7th March 2007

1 1
 Interstitial Free Steel

Dr. A. K. Das
QA/QC and R&D

2 2
Evolution of
Automobile

3 3
Auto body panels

4 4
 Deep drawn cups

High rm
5 5
 Difference in behavior of IF steel

IF EDD

Tear occurs in EDD, But no problems

in IF steel

6 6
 What is IF Steel?

Low carbon steel Interstitial free steel

Fe atom
C, N atom

Very low content of C and N in steel composition

7 7
 IF steel - Basics
• Since there is no interstitial
elements in solid solution,
there is no dislocation-
locking by interstitial atoms

• Fully ‘stabilized’ IF steel Plain C-Steel

does not feature yield point
phenomenon, and the
material is suitable for
extensive deep drawing

IF Steel
8 8
 IF Steel Characteristics

• No stretcher strain
problem
• High Formability (
high Lankford
parameter and n-
value)

Stretcher strain marks

9 9
 Lankford parameter

r = εw/εt

Low εt value means less deformation in thickness

10
direction, high r value and larger cup depth
10
 Stretchability ( n-value)
• Another important factor -
indicates the ability of
distributing the strain,
thereby preventing
localized thinning and
cracking
• Expressed as strain
hardening exponent or n
value: σ = kεn, (k is a True Strain Vs True Stress

11
constant) 11
 Properties of IF Steel

• Lankford
parameter ~
2.0 or
above
• n value ~
0.25

12 12
 Benchmarking present
performance of Essar vis-à-vis
major Players

13 13
 Properties of IF at Essar
Distribution of YS
Data for 140 coils
50% Distribution of TS
% of coils tested

40%
50%

% of coils tested
30%
40%
20% 30%
10% 20%
0% 10%
0%
0

0
14

15

16

17

18

0
0

0
0-

0-

0-

0-

0-

28

29

30

32
31
13

14

15

16

17

0-

0-

0-

0-
0-
27

28

29

30

31
MPa MPa

Distribution of R-Bar
Typical IF properties
% of coils tested

35%
30% • YS: 130-150 MPa
25%
20% • UTS: 280-300 MPa
15%
10% • %El: 48-52 (50 mm GL)
5%
0% • n value: 0.24-0.25
• rm: 2.0-2.2
2
9

2.
.7

.8

.9

.0

1-
-1

-1
-1

-2

2.
7

(Lankford parameter)
9

0
1.

1.

1.

2.

Data for 66 coils r-bar

14 14
 Steel Composition

C N Distribution of C for IFS01

(PPM) (PPM)
140
Arcelor 22 34 120
100
Other Indian 30 34 80
Producers 60
C
40
Essar 42 45
20
(398 Heats)
0
Essar-RH 30 48 0.002- 0.003- 0.004- 0.005-
0.0025 0.0035 0.0045 0.0055
(2 heats)
Data for 398 heats
15 15
 How to improve the R-bar

16 16
 Yield
• OVERALL YIELD OF IF (Slab to CRCA)
Other leading Indian producer (prime quality to OEMs) 78%
Nippon Steel Cor(NSC) 94.5%
• For skin panels, the yield is lower than the above
figure by 10-40%
• NSC : Full skinning of slabs
Other leading Indian producer : Full skinning
in almost all slabs
• Essar
– Slab Æ HR : 95% ( Prodn since 2000)
17 – ( HRÆ CRCA) : 72% ( On 1644 MT prodn) 17
 Why poor yield ?
• Auto makers demand blemish free
surface
• If chemistry is improper, cracking/
thinning occurs on pressed auto
components
• Cost of diversion in final stage is very
high – In process assessment and
diversion of non-conforming batches
Through Process approach for better results

18 18
Why target IF steel production ?
Passenger car/CV market growth projections
Cars Commercial Vehicles
3500
3000
636
2500 567
507
2000 452
404
1500 361
322
254 2325
1000
185 1854 2076
286 243 168 164 149 1478 1655
1319
500
707 909 1178
486 499 649 632 663
0

