AIST Foundation Steel Intern Scholarship
Donn C. Bacon
This summer I had the amazing opportunity to work at Nucor Steel–Indiana in Crawfordsville, Ind., USA. This was my third internship with this company, during which I worked with our electrical and process control team in the meltshop. During my time as an intern, I had the opportunity to learn about how the steel that shapes the infrastructure of our world is made, and how it is done cleanly. Despite being an electrical engineer by trade, this internship gave me experience in every aspect of steelmaking. From metallurgy, to mechanical, to sales; the scope of this company’s operation that I have been exposed to has taught me so much and made me much more interested in delving deeper into the steelmaking world.
Some of the big projects I had the opportunity of working on this summer included a scrap level sensor for our charge bucket, upgrading our network system, and doing maintenance work with our electrical team. The scrap level sensor is meant to measure the height of the scrap in our charge bucket, which based on a developed model, could give an approximate volume of our scrap mix. This was important because based on the volume we could make approximations on the type of scrap in the bucket and therefore optimize our power delivery in the furnace to make the melting process more efficient. Upgrading our network is always important to maintain a safe and robust system for data to move around in, especially in a hot environment like the meltshop. Finally, I was able to do a lot of hands-on work with our electrical team. On top of keeping me safe and teaching me how to maintain the electrical end of a steel mill, I worked with the electricians on the analysis and upkeep of our incredible electric arc furnace (EAF) transformers that make the formation of clean steel possible.
This internship taught me a ton on both the technical and professional side of the business. I was constantly learning how to get work done in a timely manner, communicate issues and problems effectively, and most importantly learning to be safe in a steel mill. Thank you to all who made this internship possible for me: to Lori Wharrey and AIST for supporting me and others who are passionate about steelmaking; to Alex Newman at Nucor for teaching me everything I could ask for and more, and to the whole meltshop electrical team at Nucor for showing me the ropes and being great mentors. I am excited to see where a career in steel could take me.