Iron Steel - Jan 2020

• Electric Steelmaking
Technologies
• 2020 AIST Electric Arc
Furnace Roundup
• 2020 AIST North and
South American DRI
Roundup
A Publication of the Association for Iron & Steel Technology

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ADVANCING THE TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT, PRODUCTION, PROCESSING AND APPLICATION OF IRON AND STEEL 1
January 2020 Vol. 17, No. 1
2019–2020 Board of Directors

President
Ronald J. O’Malley, Missouri University of
Science and Technology
Past President
James F. Dudek, United States Steel Corporation
First Vice President
S teven J. Henderson, Commercial Metals
Company
Second Vice President
Keith J. Howell, ArcelorMittal USA
IN THIS ISSUE
Officers-at-Large
B arry T. Schneider, Steel Dynamics Inc.
Brian K. Bishop, AK Steel Corp.
Thomas C. Toner, SSAB Americas
Allen C. Behr, Nucor Steel–Texas
Electric Steelmaking Technologies
Treasurer
Joseph Dzierzawski, Hatch Associates
Consultants Inc.
Carbon and Oxygen Usage in the EAF —
Secretary
Ronald E. Ashburn, Association for Iron & Steel Is More Always Better?
Technology J. Cotchen and Z. Voss
Foundation President
Theodore F. Lyon, Hatch Associates
54
Consultants Inc.
Directors Power Profile Optimization in TenarisTamsa’s
S teven C. Asseff, Charter Steel Electric Arc Furnace
Richard Besich, ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor F. Ortiz and P. Paredes
Lothar Birkhäuser, Vallourec
Kevin J. Bort, TMEIC 66
E laine Chen, ArcelorMittal Global R&D – East
Chicago Numerical Investigation of Decarburization
Shannon F. Clark, ArcelorMittal Dofasco G.P.
Conrad N. D’Costa, ArcelorMittal Dofasco G.P. Reaction Characteristics in Electric Arc
B arry C. Felton, ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor Furnace Steelmaking Process
Stephan A. Ferenczy, TCI Consultants
Mauro Bianchi Ferri, Acciarium Srl
76 Y. Chen, Y. Wang, G. Tang, A. Silaen, K. Vanover
Noah Hanners, Nucor Tubular Products
and C. Zhou
Heath Hooker, Nucor-Yamato Steel Co.
Love Kalra, ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor Using Thyristor-Controlled Series Reactors To
W illiam C. Seres, Steel Dynamics Inc. – Flat Roll Improve EAF Productivity and Lower
Group Columbus Division
Operating Costs at North Star BlueScope
84
Mark E. Shircliff, American Roller Bearing Co.
S cott R. Story, U. S. Steel Research and
Technology Center
Steel LLC
John T. Wilson, MINTEQ International Inc.
M. Campbell, T. Ma, R. McClanahan, W. Hull and
Liwei Zhang, ArcelorMittal Global R&D – East J. Cargill
Chicago
Digital Assistance Tools and Remote Service
Solutions for Electric Arc Furnaces
R. Stadlmayr, T. Reindl and B. Laimer
94
2019–2020 Foundation Board of Trustees Application of a Man-Less, On-Demand
President
Theodore F. Lyon, Hatch Associates
Immersion Optical Temperature Measurement
Consultants Inc. Device at the EAF
Past President 102 P. Turner, J. Fredrick, A. England, B. LaRoy,
Kolin L. Keller, Commercial Metals Company B. Walchuk and T. Bosserman
President-Elect
G lenn A. Pushis, Steel Dynamics Inc.
Treasurer
Joseph Dzierzawski, Hatch Associates
Consultants Inc.
JAN 2020 IRON & STEEL TECHNOLOGY AIST.ORG
Secretary
Ronald E. Ashburn, Association for Iron & Steel
Technology
Iron & Steel Technology
Trustees
Thomas P. DeLuca, ATI Flat Rolled Products
ON THE COVER
Terry G. Fedor II, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.
M ichael A. Kercsmar, AK Steel Corp.
Timothy J. Lorge, Charter Steel
M ichael P. Madar, ArcelorMittal Cleveland Direct reduced iron is poured into the 5th hole of the
Jerold P. Nelesen Jr., Berry Metal Co.
January 2020
Technologies 100-metric-ton Danieli FastArc electric arc furnace
M ark R. Olson, Gerdau Long Steel North
America
• 2020 AIST Electric Arc
Furnace Roundup at Emirates Steel.
Vol. 17 No. 1
• 2020 AIST North and

Thomas J. O’Toole South American DRI
I
Roundup
Randy C. Skagen, Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa Inc.
A Publication of the Association for Iron & Steel Technology
Photo courtesy of
2
Special Features 220 Call for Entries: AIST Reliability Achievement Award
221 AIST Membership Recognition
34 Safety First: Safety System Development —
Scrap Pre-Heat 228 Life Members
L. Nelson
38 “Our Stories” From World Steel Association (worldsteel):
How Steel Is Crucial to Champagne Making Departments
D. Hinton-Beales
8 Steel News
42 We’ve Got What You Need: AIST’s 2020 Technology
Training Season Kicks Off With Something for Everyone 15 Industry Statistics
44 Digital Transformations: An Optimization Model for Making 24 Strategic Insights From WSD
Alloy Additions During Steelmaking at SSAB Iowa 26 Personnel Spotlight
Y. Wang, S. Abraham, R. Bodnar, R. Petty, G. Brown, P. Schaaf and
M. Maxfield
36 Legal Perspectives
239 Steel Calendar
52 Powering Plants, and Savings
S. Kusic 240 Steel Irony
92 2019 Emerging Leaders Alliance Conference Recap
112 An Interview with John Ferriola
S. Kusic Association News
5 President’s Message
117 Preliminary Information 28 Foundation Update
129 Preliminary List of Exhibitors
180 Technology Committees
132 Exposition Floor Plan
195 Technology Training
138 Pat Philbin and the Brotherhood of Steel
A. Blyth 234 Member Chapters
148 Across the Canal: AIST Visits the Panama Canal to See
Large-Scale Material Handling Up Close
A. Blyth
Advertising and Sponsorships
156 2020 AIST Electric Arc Furnace Roundup
134 AISTech 2020 Sponsorship Opportunities
192 2020 AIST North and South American DRI Roundup
233 Editorial Calendar
I
I
3
AIST Technology Committee Chairs
Safety & Health Long Products
Robbie Woods, California Steel Industries Inc. Jerry Herrmann, Nucor Steel–Berkeley
Environmental Pipe & Tube
Kyle Edwards, ArcelorMittal Dofasco G.P. David Johnson, Paragon Industries Inc.
Cokemaking Rolls
Shiju Thomas, United States Steel Corporation Heather Creely, Nucor Steel–Indiana
Ironmaking Metallurgy — Steelmaking & Casting
Larry Storm, ArcelorMittal Cleveland Pallava Kaushik, ArcelorMittal Global R&D
Direct Reduced Iron Metallurgy — Processing, Products & Applications
Z ane Voss, CIX Inc. Justin Raines, SSAB Iowa Inc. Publisher
Electric Steelmaking Energy & Utilities Ronald E. Ashburn
L auren Jellison, Nucor Steel Sedalia LLC Louis D. York, Case Engineering Inc.
Oxygen Steelmaking Electrical Applications Publications Manager
Tyler Preall, ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor Ramesh Khajjayam, Primetals Technologies Amanda L. Blyth
Specialty Alloy & Foundry USA LLC
A ndy Pinskey, Holland Manufacturing Corp. Digitalization Applications Technical Editor
Ladle & Secondary Refining Yufeng Wang, SSAB Americas
Jennifer M. Emling
Matt Hallam, Steel Dynamics Inc. – Roanoke Bar Project & Construction Management
Division Don Salsbury, Middough Inc.
Technical Editor
Continuous Casting Maintenance & Reliability
Rudolf Moravec, ArcelorMittal Global R&D Ken Flowers, Butech Bliss
Emily Williams
Hot Sheet Rolling Lubrication & Hydraulics
William Seres, Steel Dynamics Inc. – Flat Roll Mrinal Mahapatro, Pall Corp. Production Editor
Group Columbus Division. Refractory Systems Janet A. McConnell
Cold Sheet Rolling Rakesh Dhaka, U. S. Steel Research and
Ken Peter, AK Steel Research and Innovation Technology Center
Center News Editor
Material Handling
Galvanizing Bruce Zimmerman, Nucor Steel–Indiana
Sam Kusic
Jason Fry, Nucor Steel–Berkeley Cranes
Tinplate Mill Products Mick Foster, Sterling Steel Co. LLC
Senior Graphic Designer
Eric Almquist, Star Tool & Die Works Inc. Transportation & Logistics Christopher P. Brown
Plate Rolling Kevin Ray, Nucor-Yamato Steel Co.
Eric Thokar, CISDI USA
Graphic Designer
Carolyn A. Trobaugh
Graphic Designer
AIST Member Chapter Chairs and Secretaries Krista J. McGhee
Argentina Northwest
The Argentina Member Chapter is currently working to J
ames Peterson, Nucor Steel Seattle Inc. (chair)
Graphic Designer
appoint new executive committee members. P atrick Jablonski, Nucor Steel Seattle Inc. (secretary) Beniamina Dapra
Australia Ohio Valley
Andrea Fontana, Liberty Steel (chair) Yury Krotov, Steel Dynamics Inc. – Flat Roll Group
L
en Woods, Taharoa Ironsands Ltd. – Taharoa Butler Division (chair)
(secretary) M ark Shircliff, American Roller Bearing Co. (secretary)
Birmingham Philadelphia
Jacob Lewis, Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa Inc. (chair) Amy Beard, Quaker Houghton (chair)
S ummer Knight, Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa Inc. Jose de Jesus, Xtek Inc. (secretary)
(secretary) Pittsburgh
Brazil William Schlichting, United States Steel Corporation
L othar Birkhäuser, Vallourec Soluções Tubulares S.A. (chair)
(chair) Robert Conley, Factory Source LLC (secretary)
Ronaldo Santos Sampaio, RS Consultants Ltda. San Francisco
(secretary) Tim Kuzmicky, USS-POSCO Industries (chair)
Detroit Adrian Deneys, Praxair Inc. (secretary)
Jamie Lash, U. S. Steel – Great Lakes Works (chair) Southeast
Roger Kalinowsky, Sidock Group Inc. (secretary) Becky E. Hites, Steel-Insights LLC (chair)
European Michael Hutson, John Hutson Co. (secretary)
Mauro Bianchi Ferri, Acciarium S.r.l. (chair) Southern California
J ernej Pretnar, Quaker Houghton (secretary) J ay Strowger, California Steel Industries Inc. (chair)
India S tephen Bunch, California Steel Industries Inc.
Rajiv Bhatnagar, Essar Steel India Ltd. (chair) (secretary) Iron & Steel Technology
Bimalendu Mukhopadhyay (secretary) Southwest
Korea C hristopher Welfel, CMC Steel Texas (chair)
(ISSN 1547-0423)
Sun Cheer Sheen, Donghae SteelTech Corp. (chair) S abra Serino, CMC Steel Texas (secretary) Published monthly by AIST. Editorial and advertising offices
at 186 Thorn Hill Road, Warrendale, PA 15086 USA. Preferred
Mexico St. Louis Periodicals postage paid at Warrendale, Pa., and at additional
Carlos Garza, FRISA Steel (chair) Terry Laird, Alton Steel (chair) mailing office. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Iron &
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Statements and opinions given in articles, news items and
R ich Trzcinski, Process Plus (chair) B ob LaRoy, Steel Dynamics Inc. – Flat Roll Group advertisements in AIST Iron & Steel Technology are the expres-
Mario Munguia (secretary) Butler Division (chair – meltshop) sions of contributors and advertisers, for which AIST assumes
Northeastern Ohio J ared Hoff, Showa Denko Carbon Inc. (secretary – no responsibility. Publication does not constitute endorsement
John Bondy, ArcelorMittal Cleveland (chair) meltshop) by AIST.
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C ameron Mitchell, ArcelorMittal Dofasco G.P. cation may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or
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IN OUR NEXT ISSUE