)
97

98

99

00

01

02

03

04

(E

(F

(F

(F

(F

(F
19

19

19

20

20

20

20

20

05

06

07

08

09

10
20

20

20

20

20

20
All Figures are Thousand Vehicles

• One passenger car uses approximately 0.25 T of IF steel

• By 2010, the carThe IF Market
market is expected to cross 2 Mil Vehicles
which meansisIFexpected to cross
steel demand will be 0.5 MTPA for cars only.
• There will be additional
1 MTPAdemand
by 2010from 2 wheeler/3
wheeler/commercial vehicle segment which are growing @ 16-
23% per year
• India is also becoming manufacturing hub of auto components

19 19
 Advantage Essar
• Present source of IF for Indian Auto Industry are :
– TATA
– Bhusan ( Through imported HR )
– Essar
– Direct Import
• For Western & Northern India, Essar has a strategic
advantage
• Essar as a brand is well known in Middle-East,
South-east Asia, South Africa and parts of Europe.
Hence tapping of IF market abroad is a distinct
possibility
IF steel – A good strategic product for Essar

20 20
 Cost of IF production
Cost drivers Effect Counter action
Ferroalloys Moderate Reduce Nb, use Ti based IF wherever
( Al, Fe-Ti, Fe-Nb) (Not significant grade possible
extra)
Processing Cost
RH input cost Moderate Attempt longer campaign. For this,
( Refractory, Steam, Oxygen, certain de-bottlenecking needs to be
Fuel ) done at Essar

Processing time
Excess time at High Attempt bypass LF by increasing tap
LF-RH route ( Loss of EAF otential) temp, lower RH processing time
Excess time at annealing High Continuous annealing is a possible
long term solution.
Yield loss High Backup orders for diverted material

Improved process control and quality

management

IF is not necessarily an expensive steel – It fetches good

21
premium 21
 Processing of IF Steel

22 22
 Processing

• Steel making and vacuum degassing

• Slab casting
• Slab conditioning
• Hot rolling
• Cold rolling
• Annealing and skin pass rolling
• Inspection and finishing (trimming,
slitting, packaging, etc.)
23 23
 Refining of IF Steel

24 24
 RH Vessel

• Purpose: Reduce ‘C’

<0.003% Alloying and
attain chemistry
• Clean steel production

• RH Treatment De-C :
[C] + [O] → CO (gas)
• Addition of alloying
elements

25 25
 Schematic diagram: RH-MFB

Lower TDT
Lower steel C
Higher Vessel Life
IF-HS grades possible

26 26
 EAF-RH-Caster
• Temperature requirement :
– IF liquidus temperature : 1532 °C
– Superheat for casting : 25°C
– Tundish temperature : 1557°C
– Ladle temperature : 1570°C
– RH out temperature : 1585°C
– Net temp drop at RHF : X°C
– RH in temperature : 1585°C + X°C
– EAF tapping : 1615°C + X°C
Key issues :
• Managing X°C
• Managing temperature drop during tap

27 27
 IF Slab Casting

28 28
 Casting Parameters
Cast No :-A48664 Grade :- SRIFS01 Set width :- 1425 mm

• Tundish Weight
• Steel Superheat
• SEN Choking (&
Bias Flow)
• Ar flow and Ar
back pressure Cast No :-A48666 Grade :- SRIFS01 Set width :- 1425 mm

• MLF
• Throughput (t/min)
• Stopper movement
and flushings

29 29
 Issues/Challenges of Casting
• Re-oxidation

– Steel being de-oxidized, susceptible to re-oxidation ([Al]steel + Oair

→ Al2O3) and ‘N’ pick up.
– Al2O3 causes slivers and N>0.004% leads to downgrading
(removal of Al2O3 in tundish or mould is rather difficult)
– Al2O3 causes nozzle clogging

• Clean liquid steel

• Trapping mould powder/ argon bubbles

30 30
 Prevent Re-oxidation

• Proper sealing between shroud and ladle

• Ar injection in shroud
• Bell type shroud
• Free Opening
• Ar flushing of Tundish
• Basic flux as top cover
• Ar purity
• Prevent slag carryover from Ladle to tundish

31 31
Effect of Gas flow rate – in Water Modeling study

Argon : 6 lpm S. Depth : 120 mm Argon : 10 lpm

Throughput : 2 tpm

Increase in bubble intensity with Gas flow rate

32 32
 Effect of Throughput in Water Modeling Study

Fig. 1A Fig. 3A
S. Depth : 120 mm S. Depth : 120 mm
Throughput : 2 tpm Throughput : 3 tpm
Argon : 6 lpm Argon : 6 lpm

