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October 2006
Vol. 3, No. 10
Long Products Technologies

About the Cover

The Minimill Story
John Stubbles, steel industry consultant, Mason, Ohio (john_stubbles@msn.com)
This paper was presented as the AIST J. Keith Brimacombe Memorial Lecture at AISTech 2006 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Six Sigma in the Steel Industry
Chuck O’Connell (pictured), rolling mill manager, Charter Steel, Cuyahoga Heights, Ohio (oconnellc@chartersteel.com), and Jon Vrzal, continuous improvement manager, Charter Steel, Saukville, Wis. (vrzalj@chartersteel.com)

Six Sigma is more than a statistical description. It is a methodology for improving processes and a way of reaching quality, customer satisfaction and employee involvement. This paper highlights the Six Sigma process and its successful application at Charter Steel.

Benefits Derived From the Installation of Noncontact Measuring Systems on a Hot Rolling Mill
Gregory O. Vance, plant engineer, Charter Steel, Cuyahoga Heights, Ohio (vanceg@chartersteel.com)

Noncontact measurement systems give mill operators continuous data to make sound decisions before the manufacture of nonconforming product. The benefits of continuous noncontact diameter measurement of both prefinished and finished steel bar are discussed.

A Sensor-based Process Modeling Approach to Increase the Reliability of Hot Bar Rolling
Rajiv Shivpuri, Meixing Ji and Satish Kini, The Ohio State University, Department of Industrial, Welding and Systems Engineering, Columbus, Ohio (shivpuri.1@osu.edu); Tzzy-Shuh Chang (left) and Howard Huang (right), OG Technologies Corp., Ann Arbor, Mich. (chang@ogtechnologies.com)

Sensor-based process modeling can help reduce the occurrence of seams and other surface defects in hot rolled bars. An example from the bar industry is given to demonstrate the efficacy of this approach.

Microalloy Steels: Designing for the Application
Paul Dimitry, director technical service and product development, and Robert Cryderman, senior technical service and product development engineer, Macsteel, Jackson, Mich. (pdimitry@macsteel.com)

Microalloy steels must be specially designed for the end application, as the properties of steel are critical to the long-term performance, warranty, safety and economy of the application. Some of the microalloying techniques available from steel producers are described.

Doing Business Chinese Style
Nicholas A. Lagios, Bricmont Inc., Canonsburg, Pa. (nlagios@bricmont.com)

Bricmont Inc. has applied its reheating and annealing furnace technologies to multiple projects in P.R. China. Cultural challenges, project administrative issues and lessons learned in the process are discussed.

Thermodynamics of Inclusions Engineering in Steelmaking and Refining
Youn-Bae Kang, Chul-Ho Chang, Sang-Chae Park, Han-Soo Kim, In-Ho Jung and Hae-Geon Lee, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, Korea (hglee@postech.ac.kr)

In the steelmaking process, complete removal of harmful inclusions from molten steel during the refining stage is difficult to achieve. An alternative approach is to nullify or at least minimize the harmful effects of residual inclusions. The other approach is to beneficially utilize inclusions, for instance, through proper control and modification of chemistry, phase, size and size distribution. These approaches require accurate knowledge of phase transformation and the compositional relation of inclusions in steel under various chemical and thermal conditions during processing. Direct control of the inclusions in steel during processing is extremely difficult. However, it can be done by controlling various process conditions, such as chemistry and thermal history of steels, provided that the nature of the inclusions and the interaction between inclusions and steel are accurately known to practical operators. All these approaches can be used to enhance the quality of the final steel product and reduce detrimental effects on the processes.