Cold Sheet Rolling, Processing, Coating & Finishing
I
It's our world.
Let's shape the future.
Gerdau came to be involved with One World Trade Center in 2007,
when the company donated wide flange beams for the National
September 11 Memorial and Museum. Gerdau was honored to be
part of a project that helped shape the future with hope.
One World Trade Center.

Shaped with Gerdau steel.
Learn more at:

gerdau.com Shape the future
President’s Message 5
Starting the New Year Off on a High Note
Dear members,
As AIST president, I’m delighted to announce that AIST has now surpassed
its all-time professional membership count, based on records dating to 1938.
The previous professional membership record for AIST and its predecessor
organizations was 13,257, set in 1980. At the close of November 2019, when
this issue of Iron & Steel Technology went to print, we counted 13,367 profes-
sional members. This count excludes our 5,183 student members within our
Material Advantage program, raising our total membership ranks to 18,550.
This level of support means that our members are investing in not only
themselves through educational and networking opportunities, but in the
steel industry itself, through technical exchange and in building relation-
ships across company and country borders.
With its roots dating to 1871, AIST is in great shape to take on the future.
That future starts with recruiting the next generation of our workforce. To
that end, AIST has expanded programming to recruit Young Professionals
(<30 years of age) and women into the industry. In the last year, our Young Ronald J. O’Malley
Professional and female membership have each grown 30%. These numbers
F. Kenneth Iverson Chair
are encouraging, but there’s still more work to do.
Professor in Steelmaking
To keep up this momentum, I encourage each and every member to
Technologies and
invest in their education and register for one of AIST’s Technology Training
courses. Along with our tried-and-true lineup of practical training seminars, director, Kent D. Peaslee Steel
AIST is also offering specialized educational opportunities with respect to Manufacturing Research Center
alternative ironmaking and the metallurgy of long and forged products. Missouri University of Science
Turn to pages 42–43 of this issue for a preview of what’s to come this spring and Technology
and summer.
Of course, there is no better opportunity to expand your network and AIST President
increase your knowledge than at AISTech 2020, which will be held in 2019–2020
Cleveland, Ohio, USA, 4–7 May. Thousands of your industry peers will gather
to learn about the latest technologies — it’s an opportunity you can’t afford
to miss. I hope to see you there!
Best regards,
Ronald J. O’Malley
I
I
TECHNOLOGY & SOLUTION PARTNER
FOR THE GLOBAL METALS INDUSTRY
PROFILE OF CISDI GROUP

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+44 114 2094115 info@cisdi.co.uk
8 Steel News
Get the most up-to-date news at SteelNews.com
Also in the News Cleveland-Cliffs reaches deal to acquire AK Steel

• An unidentified Chinese steel pro- North America — Iron ore miner Cleve- buy from Cliffs our domestically pro-
ducer has contracted Primetals land-Cliffs Inc. is acquiring AK Steel duced HBI the possibility to also buy
Technologies to build a cast-roll Corp., one of its top customers, in a domestically produced pig iron.”
plant at a new steel works in the He- US$1.1 billion stock deal, the compa- Goncalves said such a move would
bei Province. According to Primet- nies announced in December. likely require US$25 million to
als Technologies, the Arvedi Endless The deal would create a vertically US$30 million to convert the furnace
Strip Production (ESP) line will be integrated steelmaker backed by a and would come in lieu of a second
fed by a basic oxygen furnace (BOF) stable source of iron ore and capable HBI plant. Its first is under construc-
now under construction. The line of producing both high-end automo- tion and is set to open this year.
will be capable of rolling strip to a tive steels and metallics that could be The deal is expected to close no
thickness of 0.7 mm and in widths sold on the open market. later than the end of June, and once
of up to 1,600 mm. It will produce “By combining the best-in-class qual- finalized, AK Steel would operate
carbon steels; high-strength, low- ity of AK Steel’s assets and its enviable as direct, wholly owned subsidiary
alloy (HSLA) grades; and dual- product mix with Cliffs’ debt profile of Cleveland-Cliffs. It will retain its
phase steels, and will allow the and proven management team, we name and identity. And while the com-
producer to enter new market seg- are creating a premier North Ameri- bined companies technically would be
ments. Although Primetals Technol- can company, self-sufficient in iron headquartered in Cleveland, AK Steel
ogies did not identify the customer, ore pellets and geared toward high- would maintain a significant presence
it described the customer as an value-added steel products,” Cleve- in West Chester, Ohio, its current
integrated producer capable of mak- land-Cliffs chief executive Lourenco home base. AK Steel’s research hub
ing 6 million metric tons annually. Goncalves said in a statement. also would remain in nearby Middle-
Primetals Technologies will supply “For Cliffs, we expect to realize town, Ohio.
the machinery, media-control sys- immediate growth and a long-desired The combined company is to be
tems and automation systems. The objective of a more diverse customer led by Goncalves, and AK Steel chief
entire line will be controlled by an base, as well as more predictable cash executive Roger Newport will retire
integrated level 1 and level 2 auto- flow generation due to the contracted once the deal closes.
mation system that will fully control nature of AK Steel’s sales of high-end Newport said he and AK Steel’s
all casting and rolling operations. automotive steel. Our track record of leadership fully support the merger.
Start-up is scheduled for next year. providing high-grade iron ore com- “This transaction will create a lead-
bined with AK Steel’s recognized abil- ing, vertically integrated North Amer-
•
Samuel Associated Tube Group ity to produce the highest quality steel ican producer of value-added iron ore
will be constructing a US$29 mil- grades creates a highly complemen- and next-generation steel products.
lion production facility near Bir- tary and compelling business model,” The combined company will bene-
mingham, Ala., USA, the company he added. fit from a strong balance sheet and
announced in December. The new The companies said the merger improved cash flow generation, which
284,000-square-foot building will would provide a stable outlet for Cliffs’ will support innovation and growth
allow the structural tubemaker to pellets, with AK Steel buying around for next-generation steel products,”
consolidate multiple operations 6 million tons annually for its blast he said.
currently located elsewhere and furnaces in Dearborn, Mich., and “I am confident that together we will
provide room for future expansion. Middletown, Ohio, USA. Additionally, be able to take advantage of growth
The company estimates that 50 ad- the company said it will explore the opportunities faster and more fully
ditional jobs will be created at the potential to reopen the shuttered Ash- than either company could have done
new facility in addition to the 190 land, Ky., blast furnace and repurpose on its own. With AK Steel’s 120-year
workers currently employed at the it as a producer of merchant pig iron. heritage, which also began in Ohio,
I
Birmingham location. The company As it is, the U.S. pig iron market and its leading expertise in innovative
anticipates the completion of the fa- is supplied by imports from Russia, steelmaking, AK Steel and Cliffs make
cility by 31 December 2020. Ukraine and Brazil. an excellent combination, which we
“Pig iron for consumption in electric expect will facilitate a seamless inte-
arc furnaces is a very popular product gration and deliver great value.”
in the United States,” Goncalves said.
“As soon as we develop this opportu-
I
nity in Ashland, we can then offer our

