Nucor Steel–Decatur has the potential of increasing its annual operating level from over 2 million tons to at least 3 million tons. Major changes have been made to the original plant to improve operating efficiency and steel quality.

Editor’s note: AIST’s Maintenance Processes Operating Committee, under the Maintenance and Reliability Technology Division, recognizes reliability improvements and achievements in the iron and steel industry. The 2004 Reliability Achievement Gold Award was bestowed on USS-POSCO for its work in preventing mill drive spindle failure.

To prevent mill drive spindle failure, USS-POSCO instituted a practice of monitoring each spindle’s current condition and fitness for service. Analysis of collected data has led to improvements in preventive maintenance practices, spindle rebuild procedures and new design opportunities.

Town Hall Opening Session

President’s Breakfast Keynote Address
Rodney B. Mott, President and Chief Executive Officer International Steel Group

The Dynamics of Our Industry: Changes, Challenges and Commitments

Creating Customer Value — A Prescription for the Steel Industry

Editor’s note: AIST’s Maintenance Processes Operating Committee, under the Maintenance and Reliability Technology Division, recognizes reliability improvements and achievements in the iron and steel industry. One of two 2004 Reliability Achievement Bronze Awards was bestowed on USS-POSCO for its work in increasing furnace roll bearing life.

An applied reliability group at USS-POSCO used predictive technologies to monitor the condition of helper roll bearings on a continuous casting line. Through the roll bearing analysis and upgrade project, the company gained both improved bearing reliability and increased performance.

Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel and Millcraft SMS Services have worked cooperatively toward achieving dramatic increases in the life of caster components. This article discusses improvements made in molds and segments that have led to the attainment of new production records.

Editor’s note: AIST’s Maintenance Processes Operating Committee, under the Maintenance and Reliability Technology Division, recognizes reliability improvements and achievements in the iron and steel industry. One of two 2004 Reliability Achievement Bronze Awards was bestowed on Nucor Steel–Indiana for its work in switching from reactive to proactive maintenance.

Routine, preventive maintenance helps to eliminate failures before they occur. The Nucor Steel–Indiana cold mill implemented a proactive maintenance system that has led to improved equipment utilization and reliability.

An important part of an effective maintenance program is the careful measurement of leading indicators, as opposed to simply measuring outcomes. This article discusses how a work management strategy can ward off unwelcome outcomes, or the “bears.”

The Effect of Surface Oxide Films on Heat Transfer Behavior in the Strip Casting Process
Paolo Nolli and Alan W. Cramb, CISR (Center for Iron and Steel Research), Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pa.; and Dong-Kyun Choo, Research Institute of Industrial Science and Technology, Pohang, South Korea

In the last few years, many companies have announced the final stage of the development in the strip casting of some steel grades. In strip casting, the initial solidification behavior of the solidified shell is crucially important to achieve good quality of steel strip. Thus, much attention has been paid to the heat transfer behavior in the initial stage of the solidification process. Among many factors influencing heat transfer, oxide films, either formed during casting or deposited before casting on the surface of the rolls, and melt superheat have a significant positive or negative effect on the achieved heat transfer rate. The initial heat transfer behavior of different kinds of steels was evaluated using an apparatus designed for millisecond resolution in heat transfer measurements, and by analyzing the formation mechanism of oxide films on the mold surface. Results are presented for a high-manganese-containing steel. A numerical study of the effect of the critical undercooling for nucleation on a roll surface on the productivity of a twin-roll strip caster was carried out and showed that the maximum allowable casting speed can be increased by increasing the critical undercooling for cast thicknesses less than 1 mm.

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