33
Increase in bubble intensity with Throughput
33
 Throughput Vs Argon flow rate

Argon 10.0
flow 8.0
rate 6.0
lpm 4.0

2.0 2.5 3.0

Throughput tpm

Zero degree SEN Zone detrimental to defects

Zone has lesser chances of defects

34 34
 IF steel casting
Recent innovations

35 35
 Slit SEN

Putting Ar in the SEN directly than through the stopper

• Ensure no Al2O3 build up in the SEN body/port

• Prevent unbalanced one sided flow

36 36
 Slit SEN - Ar Injection

Ar

Stopper rod

Tundish cover
Ar
Ar

Ar
Stopper

Ar
Ar
Porous plug
Slit type of SEN

Tundish Submerged
Mould nozzle

37 37
 THE TURBOSTOP SYSTEM

STANDARD IMPAD TURBOSTOP

Slag ‘Red Eye’

Steel

38 38
 S tu d y O f In c lu s io n R e m o v a l B y
T u n d is h G a s D iffu s io n

• T h e e ffe c t o f T u n d is h G a s D iffu s io n h a s b e e n
m o d e le d b o th p h y s ic a lly (w a te r) a n d m a th e m a tic a lly .

S t e e l f lo w
f r o m la d l e S la g L a y e r

I n c lu s io n B u b b le s f r o m Im p ro v e d
C o n c e n t r a t io n T D G a s D if f u s e r I n c lu s io n
a t th e In le t C o n c e n tr a tio n

39 39
Curved Vs Straight caster

The likelihood of argon bubbles being entrapped in the solidifying shell is

much lower with a straight mold profile.

40 40
Influence of casting speed on index of non-
metallic inclusions (>= 250 microns)

100
Index of non-metallic incl

75

Curved mold
50
Vertical bending machine

25

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Casting spee m/min

41 41
 Status of casters installed ( Till 1998)

35
30
25
Vertical Mc
20
15 Vetical
Bending
10
Curved Mould
5
0
y

ce

SA
K
an

pa
U

an

U
m

Ja
Fr
er
G

42 42
 Slab Conditioning

43 43
 Slab Scarfing Practice

IF slabs are scarfed to get rid of sub-surface defects

e.g.
• Mould powder/slag entrapment
• Non-metallic inclusions
• Entraped Ar bubbles etc.

- non-scarfed slabs has many surface defects

compared to scarfed slabs.
- amount of scarfing depends upon the casting
conditions

44 44
 Step Machining Concept
..a powerful tool to assess slab quality

Slab defect
<5 mm : sub-surface defect
>30 mm : internal defect

300 mm
Slice 1 mm from top &
see the defect –size,
shape & location

45 45
 MACHINE SCARFING

(Low oxygen)

Fin-free

(High oxygen)

46 46
Generation of fins during scarfing

A B C The liquid solidifies into delta-iron

and wustite and on cooling down to
ambient temperature, the product is
alpha-iron and magnetite in all cases,
as seen on the phase diagram.

The content of metallic iron is

high when starting point is A, the low
oxygen case. It will become lesser as
the scarfing process moves to B and
then to C. The less the content of
metallic iron in the solidified mass,
it is more brittle and ‘self-
separating’ in nature.

47 47
 Rolling of IF Steel

48 48
 REQUIRED PARAMETERS FOR `IF’

PRODUCT HR STRUCTURE HR PARAMETERS MECHANISM PRODUCT

(OPTIMUM) (TO CONTROL) BENEFITS

HR – CR ∗Absence of ∗ Low slab reheat ∗ Coarsening ∗ Enhanced

–A - IF interstitial (C+N) temp. of ppts. deep drawability
STEEL elements. ∗ High coiling temp. facilitates (rm) & better
∗ Coarse growth during elongation.
carbonitride annealing.
precipitates.
∗ Fine grain size. ∗ Early cooling after ∗ Development ∗ Enhanced
finish of hot rolling. of favourable deep drawability
CR textures. (rm).