EAF customers currently enlisted to
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barandwirerodmills@sms-group.com www.sms-group.com www.sms-group.com
10 Steel News
THIS IS WHAT YOU HAVE
Stelco adding merchant pig iron to product portfolio
North America — Stelco plans to the market between utilizing scrap
install a pig iron caster at its Lake and hot metal in our production
Erie Works next year, giving it entry mix, as well as how we manage our
to the merchant pig business, the maintenance program.”
Canadian steelmaker has said. Stelco executives said they already
Low Velocity
“This investment will further have a letter of intent from a cus-
Material Pluming
amplify our tactical flexibility by tomer who has spoken for a “mean-
No Penetration
providing the capability to produce ingful portion” of the first two years’
more than one million tons of pig worth of output.
THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT iron annually,” Stelco chief execu- Construction of the caster will
tive David Cheney in a statement. coincide with a planned CA$100
In speaking with analysts during million reline of the Lake Erie blast
the company’s quarterly earnings furnace, which is to be completed
call, he added: “It gives us an incred- by June of this year. The company
ible amount of flexibility in how we said it will begin shipments in the
operate our assets, how we arbitrage ensuing quarter.
Supersonic
Nondispersive
Tata Steel Europe proposes major restructuring
Deep Penetration
Europe — Tata Steel Europe plans to “Stagnant EU steel demand and
THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED eliminate up to 3,000 jobs and boost
sales of higher-value steels as part
global overcapacity have been com-
pounded by trade conflicts, which
Tallman Supersonic of a broad restructuring brought have turned the European market
Coherent InjectorTM about by a soggy European market. into a dumping ground for the
In an announcement, executives world’s excess steel capacity. Togeth-
said the plan for the flat-rolled er with a significant increase in the
business involves four main efforts: cost of emission allowances, this has
improving efficiency by optimiz- created an urgent need for improve-
ing production processes through ments to the company’s financial
advanced data analytics, reduc- performance.”
Proven, High Efficiency Solids ing procurement costs, and boost- The company said the goal is to
Injection Through Patented Jet ing sales of higher-values steels by achieve a positive cash flow by the
Technology improving the product mix. end of fiscal year 2021 and an EBIT-
• Carbon Injection In addition, it intends to lower DA margin of around 10% through
employment costs by cutting scores the market cycle.
• Lime Injection
of jobs. About two-thirds of the “We plan to change how we
• EAF Dust Injection positions that are to be eliminated work together to enable better
are white collar roles, the compa- cooperation and faster decision-
THIS IS WHAT YOU GET ny said, adding that it is looking making. This will help us become self-
to boost productivity and reduce sustaining and cash positive in the
Reduce Carbon Consumption by
bureaucracy. face of unprecedented severe mar-
Over 50%
“A transformation is needed to ket conditions, enabling us to lead
• Reduced CO2 Emissions mitigate the current structural and the way toward a carbon-neutral
• Reduced Energy Consumption cyclical headwinds and create the future,” said Tata Steel Europe chief
• Improved Slag Formation foundation for the company’s future executive Henrik Adam.
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success,” it said.
Algoma Steel commences plate mill upgrade

North America — Danieli has been Inc., the equipment supplier has
selected to overhaul the 166-inch announced.
TALLMANTECHNOLOGIES.CA
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plate mill at Canada’s Algoma Steel In a statement, Danieli said it

SALES@TALLMANTECHNOLOGIES.CA | +1.905.335.3491
will replace the automation system
11
mill-wide, from level 0 to level 2, and In a statement, INTECO said the be equipped with a mechanical vac-
will install a new primary descaler, a degassing unit is set for 2020 deliv- uum pump system.
new hot leveler and a new cooling ery to the steelmaker’s Darlington, INTECO said the order is a mile-
bed. The order also includes a new S.C., USA, facility and is to enter stone, representing its first major
dividing shear, piling system, auto- service by year’s end. The single- installation for a top player in the
mated inspection system and plate station degasser will be capable of U.S. market. F
marking machine for the finishing processing 120-ton heats and will
area.
“Along with new process equip-
ment and new digital drives, this will
allow Algoma to perform normal-
ized, or controlled, rolling so that
it can supply new grades of plate to
the shipbuilding, energy and bridge
building sectors. SANGRAF INTERNATIONAL
Work already is underway and is
expected to be completed in the Hong Kong | Beijing, China | Geneva, Switzerland
summer of 2021. Johanesburg, South Africa | Sao Paulo, Brazil
SSAB begins cooling line

ramp-up
North America — SSAB has started
up an accelerated cooling system at
its Mobile, Ala., USA, plate and coil
mill, according to SSAB Americas
head Chuck Schmitt.
Speaking during a recent inves-
QUALIFIED
tors’ conference in Sweden, Schmitt WHY HAVEN’T YOU GIVEN SANGRAF A TRY?
said that the line so far has run PREMIUM GRAPHITE ELECTRODES OPTIMIZED
about 1,000 tons of plate and 1,000 FOR YOUR FURNACE
tons of coil.
Schmitt said the project will pro-
vide for roughly 30,000 tons of addi- SANGRAF International is a fully integrated global manufacturer
tional annual capacity in premium of premium graphite electrodes for the steel, ferrous and
products, considering that it will non-ferrous metal industries.
enable faster line speeds. He also
said the project will lead to reduced SANGRAF International provides:
alloy use, saving on costs.
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The cooling line, along with
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15
World Crude Steel Production as of October 2019 (in thousand metric tons)
October Year to date
2019 2018 Change % 2019 2018 Change %
Austria 610e 735 (125) (17.0) 6,342 5,579 762 13.7
Belgium 620e 738 (118) (16.0) 6,542 6,788 (247) (3.6)
Bulgaria 45e 54 (9) (17.1) 482 557 (75) (13.5)
Croatia 5e 19 (14) (74) 64 103 (38) (37.0)
Czech Republic 271 375 (105) (28.0) 3,852 4,143 (292) (7.0)
Finland 316 352 (36) (10.3) 3,030 3,492 (462) (13.2)
France 1,170 1,309 (139) (10.6) 12,413 12,910 (498) (3.9)
Germany 3,323 3,565 (242) (6.8) 33,875 35,519 (1,644) (4.6)
Greece 135e 137 (2) (1.5) 1,154 1,250 (96) (7.7)
Hungary 141 178 (37) (21) 1,443 1,663 (220) (13.3)
Italy 2,225 2,310 (85) (3.7) 19,845 20,638 (794) (3.8)
Luxembourg 178 195 (17) (8.7) 1,844 1,897 (53) (2.8)
Netherlands 574 585 (11) (1.9) 5,591 5,668 (77) (1.4)
Poland 690e 830 (140) (16.9) 7,657 8,439 (782) (9.3)
Slovenia 53 52 1 2.3 538 562 (24) (4.2)
Spain 1,225 1,326 (101) (7.6) 11,751 12,071 (320) (2.6)
Sweden 330 394 (64) (16.2) 4,036 3,918 117 3.0
United Kingdom 621 470 151 32.2 6,137 6,250 (114) (1.8)
Other EU 805e 977 (172) (17.6) 8,867 9,131 (264) (2.9)
Total — European Union 13,336 14,602 (1,266) (8.7) 135,460 140,579 (5,119) (3.6)
Bosnia-Herzegovina 55 83 (28) (33.6) 662 538 124 23.1
Macedonia 25 19 6 30.0 199 218 (19) (9.0)
Norway 63 57 6 10.3 528 475 53 11.2
Serbia 160 189 (29) (15.5) 1,618 1,646 (28) (1.7)
Turkey 2,687 3,162 (475) (15.0) 27,973 31,287 (3,314) (10.6)
Total — Other Europe 2,989 3,510 (520) (14.8) 30,980 34,164 (3,184) (9.3)
Belarus 240e 223 17 7.6 2,230 2,021 209 10.3
Kazakhstan 325e 389 (64) (16.5) 3,370 3,766 (396) (10.5)
Moldova 40e 35 5 14.3 331 437 (106) (24.3)
Russia 5,950e 5,810 140 2.4 59,341 59,390 (49) (0.1)
Ukraine 1,561 1,788 (227) (12.7) 17,963 17,567 396 2.3
Uzbekistan 60e 49 11 22.4 543 546 (3) (0.5)
Total — C.I.S. (6) 8,176 8,294 (118) (1.4) 83,778 83,727 51 0.1
Canada 1,115 1,138 (23) (2.0) 10,936 11,404 (468) (4.1)
Cuba 20e 19 1 3.2 184 182 2 1.2
El Salvador 10e 8 2 21.4 88 82 6 7.3
Guatemala 25e 26 (1) (2.0) 249 248 1 0.4
Mexico 1,515e 1,572 (57) (3.6) 15,727 17,054 (1,327) (7.8)
United States 7,407 7,557 (150) (2.0) 73,539 71,731 1,808 2.5
Total — North America 10,092 10,320 (228) (2.2) 100,722 100,700 22 0.0
Argentina 382 446 (64) (14.4) 3,961 4,350 (389) (8.9)
Brazil 2,597 3,224 (626) (19.4) 27,216 29,787 (2,571) (8.6)
Chile 95e 109 (14) (13.0) 826 945 (119) (12.6)
Colombia 115e 108 7 6.9 974 1,010 (36) (3.6)
Ecuador 55e 45 10 23 520 487 33 6.8
Paraguay 2e 3 (1) (35.9) 16 19 (3) (13.5)
Peru 105e 104 1 1.0 1,026 1,014 12 1.2
Uruguay 5e 5 0 (3.7) 49 48 1 1.4
Venezuela 10e 5 5 100 74 121 (47) (38.7)
Total — South America 3,366 4,049 (682) (16.9) 34,661 37,780 (3,119) (8.3)
Egypt 515e 729 (214) (29.4) 6,045 6,462 (418) (6.5)
Iran 2,200e 2,047 153 7.5 21,518 20,265 1,253 6.2
Libya 68 28 40 143.2 478 294 184 62.5
Qatar 228 205 23 11.3 2,198 2,197 1 0.0
Saudi Arabia 331 407 (76) (18.6) 4,284 4,337 (53) (1.2)
South Africa 502e 543 (41) (7.6) 5,015 5,376 (362) (6.7)
United Arab Emirates 285 299 (14) (4.8) 2,741 2,657 84 3.2
Total — Africa/Middle East 4,129 4,259 (130) (3.1) 42,278 41,589 689 1.7
China 81,521 82,014 (493) (0.6) 829,215 771,781 57,434 7.4
India 9,089 9,408 (319) (3.4) 93,306 90,724 2,582 2.8
Japan 8,157 8,578 (421) (4.9) 83,791 87,197 (3,407) (3.9)
South Korea 5,983 6,198 (215) (3.5) 60,121 60,378 (257) (0.4)
Pakistan 275e 320 (45) (14.1) 2,793 4,115 (1,322) (32.1)
Taiwan 1,825e 2,023 (198) (9.8) 18,763 19,241 (479) (2.5)
Thailand 335e 426 (91) (21.4) 3,547 5,480 (1,933) (35.3)
I
Vietnam 1,680 1,342 337 25.1 17,084 11,421 5,664 49.6

Total — Asia 108,864 110,309 (1,444) (1.3) 1,108,619 1,050,338 58,281 5.5
Australia 488 441 48 10.8 4,596 4,819 (223) (4.6)
New Zealand 51 50 1 2.7 551 540 11 2.0
Total — Oceania 540 491 49 10.0 5,146 5,359 (213) (4.0)
Total 151,494 155,833 (4,340) (2.8) 1,541,644 1,494,234 47,410 3.2
Note: The countries included in this table accounted for approximately

98% of total world crude steel production in 2018.
I
e = estimate Source: World Steel Association. Data as of 27 November 2019.

