulting from
heat treatment by promoting carburization.
Cobalt: improves strength and hardness at elevated
temperatures.
 Effects of Elements in Steels
Copper: improves resistance to atmospheric corrosion and,
to a lesser extent, increases strength with little loss in
ductility; it adversely affects the hot-working characteristics
and surface quality.
Lead: improves machinability; it causes liquid-metal
embrittlement.
Magnesium: has the same effects as cerium.
Manganese: improves hardenability, strength, abrasion
resistance, and machinability; it deoxidizes the molten steel,
reduce shot shortness, and decreases weldability.
Molybdenum: improves hardenability, wear resistance,
toughness, elevated-temperature strength, creep resistance,
and hardness; it minimizes temper embrittlement.
 Effects of Elements in Steels
Nickel: improves strength, toughness, and corrosion
resistance; it improves hardenability.
Niobium (columbium): imparts fineness of grain size and
improves strength and impact toughness; it lowers
transition temperature and may decrease hardenability.
Phosphorus: improves strength, hardenability, corrosion
resistance, and machinability; it severely reduces ductility
and toughness.
Selenium: improves machinability.
Silicon: improves strength, hardness, corrosion resistance,
and electrical conductivity; it decreases magnetic-
hysteresis loss, machinability, and cold formability.
 Effects of Elements in Steels
Sulfur: Improves machinability when combined with
manganese; it lowers impact strength and ductility and
impairs surface quality and weldability.
Tantalum: has effects similar to those of niobium.
Tellurium: improves machinability, formability, and
toughness.
Titanium: improves hardenability; it deoxidizes steels.
Tungsten: has the same effects as cobalt.
Vanadium: improves strength, toughness, abrasion
resistance, and hardness at elevated temperatures; it inhibits
grain growth during heat treatment.
Zirconium: has the same effects as cerium
 Residual Elements
During the processing of
steels some residual
elements remain in the
medal.
These residuals are trace
elements that are unwanted
due to their detrimental
properties but cannot be
extracted completely.
Some of these residual
elements include: antimony,
arsenic, hydrogen, nitrogen,
oxygen, and tin.
Molten Steel
 Carbon Steels
Carbon steels are group by
their percentage of carbon
content per weight. The higher
the carbon content the greater
the hardness, strength and
wear resistance after heat
treatment.
Low-carbon steel, also called
mild steels, has less than
0.30% carbon. Used in
everyday industrial products
like bolts, nuts, sheet, plate High Carbon Steel Nails
and tubes.
 Carbon Steels
Medium-carbon steel has 0.30% to 0.60%
carbon. Used for jobs requiring higher
strength such as machinery, automotive
equipment parts, and metalworking
equipment.
High-carbon steel has more than 0.60%
carbon. Used parts that require the highest
strength, hardness, and wear resistance.
Once manufactured they are heat treated
and tempered
 Alloy Steels
Alloy steels are steels that contain
significant amounts of alloying elements.

High strength low alloy steels

Microalloyed steels
 Alloy Steels
High-strength, low-alloy Microalloyed
steels (HSLA) steels steels Provide
were developed to superior properties
improve the ratio of without the use of
strength to weight. heat treating. When
used in automobile bodies cooled carefully
and in the transportation these steels develop
industry (the reduced enhanced and
weight makes for better consistent strength.
fuel economy ).
 Stainless Steels

Stainless steels
are primarily know
for their corrosion
resistance, high
strength, and
ductility and
chromium content.
 Stainless Steels

The reason for the name stainless is due to the

fact that in the presence of oxygen, the steel
develops a thin, hard, adherent film of chromium.
Even if the surface is scratched, the protective film is
rebuilt through passivation.
For passivation to occur there needs to be a minimum
chromium content of 10% to 12% by weight.
 Stainless Steels
Stainless steels tend to have lower
carbon content since increased carbon
content lowers the corrosion resistance
of stainless steels.
Since the carbon reacts with chromium it
decreases the available chromium content
which is needed for developing the
protective film.
 Stainless Steels
Using stainless steels as reinforcing bars, has become
a new trend, in concrete structures such as highways
buildings and bridges.
It is more beneficial than carbon steels because it is
resistant to corrosion from road salts and the concrete itself.

Rebar corrosion
in concrete
 Tool and Die Steels
Tool and die steels are alloyed steels
design for high strength, impact
toughness, and wear resistance at
normal and elevated temperatures.

High-speed steels Maintain their hardness

and strength at elevated operating
temperatures. There are two basic types
the M-series and T-series
 Tool and Die Steels
M-series contain 10 %
molybdenum and have
higher abrasion resistance
than T- series
T- Series contain 12 % to 18
% tungsten. They undergo
less distortion in heat
treatment and are less
expensive than the M-series.

M- series steel drill bits coated

with titanium