• Tensile Property & Hardness

• Surface

49 49
 Reheating Temp Vs Mech Properties

50 50
Effect of Finishing Temp (FRT) & slab reheating
temperature vs Mech Properties

51 51
 SCHEDULLING
Roll Kms:
0-10 10-35 35-60

Warm up slabs IF for Skin Panels

COFFIN SHAPE
52 52
Key issues during hot rolling
NON IF C + Odiff = CO
IF SLAB
SLAB
• Scales on IF are Sticky
• Higher excess air during re-heating
– Fragile thick scale
– Thicker scale layer remove surface imperfection from slab.
• Low furnace dropout temperature
• Healthy & effective de-scaling system
– Maximum pressure, Nozzle condition, Positioning of nozzles
• Effective Pinch leveling -- Else coilbox bypass rolling
• Scratch sensitive
• Consistent scheduling practice ( 10 – 35 KM )
• Coiling temperature
– Very high : Picklability problem, Very low : Low formability
• Hot Skinpassing desirable to improve picklability
• Random inspection of full coil on the recoiling line

53 53
 Cold Reduction & Annealing
of IF Steel

54 54
 Cold rolling and annealing

55 55
 Effect of % cold reduction
• The r-bar value of EDD grades tends to
increase with amount of cold reduction
up to 65% reduction. Above 65%
reduction, the r-bar value gradually
decreases.
• The r-bar value of IF increases almost
linearly with cold reduction upto 85%
reduction. Above 85% cold reduction,
the r-bar tends to decrease.
56 56
 Annealing Cycle for IF
A typical annealing cycle

Gas
• Total Cycle time 62 Hrs
• Heating rate : 45°C/Hr Surface

• Coil soaking :
– 3 Hrs at 500°C Core

– 14 Hrs at 710°C
• Normal Cooling

57 57
 Continuous annealing line
Ideal for IF steel processing

58 58
Issues during Annealing & skin passing

• IF annealing
– Over annealing
– Sticking
– Transverse marks during skin passing
– Under annealing
– Low r-bar
– High yield strength

• IF skin passing
– R-bar not sensitive
– For shape
– For matte transfer
59 59
 Surface defects at CRM
• Oxidation related
– Higher time gap between pickling, cold
rolling and annealing operations
• Foreign Particles
– Scum
– Coolant contaminants
• Rolling related
– Chatter marks
– Scratches
– Longitudinal/Transverse lines/bands
60 60
Inspection

• Top and bottom surface

• Oil stoning to reveal roll mark,
transverse/longitudinal bands etc
• Defect needs to be mapped
– Inspection report for every coil
• Defects to be classified on a severity scale
• Inspection camera – good option for lines
with space constraints

61 61
 Flatness requirement –
customer’s perspective
C.R End Center Buckling Edge Waviness
Application ( Height/ Pitch) in mm ( Height/ Pitch) in mm

White goods 0/00 1.5/500

Auto-Internal 8/600 5/800
Auto-Exposed 6/800 4/800
Panel 4/800 3/800
Problems due to improper flatness:

9 Difficulties in cutting into required shape

9 Difficulties in welding as edges do not match

9 Poor appearance of formed component

62 62
 TDC Shape Standard

SEVERITY
1 2 3 4 5 6
ITEM
WAVE HT 2 4 6 8 10 20
EDGE (MAX) mm

WAVINESS STEEPNESS 0.5 1 1 1.5 2 3.5

MAX(%)
WAVE HT 2 3 5 6 8 15
CENTRE (MAX) mm

BUCKLE STEEPNESS 0.5 0.5 1.5 1.5 2 3

MAX(%)

63 63
 Acceptance criteria for automotive
segment
Skin Panel

1. Surface Defect (RIS + Slivers) < 15 nos. in the whole coil.

2. Surface defect severity (RIS, Slivers, Dent and Roll mark) between 2 and 4 as
per NSC standard.
3. Shape defect severity between 2 and 4 as per NSC standard.

Non Skin Panel

1. Surface Defect (RIS + Slivers) >15 and < 25 nos. in the whole coil.
2. Surface defect severity (RIS, Slivers, Dent and Roll mark) between 4 and 6 as
per NSC standard.
3. Shape defect severity between 4 and 6 as per NSC standard.

64 64
 Slivers & rolled in scale
SEVERITY
1 2 3 4 5 6
ITEM

Slivers

Rolled in
Scale

For ranking of severity, defect samples to be collected and

they are to be mapped with the master samples.

65 65
 Thank You

66 66