16 Industry Statistics
— Monthly production — Capability utilization % 2,000
8,500 84%
8,250 81% 1,950
Weekly production (’000 tons)

Monthly production (’000 tons)
8,000 78%
Capability utilization (%)

7,991 1,900
7,750 75%
1,850
7,500 72%
1,835
7,250 69%
1,800
7,000 66%
1,750
6,750 63%
3-Nov-18
1-Dec-18
29-Dec-18
26-Jan-19
23-Feb-19
23-Mar-19
20-Apr-19
18-May-19
15-Jun-19
13-Jul-19
10-Aug-19
7-Sep-19
5-Oct-19
2-Nov-19
30-Nov-19
Oct-16
Jan-17
Apr-17
Jul-17
Oct-17
Jan-18
Apr-18
Jul-18
Oct-18
Jan-19
Apr-19
Jul-19
Oct-19
Figure 1: U.S. monthly steel production and capability utilization. Figure 2: U
.S. weekly steel production.
Source: Platts. Source: Platts.
U.S. Production Capability and Imports — Monthly imports — Monthly exports

— Monthly imports as % of apparent supply
Production — U.S. mills produced 7.99 million tons of 4,000 44%
crude steel (Fig. 1) in October 2019, a decline of 4.1% 3,500 41%

Monthly steel imports and exports (’000 tons)
from the same month in the prior year. In the same
Monthly imports as % of apparent supply

3,000 38%
period, the monthly capacity utilization rate also fell,
dropping from 80.2% to 78.0%. However, October pro- 2,500 35%
duction was slightly above the rolling 36-month average

2,000 32%
of 7.98 million tons. 1,900
1,500 29%
For comparison, October’s global crude steel production 1,000 26%

declined 2.8% from the same month in the prior year to 615
about 167 million tons. 500 23%
22%
0 20%
Sep-16
Dec-16
Mar-17
Jun-17
Sep-17
Dec-17
Mar-18
Jun-18
Sep-18
Dec-18
Mar-19
Jun-19
Sep-19
Looking forward, estimated weekly production in
November 2019 (Fig. 2) ranged between 1.84 million and Figure 3: U
.S. imports and exports.
1.89 million tons, with capacity utilization rates ranging Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
from 79.3% to 81.6%.
Imports and Exports — U.S. imports fell 16.0% in Septem-

ber 2019, declining on a year-over-year basis to 1.9 mil- Meanwhile, the U.S. exported 615,000 tons of steel mill
lion tons (Fig. 3). Imports also declined from the prior products in September. The volume increased 5.1% from
month, falling from 2.02 million tons. the same month in 2018.
Table 1 provides a breakdown of imports by country of

origin. In September 2019, imports of Chinese steel fell
Monthly imports (’000 tons) m-o-m m-o-m y-o-y y-o-y

Country/Region Sep’19 Aug’19 Sep’18 (’000 tons) (%) (’000 tons) (%)
Japan 71 136 90 (64) (47.3) (19) (21.0)
South Korea 157 263 189 (106) (40.2) (32) (17.0)

China 30 52 41 (22) (42.2) (11) (27.1)
Taiwan 61 61 105 0 0.4 (43) (41.5)
I
India 11 21 22 (10) (48.6) (12) (52.7)

Turkey 37 14 133 23 161.4 (97) (72.4)
EU 265 363 432 (98) (26.9) (167) (38.6)
Russia 19 54 161 (35) (64.4) (142) (88.0)
Brazil 38 17 115 21 126.8 (77) (66.9)
Mexico 417 269 284 147 54.8 132 46.4
Canada 576 524 419 52 10.0 157 37.3
Other 217 246 268 (29) (11.9) (51) (19.0)
I
Total imports 1,900 2,019 2,262 (119) (5.9) (362) (16.0)

Table 1: U.S. imports by country/region. Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
17
Monthly imports (’000 tons) m-o-m m-o-m y-o-y y-o-y

Steel products Sep’19 Aug’19 Sep’18 (’000 tons) (%) (’000 tons) (%)
Wire rod 56 74 80 (19) (24.9) (25) (30.7)
Structurals 43 65 40 (23) (34.4) 3 8.2
Bars 166 199 165 (33) (16.4) 1 0.6
Rebar 77 88 69 (11) (12.4) 8 11.5
Pipe and tube 406 498 464 (92) (18.5) (58) (12.5)
OCTG 150 188 167 (38) (20.0) (17) (10.1)
Plates 184 206 251 (22) (10.7) (68) (26.9)
Flat rolled 590 613 773 (23) (3.7) (183) (23.7)
HRC 177 184 255 (8) (4.2) (79) (30.8)
CRC 413 428 518 (15) (3.6) (104) (20.2)
Other finished 85 136 91 (51) (37.2) (6) (6.4)
Finished imports 1,530 1,791 1,865 (261) (14.6) (335) (18.0)
Ingots 1 1 1 0 25.6 0 15.8
Blooms, slabs, billets 369 227 396 141 62.3 (27) (6.9)
Semi-finished imports 370 228 397 142 62.2 (27) (6.9)
Total imports 1,900 2,019 2,262 (119) (5.9) (362) (16.0)
Table 2: U.S. imports by product category. Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Note: Monthly imports are rounded to the nearest integer.
Monthly average exchange rate comparisons m-o-m m-o-m y-o-y y-o-y

Currency per
Country U.S. dollar Sep’19 Aug’19 Sep’18 change (%) change (%)
Japan Yen/$ 107.44 106.32 111.94 (1.91) (1.8) (4.70) (4.2)
South Korea Won/$ 1,196.47 1,210.36 1,119.85 33.94 2.9 88.93 7.9
China CNY/$ 7.12 7.06 6.86 0.18 2.6 0.21 3.1
Taiwan TWD/$ 31.08 31.37 30.71 0.31 1.0 0.68 2.2
India INR/$ 71.33 71.15 72.22 2.34 3.4 1.61 2.3
Turkey TRY/$ 5.71 5.63 6.35 (0.04) (0.7) (0.25) (4.3)
EU €/$ 0.91 0.90 0.86 0.01 1.1 0.03 3.4
Russia RUB/$ 64.98 65.53 67.65 2.33 3.7 (0.56) (0.8)
Brazil Real/$ 4.12 4.02 4.12 0.24 6.3 0.09 2.3
Mexico MXN/$ 19.54 19.65 18.96 0.63 3.3 0.86 4.6
Canada CAD/$ 1.32 1.33 1.30 0.02 1.5 0.03 2.3
Table 3: Monthly average exchange rate comparisons. Sources: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and X-Rates.
27% year over year to 30,000 tons. Imports from Russia to 4.24 million units (Fig. 4) in October 2019. October’s
were down significantly too, declining 88% to 19,000 single-month sales fell, too, declining 1.9% to 1.33 mil-
tons. However, imports from Mexico and Canada rose, lion units.
collectively notching up 41% to 993,000 tons.
According to Cox Automotive, affordability issues, which
Table 2 provides a breakdown of imports by selected arise from high financing rates and vehicle prices, are
products. The U.S. imported 370,000 tons of semi-
finished steel in September 2019, down 6.9% from the
same month in the prior year. Finished steel imports
also declined, dropping 18% during the same period — Sales T3M — Sales y-o-y % change
4,700 8%
to 1.53 million tons. Of the finished products, wire rod
imports fell nearly 31% year over year to 56,000 tons,
and oil country tubular goods imports declined 10.1%
Production year-on-year % change
4,500 4%
to 150,000 tons. Hot-rolled coil imports fell as well, drop-
Auto sales (’000 T3M)
ping nearly 31% to 177,000 tons.

4,300 0%
Table 3 provides an overview of the monthly average cur- -0.8%
I
4,241
rency exchange rates to complement the data in Tables
1 and 2. 4,100 -4%
3,900 -8%
U.S. Demand
Oct-16
Jan-17
Apr-17
Jul-17
Oct-17
Jan-18
Apr-18
Jul-18
Oct-18
Jan-19
Apr-19
Jul-19
Oct-19
Automotive — On a year-over-year basis, trailing three- Figure 4: U.S. automobile sales and year-over-year % change.
Source: WardsAuto.com.
month light vehicle production in the U.S. dipped 0.8%
— Total construction — Private construction — Highway construction — y-o-y % change

— y-o-y % change — Public construction 120 25.0%
800 12%
782
750 10% 115 20.0%
Non-residential construction spending (US$bn)
700 8%
110 15.0%
Highway construction (US$bn)
Year-over-year % change
650 6%
4.1% 105 10.0%
Year-on-year % change
600 4%
5.4%
550 2% 100 5.0%
500 0% 97.4
454 95 0.0%
450 -2%
400 -4% 90 -5.0%
350 -6%
329 85 -10.0%
300 -8%
80 -15.0%
250 -10%
Mar-17
Mar-18
Mar-19
Sep-16
Jun-17
Sep-17
Jun-18
Sep-18
Jun-19
Sep-19
Dec-16
Dec-17
Dec-18
Sep-16
Dec-16
Mar-17
Jun-17
Sep-17
Dec-17
Mar-18
Jun-18
Sep-18
Dec-18
Mar-19
Jun-19
Figure 5: Estimated value of construction put in place. Sep-19 Figure 6: Infrastructure spending.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau. Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
leaving many potential new-vehicle buyers out of the expansion during the months ahead, but the looming
market. Still, the number of incentive programs offered insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund must be addressed
in October appeared to be at near-record levels, and big soon for momentum to persist.”
discounts likely offset softening demand.
Infrastructure — U.S. highway construction spend-
Non-Residential Construction — Non-residential construc- ing stood at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of
tion spending rose 4.1% to a seasonally adjusted annu- US$97.4 billion in September 2019 (Fig. 6), up 5.4%
alized rate of US$782.3 billion in September 2019. from the same month last year.
Spending also was up slightly from the prior month,
inching up from US$780.8 billion (Fig. 5). Energy — The U.S. rig count continued to recede in
November 2019, with the oil and gas industry operating
According to the Associated Builders and Contractors, 802 rigs at month’s end, a new two-year low (Fig. 7).
construction was driven by public projects.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administra-
“Public construction remains one of the strongest ele- tion (EIA), U.S. crude oil production was expected to
ments of the U.S. economy,” said Anirban Basu, the reach 12.3 million barrels/day in 2019, up from 11 mil-
association’s chief economist. lion barrels/day in 2018. Production growth is primarily
being driven by the Permian region, it said.
“Overall, public non-residential construction is up nearly
7% over the past 12 months as state and local govern- It also said that although overall U.S. crude oil produc-
ment finances enjoy their best health in more than a tion is forecast to increase, the rate of growth is expected
decade,” he said. “It should remain a source of economic to slow, something suggested by a decline in oil-directed
— Oil and gas rig count — y-o-y % change — New orders — y-o-y % change
1,300 140%
70 24%
1,200 120% 69 21%

68.6
68 18%
1,100 100%
67 15%
U.S. oil and gas rig count
New orders (US$ bn)

1,000 80% 66 12%

65 9%
900 60%
64 6%
802
I
800 40%
63 3%
700 20% 62 0%
-0.9%
61 -3%
600 0%
60 -6%
500 -20% 59 -9%
-26%
400 -40% 58 -12%
Sep-16
Dec-16
Mar-17
Jun-17
Sep-17
Dec-17
Mar-18
Jun-18
Sep-18
Dec-18
Mar-19
Jun-19
Sep-19
May-17
May-18
May-19
Nov-16
Nov-17
Nov-18
Nov-19
Feb-17
Aug-17
Feb-18
Aug-18
Feb-19
Aug-19
I
Figure 7: U.S. oil and gas rig count. Figure 8: Monthly non-defense capital goods.
Source: Baker Hughes. Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
19
— Industrial production — y-o-y % change 65%

115 15%
Expansion
Institute of Supply Management (ISM) Index

60%
110 10%
109.1
55%
Industrial production
105 5%
50%
48.3%
100 0%
45%
-0.2%
Contraction
95 -5% 40%
35%
90 -10%
Oct-09
Oct-10
Oct-11
Oct-12
Oct-13
Oct-14
Oct-15
Oct-16
Oct-17
Oct-18
Oct-19
Sep-09
Sep-10
Sep-11
Sep-12
Sep-13
Sep-14
Sep-15
Sep-16
Sep-17
Sep-18
Sep-19
Figure 9: Industrial production index. Figure 10: ISM Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI).
Source: U.S. Federal Reserve Board. Source: Institute for Supply Management.
rigs. The numbers of those rigs fell from 877 at the sector is generally growing; a score below 50% indicates
beginning of the year to 674 rigs in mid-November. that it is generally contracting.
“Because the EIA expects WTI-Cushing crude oil prices According to the institute, comments from the panel
to stay below US$55/barrel until August 2020, the EIA of monthly survey respondents reflect an improvement
anticipates that drilling rigs will continue to decline as from the prior month, but sentiment remains more cau-
producers cut back on their capital spending, resulting tious than optimistic.
in notable slowing in the growth of domestic crude oil
production over the next 14 months,” it said. Of 18 manufacturing sectors surveyed as part of the
monthly report, 12 reported contraction, including pri-
Non-Defense Capital Goods — New orders for non-defense mary metals, machinery, and appliances and components.
capital goods, excluding aircraft and parts, dipped 0.9%
year over year to a seasonally adjusted US$68.6 billion in “Automotive-related manufacturing is definitely slowing
September 2019 (Fig. 8). Orders were largely unchanged in the U.S. I think we are seeing the negative impacts
from the prior month. of the tariff war with China ... starting to hurt consumer
confidence, especially on large purchases. Corporations
Industrial Production Index — The industrial production are slowing orders and production accordingly,” said
index — a broad-based proxy for steel demand — fell one October survey respondent in the primary metals
in September 2019, notching down 0.2% from the same sector.
month in the prior year to 109.1 points (Fig. 9). The
score excludes the high-tech index. The score also fell
from the prior month, declining from 111.1 points.
U.S. Pricing and Costs
ISM Index — Although the overall U.S. economy grew,
the manufacturing sector contracted in October 2019, Steel Pricing — Average prices for U.S. mill products
according to the Institute for Supply Management’s (Fig. 11) were mixed in October, with some increasing
monthly Report on Business. For the month, the institute’s and others decreasing. For example, hot-rolled coil
Purchasing Managers Index stood at 48.3% (Fig. 10). An prices were up 4.4% month-on-month to US$517/ton,
index score above 50% indicates that the manufacturing but plate prices fell 5.8% in the same period to US$630/
ton. During the same period, cold-rolled coil prices
Oct’19 Sep’19 Oct’18 m-o-m m-o-m y-o-y y-o-y

I
Product ($) ($) ($) ($) (%) ($) (%)

HRC 517 495 804 22 4.4 (287) (35.7)
CRC 697 694 898 3 0.4 (201) (22.4)
Galv 784 750 976 34 4.5 (192) (19.7)
Plate 630 669 991 (39) (5.8) (361) (36.4)
Wire rod 585 618 790 (33) (5.3) (205) (25.9)
Rebar 605 625 698 (20) (3.2) (93) (13.3)
Auto bundles/busheling 229 214 371 15 7.0 (142) (38.3)
I
No. 1 HM 188 172 293 16 9.3 (105) (35.8)

Table 4: Steel prices in U.S. dollars per ton by product category. Source: Platts.
— Plate — Cold-rolled coil — Rebar — Hot-rolled coil — USA, ex-works Midwest mill — Europe, ex-works — China, export
1,100
1,000
1,000 900
Steel prices (US$ per ton)
900 800
Hot-rolled coil (US$ per ton)

700
800
600
700 697
517
630 500
600 605
417
400 403
517
500
300
400
200
Jul-17
Jul-18
Jul-19
Oct-16
Oct-17
Oct-18
Oct-19
Apr-17
Apr-18
Apr-19
Jan-17
Jan-18
Jan-19
Oct-16
Jan-17
Apr-17
Jul-17
Oct-17
Jan-18
Apr-18
Jul-18
Oct-18
Jan-19
Apr-19
Jul-19
Oct-19
Figure 11: U.S. steel prices. Figure 12: U.S. prices compared to China and the EU.
increased 0.4% month-on-month to US$697/ton, but Certain U.S. metal spreads narrowed year on year dur-
rebar prices fell 3.2% to US$605/ton. More pricing data ing October 2019. Based on average monthly prices, the
is shown in Table 4. difference between hot-rolled coil and auto bundling
prices dropped to US$288/ton (Fig. 14). The difference
The difference between the average monthly hot-rolled between plate and No. 1 heavy melt also fell, declining
coil price in the U.S. and the European Union narrowed by US$256/ton to US$442/ton. However, the difference
in October 2019 (Fig. 12). On a year-over-year basis, the between rebar and No. 1 heavy melt widened, increasing
spread receded to US$100/ton. In October 2018, the by US$12/ton to US$417/ton.
spread stood at US$261/ton. During the same period,
the spread between the U.S. price and the average China
price also shrank, tightening to US$114/ton. In 2018,
the spread stood at US$345/ton. Global Pricing Benchmarks
Scrap Prices — Certain average monthly domestic scrap Iron Ore Market — Weekly average spot prices for 62%
prices declined year over year in October 2019. For iron ore (CFR China) hovered in the low- to mid-US$80/
instance, the average price for No. 1 heavy melt was ton range in the first half of November, but began to
down US$105/ton to US$188/ton (Fig. 13). Meanwhile, climb during the last two weeks of the month, according
the average price for shredded scrap dropped US$118/ to the Platts Iron Ore Index. According to Platts, the
ton to US$204/ton, and the price for auto bundling fell price ended the month at US$88.23/dry metric ton, up
US$142/ton to US$229 ton. more than 20% from the same week last year (Fig. 15).
— Auto bundling/busheling — Shredded scrap — Plate vs. No. 1 heavy melt — Rebar vs. No. 1 heavy melt
— No. 1 heavy melt — HRC vs. auto bundling
400 735
685
635
350
Scrap prices (US$ per ton)
585
Price spread (US$ per ton)
535
300
485
442
435
417
250 385
I
229 335
200 204 285 288
188
235
185
150
Oct-16
Jan-17
Apr-17
Jul-17
Oct-17
Jan-18
Apr-18
Jul-18
Oct-18
Jan-19
Apr-19
Jul-19
Oct-19
Oct-16
Jan-17
Apr-17
Jul-17
Oct-17
Jan-18
Apr-18
Jul-18
Oct-18
Jan-19
Apr-19
Jul-19
Oct-19
Figure 14: Metal spread, HRC vs. auto bundles, rebar and plate
Figure 13: U.S. scrap prices. vs. No. 1 heavy melt.
I

21
— Weekly average spot price — y-o-y % change — World — Middle East — Asia — Africa
140 120%
— North America — South America
9,000
130 105%
8,000
120 90%
Total monthly world production (’000 MT)

7,362
Monthly regional production (’000 MT)

110 75% 7,000
3,345
US$ per dry metric ton
3,500
100 60% 6,000
3,000 2,978
90 45%
5,000
$88
80 30% 2,500
21% 4,000
70 15% 2,000
60 0% 1,500
50 -15% 1,000
40 -30% 500 590

286
30 -45% 162
0
Nov-16
Feb-17
May-17
Aug-17
Nov-17
Feb-18
May-18
Aug-18
Nov-18
Feb-19
May-19
Aug-19
Nov-19
Oct-14
Apr-15
Oct-15
Apr-16
Oct-16
Apr-17
Oct-17
Apr-18
Oct-18
Apr-19
Oct-19
Figure 15: Iron ore fines weekly average spot price (62% Fe content). Figure 16: DRI production by region.
Source: Platts Iron Ore Index. Source: World Steel Association.
According to the Reuters news service, demand for con- which saw output rise 28% to about 2.98 million metric
struction steel in China has remained robust, and is also tons. Meanwhile, North American production declined
recovering for manufacturing. 2.5% to 590,000 metric tons.
Global DRI Production — On a year-over-year basis, global Hot-Rolled Band (HRB) Pricing — The U.S. benchmark
direct reduced iron (DRI) production rose 1.8% to price for hot-rolled band (Fig. 17) improved in November,
an estimated 7.36 million metric tons in October 2019 increasing to US$567/metric ton at month’s end, accord-
(Fig. 16). The increase was driven by production in Asia, ing to World Steel Dynamics’ Steel BenchMarker™. For

I
I
WORLD
WSD STEEL
USA, China, Western Europe and World Export DYNAMICS ®
27 November 2019
— USA FOB mill — Western Europe ex-works — World Export FOB port of export — China ex-works
1,100
Hot-rolled band price (US$) per metric ton
1,000
900
800
700
600
567
500
463
450
400 449
300
200
Nov-09
Nov-10
Nov-11
Nov-12
Nov-13
Nov-14
Nov-15
Nov-16
Nov-17
Nov-18
Nov-19
Figure 17: SteelBenchmarkerTM HRB price.
Source: World Steel Dynamics, American Metal Market, Metal Bulletin.
comparison, the world export on 25 November 2019 Nucor chief executive John Ferriola said that prices
stood at US$450/metric ton. Although the U.S. price is appeared to have bottomed, pointing to historically low
down 34% from the same week in 2018, it rose US$10/ inventory levels. F
metric ton during the month. In October, outgoing
Iron & Steel Technology wishes to thank Platts, SteelBenchmarker™, The Steel Index and
World Steel Dynamics for sourcing the data presented above. Information is compiled by
Sam Kusic, AIST news editor.
Comments are welcome. Please send feedback to: industrystats@aist.org. Please include
your full name, company name, mailing address and email in all correspondence.
WORLD
WSD
I
STEEL
DYNAMICS ®
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24 Strategic Insights From World Steel Dynamics
WORLD Steel Export Price Versus Steel Company Stock Performance:

WSD STEEL They Are Almost Always in Sync
DYNAMICS ®
As indicated in Fig. 1, the WSD Global given that both pricing series tend
is a leading steel information Steel Stock Group Index and the hot- to move together, it appears that the
service in Englewood Cliffs, rolled band (HRB) export price, FOB Steel Stock Group Index is about
N.J., USA the port of export, since 1997 have twice as volatile as the HRB price.
often moved in sync with one another. Perhaps the higher volatility for the
WSD’s steel experience, steel However, note that the vertical axis steel stocks is because the HRB export
database and availability of steel for the HRB price is about double price that usually impacts the prices
statistics are the principles for that on a value basis versus the Steel in many home markets — including
performing steel forecasts, studies Stock Group Index price — it ranges the U.S., Western Europe and China
and analysis for international from a low of 100 to a high of 1,300, — is viewed by many observers to be a
clients. WSD seeks to understand while that for the Steel Stock Group highly reliable leading indicator.
how the “pricing power” of steel Index goes from zero to 600. Hence,
companies the world over will be
impacted by changes in the steel
industry’s structure. The views
and opinions expressed in this Figure 1
article are solely those of World
600 1,300
Steel Dynamics and not
necessarily those of AIST.
500 1,100
US$ per Metric Ton

January 1997=100
400 900
300 700
GSF Global Stock
Group
200 500
100 WSD PriceTrack HRB 300

Export Price, FOB the
port of export
Authors 0 100
May-99
May-06
May-13
Oct-98
Nov-02
Oct-05
Nov-09
Oct-12
Nov-16
Oct-19
Mar-98
Mar-05
Mar-12
Mar-19
Aug-97
Dec-99
Sep-01
Aug-04
Dec-06
Sep-08
Aug-11
Dec-13
Sep-15
Aug-18
Jun-03
Jun-10
Jun-17
Jan-97
Apr-02
Jan-04
Apr-09
Jan-11
Apr-16
Jan-18
Feb-01
Feb-08
Feb-15
Jul-00
Jul-07
Jul-14
Peter Marcus (left)

managing partner,
World Steel Dynamics
pmarcus@worldsteeldynamics.com GSF Global Steel Stock Group Index vs. PriceTrack/SteelBenchmarker HRB export
+1.201.503.0902 price. Source: Bloomberg, Reuters S&P and WSD analysis.
John Villa (right)
research strategist,
World Steel Dynamics
jvilla@worldsteeldynamics.com Figure 2
+1.201.503.0911
ArcelorMittal, US$ per Common Stock
50 5.0
Baowu, US$ per Common Stock
45 4.5
40 4.0
35 3.5
ArcelorMittal (LFS)
30 3.0
I
25 2.5
20 2.0
Baowu (RHS)
15 1.5
10 1.0
5 0.5
0 0
Jan-09
Sep-09
May-10
Jan-11
Sep-11
May-12
Jan-13
Sep-13
May-14
Jan-15
Sep-15
May-16
Jan-17
Sep-17
May-18
Jan-19
Sep-19
I
Baowu vs. ArcelorMittal stock index. Source: Bloomberg/Reuters data.

25
The Global Steel Stock Group is a composite of the profit swings — especially outside of China; (c) many
steel company common stock prices in the U.S., Asia, banks don’t like to make loans on steel in inventory
Japan, China, Europe, Russia and Latin America. This because they fear that the inventory may collapse in
composite had a high of about 500 in mid-2008, when value; and (d) the steel mills’ enterprise values are sup-
the world export price rose briefly to about US$1,100/ pressed severely reflecting their company’s huge sen-
metric ton, and then fell in March 2009 to an index value sitivity to swings in the steel export price. (Note: This
of 115. During this time, the HRB export price dropped sensitivity will be somewhat alleviated if, and when, there
to about US$370/metric ton. Hence, in this case, the are liquid steel futures curves outside of China for steel
two-for-one price movement assumption did not hold up. products and steel scrap.)
The Steel Group Common Stock Index from its peak fell The common stock of Baowu, which will soon become
about 75%, while the HRB price declined about 65%. the world’s No. 1 steelmaker given its ongoing acquisi-
The steel mills, their customers and their suppliers, tion spree, has had somewhat similar volatility over the
in WSD’s opinion, have a huge need to hedge the steel years as ArcelorMittal when considering the percentage
price risk. Reasons for this need include: (a) the HRB change in the price swings from the extremes (Fig. 2).
export steel price swings trigger sizable volatility in the In five years, Baowu could become a 250-million-
steel mills’ common stock prices; (b) HRB export price metric-ton-per-year enterprise versus perhaps 110 million
swings, with a lag, instigate substantial steel company metric tons for ArcelorMittal.
This report includes forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations about future events and are subject to uncertainties and
factors relating to operations and the business environment, all of which are difficult to predict. Although WSD believes that the expectations
reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable, they can be affected by inaccurate assumptions made or by known or unknown risks
and uncertainties, including, among other things, changes in prices, shifts in demand, variations in supply, movements in international currency,
developments in technology, actions by governments and/or other factors. F
Get
Involved
with AIST’s 30 Technology Committees
Technology Committee membership offers:
• An enhanced network of peers

• A forum to collectively solve problems
• Opportunities to advance individual

technical know-how
I
Make the most of your membership.

Find a committee at AIST.org.
Join today!
I
26 Personnel Spotlight
Personnel Spotlight is a free service featuring news of recent appointments, promotions, retirements and obituaries relevant to the steel
industry. To submit material for consideration, please email a press release and high-resolution photo(s) to jemling@aist.org.
SSAB Americas ran for 20 years. Most recently, he was a sales engineer
for Schaming Innovations of Cranberry Twp., Pa., USA.
SSAB Americas, the North American divi- Schaming was a Life Member of AIST, having joined
sion of global steel manufacturer SSAB, in 1962. He belonged to the Pittsburgh Member Chapter.
has named Katie Larson as vice president Schaming was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, having
of government affairs, effective 1 January served as a naval navigator in the Korean War.
2020. Larson will join SSAB Americas’ Surviving are his wife of 64 years, Esther; his son and
executive senior management team, daughter; two grandchildren; and a brother.
Larson reporting directly to Chuck Schmitt, pres-
ident of SSAB Americas. Paul Nilles passed away on 29 October
Larson will lead the company’s efforts in advancing 2019. He was 85 years old. Nilles was born
the organization’s objectives in matters involving federal in 1934 in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxemburg.
and state government, policy and regulations. Pierre Dauby writes:
She has more than 19 years of government affairs “Paul Nilles was my boss for 18 years
experience. She joined SSAB in 2014 as the director of at CRM. It is difficult to talk about Paul
government relations. Nilles Nilles without talking about CRM and
Larson holds a bachelor’s degree in managerial eco- top or bottom oxygen blowing in steel-
nomics from the University of California, Davis, and a making vessels. In 1965–1970, many new steelmaking
master’s degree in legislative affairs from The George processes were contemplated with top blowing gaining
Washington University. the favor of many steel companies around the world.
“Karl Brotzmann was research director at
Maximilianshütte, a steel plant in Sulzbach-Rosenberg,
Obituaries Germany. He had learned about Guy Savard and Robert
Lee in Canada, who demonstrated that submerged injec-
James Ronald “Ron” Fry, 69, of Galena, tion of oxygen for refining hot metal could be carried
Ohio, USA, died 1 December 2019. Fry out at commercially acceptable pressures by employing
was born 14 May 1950 in Columbus, Ohio, concentric pipes where the oxygen is injected through
USA, to Jim and Juanita Fry. He graduat- the inside pipe and shroud gas through the annulus. It
ed from Pleasant View High School in did not take long for Brotzmann to purchase the patents
1968. He graduated from CTI in 1971 and install in his plant the first OBM steel plant in the
Fry with an A.S. degree in electrical engi- world. That was on 17 December 1967.
neering and later obtained his bachelor’s “It was decided that CRM should contact Maxhütte and
degree in computer science from Franklin University. propose acquiring a group license for all CRM-affiliated
Fry was a sales manager at SenTek Corp. companies. Nilles was put in charge of the project. Not
He married Celinda “Cindy” Ocker in 1971. He is only did Maxhütte extend a group license to CRM, but
survived by his wife; daughter and son; granddaughters; also proposed to organize licensees’ meetings at which
father; and brother and sister. He was preceded in death technical information would be freely exchanged.
by his mother. Fry joined AIST in 2009 and belonged to “This steelmaking project was only one among the
the Northeastern Ohio Member Chapter. many others Nilles handled at that time. Paul was climb-
ing the CRM hierarchy quickly: chief engineer, deputy
I
Edward J. Schaming, 88, of Renfrew, Pa., director steel group, director and ultimately director
USA, passed away on 20 October 2019. general in 1990. He retired in 1998.”
He was born 10 December 1930, and was Nilles was a Life Member of AIST, having joined in
the son of Edward R. and Bessie Schaming. 1973. He belonged to the European Member Chapter.
Schaming graduated from Grove City Nilles’ wife Renate Seidel passed away in 2009. He is
College in 1957 with a degree in mechan- survived by two daughters, Sylvie and Corinne.
Schaming ical engineering. He was employed as a Readers interested in more information about
I
sales engineer for Titzel Engineering. He Paul Nilles may contact Pierre Dauby at pdauby@
then was the owner of Schaming Industries, which he steel-acero.com. F
28 AIST Foundation Update
Annual Corporate
Gift Clubs
To ensure the iron and steel industry of tomorrow will
Frick Society have a sufficient number of qualified professionals.
US$25,000–$49,999
• AK Steel Corp.*
• ArcelorMittal*
• ATI Flat Rolled Products* Annual Fund
•G erdau Long Steel
North America* The Annual Fund is the AIST Foundation’s yearly campaign to strengthen the
•H atch Associates Foundation’s programming through unrestricted contributions from AIST members,
Consultants Inc.* corporations and other supporters. To learn more about the charitable work of the
• Nucor Corp.* AIST Foundation, visit AISTFoundation.org.
• SSAB Americas*
• Steel Dynamics Inc.*
•U nited States Steel
Corporation*
Multi-Year Corporate Pledges
Oliver Council The AIST Foundation thanks the following companies that have pledged a multi-
US$10,000–$24,999 year donation, payable in annual installments, in support of the Foundation’s
• A ir Products and
Chemicals Inc. programs. Through this exceptional industry support, the AIST Foundation awards
•A merican Combustion* more than US$750,000 in scholarships and grants annually.
• Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.*
•C ommercial Metals
Company* US$100,000 US$40,000
•S MS group Inc.* • AK Steel Corp. • SMS group Inc.
• ArcelorMittal
Schwabe Associates • ATI Flat Rolled Products US$35,000
•G erdau Long Steel North America • Midrex Technologies Inc.
US$5,000–$9,999 • Nucor Corp.
• Berry Metal Co. • SSAB Americas
• Charter Steel • Steel Dynamics Inc. US$20,000
• HarbisonWalker •U nited States Steel Corporation • Berry Metal Co.
International • Magneco/Metrel Inc.
•M agneco/Metrel Inc. • Morgan Engineering
• Midrex US$60,000
Technologies Inc.* • Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.
•M organ Engineering* US$10,000
• American Combustion
US$50,000
Morgan Guild • Commercial Metals Company
US$1,000–$4,999 •H atch Associates Consultants Inc. US$5,000
• A merican Combustion* • Hickman, Williams & Co.
• Danieli Taranis • MINTEQ International Inc.
• EMPCO
• Hickman, Williams & Co.
•S aturday Friends Matching Fund Challenge – 7
• Zenar Corp.
The AIST Foundation Matching Fund Challenge – 7 for the 2020 fiscal year provides
for a total match of US$750,000. For the first US$500,000, every US$1 raised will
AIST Foundation Friends
receive a US$1 in matching funds. For the final US$250,000, every US$1 raised
US$500–$999
will receive a US$2 match. To maximize the challenge, the AIST Foundation will
• Danieli
•H atch Associates need to raise US$625,000. AIST will consider additional matching funds should the
Consultants Inc. Foundation raise in excess of this amount.
• Heraeus
Electro-Nite
I
Co. LLC Since the start of the 2020 fiscal year, new pledges have been received from:
•N ucor Corp.
•S MS group Inc. • American Combustion • Midrex Technologies Inc.
• Union Electric Åkers • ATI Flat Rolled Products • Morgan Engineering
• Berry Metal Co. • Nucor Corp.
• Hatch Associates Consultants Inc. • SMS group Inc.
I
Make your pledge or donation today online at AISTFoundation.org or contact Lori Wharrey
*T hese companies have made
multi-year pledges. at lwharrey@aist.org or +1.724.814.3044. Your support is greatly appreciated!
29
Corporate Sponsors
Students Are Getting Involved in AIST Programs

One way to introduce students to the steel industry is to encourage them to attend AIST events. In 2019, funding
assistance from the AIST Foundation supported 44 university students so they could attend an AIST Technology Training
course or annual Member Chapter meeting that included a technical program.
Here’s what a few students had to say about their experiences:
“At the producer/vendor roundtable, we discussed strategy on how to acquire new talent for the steel
industry. I think the AIST scholarships and this Steel to Students Program are great! As a student, it is almost
impossible to turn down opportunities like this.”
“I felt very pleased with the organization, presentations and tour. Thank you to AIST for providing support and
consideration to students.”
“Each of the presenters found clean and easy ways to deliver their presentations. The topics covered
enhanced my knowledge and interest in the steelmaking industry.”
These students received free registration and up to US$600 in travel reimbursement for attending these training
conferences. Students are encouraged to apply for a grant in 2020 at AIST.org/SteeltoStudents.

I
I
Audrie Corral
Steel Intern Scholarship Recipient
This past summer, I started my time here and am excited for what
co-op at Nucor Steel–Hertford is to come. The culture I found is
County as a metallurgist. I worked one that emphasizes safety and val-
in the meltshop, specifically the ues teamwork. Working at Nucor
caster. My first few weeks were has allowed me to apply what I
devoted to becoming familiar with learned in school as well as acquire
both the metallurgical and opera- and develop skills that I would not
tional aspects of the caster. have learned in a classroom. In
Then, I began my project, which addition, Nucor is unique in that
involved working with the caster I am treated like a full-time metal-
metallurgist to enable this divi- lurgist, not an intern. I am thrilled Audrie Corral is from Richmond, Va.,
sion to produce hydrogen-induced by the opportunity to work with USA. She is a sophomore materials
science and engineering major at
cracking (HIC) resistant steel, and respected experts on a meaningful

Virginia Tech. She completed her
we have completed much of the project.
internship at Nucor Steel–Herford
I
preliminary testing. In the coming I am extremely grateful to AIST County, Winton, N.C., USA.
months, we plan to run trials of for supporting my goal of starting
HIC-resistant steel and continue my career as a metallurgist upon
improving our methods for evalu- graduating Virginia Tech. The
ating the centerline. steel industry is exciting; I cannot
Although this is my first experi- wait to be a part of it.
ence at a steel mill, I have loved my
I
31
An Interview With
Michael Kercsmar
AIST Foundation Trustee
Michael Kercsmar serves as vice president, specialty steel operations,

AK Steel Corp., West Chester, Ohio, USA. He began his AK Steel career in
1997 as a shift manager in the cold strip mill at Middletown Works, and
later was a shift manager in ironmaking. He advanced to section manager,
steelmaking in 2003 and department manager, south coating in 2007. In
2009, he became manager, occupational safety and health at Middletown
Works. He was named general manager, Mansfield Works in 2010 and
Coshocton Works and Zanesville Works in 2013. He was named vice
president, specialty steel operations in 2016. Prior to joining AK Steel, he
was a process engineer at Republic Engineered Steel. Kercsmar holds a
B.S. degree in metallurgical engineering and an M.B.A. from The Ohio State
University.
When did you first hear about AISE/ISS and how? Was What was your first level of involvement in the
there someone who introduced you to the association? association? How did your involvement progress
I learned about AISE/ISS through my father. He was the over the years?
department manager for the blast furnace at AK Steel’s I got involved as a college student at The Ohio State
Middletown Works in Middletown, Ohio. He made sev- University, where I majored in metallurgical engineer-
eral presentations at AISE conferences during his career, ing. While I learned about the conferences from my
and occasionally the whole family would travel with him father, I didn’t know that college students were encour-
to tie his trip into a vacation. aged to attend. One of my professors at Ohio State rec-
My father was a chemical engineer; he progressed ommended it, and said the school could cover some of
up through the company, and shared his passion for the travel costs. It seemed like a great opportunity, so I
steelmaking with my sister and me. I developed a love was glad to get involved.
for steelmaking at an early age, fueled by visits with my Early in my career at AK Steel, I was encouraged by
father to the mill during family open house days. I even a senior leader at our company to participate. I joined
did my senior project in college on a blast furnace study, AISE as a member of the Strand Casting Committee.
which, later on, my father was able to reapply in his job.
My sister was involved with AISE when she was a pro-
cess engineer at AK Steel. I visited her a couple of times How has membership benefited you in your career? How
at work and was amazed with all the science behind mak-
do you see AIST benefiting people in the steel industry
ing steel. The opportunities seemed endless — that was
I
key to helping me choose a career in steelmaking with today?

AK Steel, and I am still loving it after 22 years. My membership in AISE/ISS connected me to oth-
ers who had interests in steelmaking technology and
networking in the industry. The connections I made
professionally and personally have been invaluable.
In fact, one of my strongest mentor/professional rela-
I
tionships was formed because of the organization. I

met Dr. Johannes (Hans) Schade, a longtime AK Steel
If you were to recommend AIST to a new graduate just
coming into the industry, what would you tell him/her?
The education you have is your foundation. Being part of
AIST will help build on that foundation to grow profes-
sionally. AIST gives you access to and the opportunity to
learn from not only experts in your company, but also
those in your area of expertise who work at other compa-
nies and in other geographies.
I like it from our company’s standpoint because it
helps us showcase the outstanding work our employees
do — it gives them opportunities to expand their techni-
cal capabilities, and grow as team collaborators through
technical and industry leadership roles beyond their
daily work.
Kercsmar recently met with AK Steel student interns at the
company’s Mansfield Works facility.
In your opinion, what can we do to attract young people
to the steel industry?
We have to continue to engage them at their level,
through the media that they consume. In our company,
metallurgist and AIST member, at the first AIST con-
we also offer co-op and internship programs that help
ference I ever attended. (Hans passed away in 2016,
students learn on the job about what a career in steel-
and in 2019 was posthumously recognized as an AIST
making, and what our company, is like. We are also big
Distinguished Member and Fellow for his commitment
participants in the annual Manufacturing Day initiative
to AIST, and his exemplary career as a researcher and
that brings hundreds of students and educators into our
mentor.) Hans helped me find balance personally, and
facilities to see the innovation they can be part of in the
was a great sounding board for technical discussions.
steel industry.
How did you decide to become involved in the

How has the AIST Foundation helped your company
Foundation?
attract young people to the industry?
I joined the AIST Foundation Board of Trustees in 2017.
I’m a big fan of the programs AIST offers for students
Personally, I saw it as a way to give back and help promote
and how it gives them an opportunity to interact with
the steel industry. Professionally, I was pleased to help
professionals in the industry.
my company continue to grow its participation and reach
The AIST scholarships are also outstanding, and cou-
within AIST.
pling those with our company’s paid internship or co-op
My role in the Foundation gives me a unique oppor-
programs can really help close the deal for the student
tunity to be able to support AIST by reaching out to
to want to learn with us and choose a career at AK Steel.
students and iron and steel professionals, to encourage
It’s an exciting way for students to see firsthand how they
their involvement and support. Every day there is a new
can be part of driving innovative steel solutions today
opportunity to engage new technical experts in the steel
and for the future. F
industry, and help them become part of a global organi-
zation that brings together more than 13,000 profession-
al and 5,000 student members. That’s pretty powerful.
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I
34 Safety First
Safety System Development — Scrap Pre-Heat
Hazards are ever-present in the Charter Steel successfully imple- reducing exposure to employees
steel plant environment, and mented a safety system in conjunc- and contractors.
a heightened awareness and tion with a large scrap pre-heat Safety Steering Team members
emphasis on safety is a necessary (SPH) capital project at its Saukville, managed contractors through a
priority for our industry. This Wis., USA, melt plant. At the early pre-qualification process, develop-
monthly column, coordinated by stages of this project, the Charter ing a specific site safety plan and
members of the AIST Safety & Steel leadership team had a vision partnering with contractors to con-
Health Technology Committee, that was vital to the overall success: trol exposures and execute the site
focuses on procedures and everyone working together every safety plan.
practices to promote a safe day to achieve an injury-free work- Safety system development includ-
working environment for everyone. place. Before final drawings were ed a comprehensive assessment of
approved, prior to any construc- how SPH impacted the current safe-
tion and long before arcing the ty system and the development of
first heat, the definition of project necessary risk assessments, safety
success included the integration of procedures and controls. The Safety
safety into all aspects and stages of Steering Team clarified the safety
the project, capitalizing on safety system development scope by listing
leadership and cultivating employee equipment and areas impacted by
engagement. SPH. In total, the team identified 18
pieces of equipment and areas (e.g.,
cranes, conveyors, etc.).
Safety Integration To develop a fully integrated
safety system by start-up, the Safety
To lay the foundation, a Safety Steering Team committed the
Author
Steering Team was formed during resources of 18 employees in the
Lindsay Nelson the initial stage of project planning. meltshop to lead the development
safety engineer, Charter Steel –
The team consisted of operations of safety systems for each SPH piece
Saukville, Saukville, Wis., USA
leaders, project managers, continu- of equipment and/or area. The indi-
ous improvement representatives viduals were selected based on their
and safety professionals. The goal experience and area of responsi-
was to have zero injuries and no seri- bility and were called the Safety
ous injuries/fatalities (SIF) events, Leadership Team.
from design phase to commissioning.
The team’s agenda focused on
prevention through design, contrac- Safety Leadership
tor management and safety system
development. Prevention through In early 2018, the Safety Leadership
design focused on controlling SPH Team was formed. The Safety
exposures before the construction Steering Team was responsible

phase. The team reviewed draw- for leading the Safety Leadership
I
ings, plans and layouts to identify Team by providing clear expecta-

Comments are welcome. exposures. tions, resources, documentation,
If you have questions about this An example of this was when timelines, mentors, and necessary
topic or other safety issues, please the project plan called for the technical training and support. The
contact safetyfirst@aist.org. installation of a 30-foot fixed lad- roles were as follows:
Please include your full name, der to access peak shaver equip-
company name, mailing address ment. The team successfully made a
I
and email in all correspondence. business case for substituting stairs

for the fixed ladder, significantly
35
• The plant manager set the stage by sharing his employees through formal and informal teams. They
vision of having a better safety system by the end of attended team meetings — scrap yard team, crane
commissioning. team, safety team, etc. — and engaged employees on
• The safety engineer presented how each leader the production floor to identify risk, discuss controls
could access their assigned electronic folder con- and develop safety documentation.
taining drawings related to their equipment/area, Two maintenance technicians were assigned early
necessary safety documents (e.g., risk assessment in the project to be dedicated project resources. The
form, confined space assessment, lockout-tagout technicians were a critical part of the successful devel-
procedure template, etc.) and a report-out tem- opment of lockout-tagout procedures, confined space
plate highlighting project expectations. assessments and exposure reductions.
• The operations project engineer reviewed the
timeline of implementation.
• The senior continuous improvement leader facili- Results
tated a discussion on what additional resources
and training were needed in order to be successful. During summer 2019, Charter Steel – Saukville melt
arced the first scrap pre-heat heat. More than half of
To ensure consistency and alignment and share sta- the Saukville melt team actively participated through
tus updates, the Safety Leadership Team met monthly. design, contractor management and safety system
development.
At the end of the day, the project was a success. The
Employee Engagement team created, documented and implemented 135
safety procedures resulting in 125,000 construction
The Safety Leadership Team regularly shared hours worked without a lost-time injury and only one
their vision of everyone working together every day recordable injury. F
to achieve an injury-free workplace by engaging

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I
36 Legal Perspectives
Understanding Your Commercial Lease
The law firm of Tucker Arensberg Where residential leases are often is responsible for all costs of their
contributes this quarterly column seen as quite straightforward, com- leased space, except the landlord
focused on the legal issues that mercial leases can be intimidating generally remains responsible for
may impact our readers. Tucker to many. They represent a long-term structural replacements.
Arensberg is a full-service law firm financial commitment and contain
headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., different terms and nuances not
USA. Servicing the legal needs of necessary in residential leases. This Full-Service Gross Lease
the iron and steel industry, Tucker article will break down the types of
Arensberg has also provided legal commercial leases and some of the In this lease structure, the tenant
counsel to the Association for Iron abbreviations and terms used in pays base rent along with a fixed
& Steel Technology. those leases. amount per month, often called
When it comes to commercial additional rent. Additional rent is
leases, there are several basic struc- calculated by the landlord at the
tures and each equates to what the beginning of the lease term and
landlord and tenant are ultimately often includes payment for insur-
responsible for under the terms of ance, utilities, operating expenses,
the lease. common area maintenance, man-
agement and taxes. The landlord
then handles all operations and
Single Net Lease (Net Lease) maintenance.
This is the simplest commercial

Author lease but is rarely used. In this Modified Gross Lease (Modified
Ashley S. Wagner lease structure, the tenant pays rent, Net)
attorney, Tucker Arensberg utilities for their space and prop-
Attorneys, Pittsburgh, Pa., USA
+1.412.594.5550
erty taxes attributable to their space. This type of lease is the same as
The landlord pays for maintenance, the full-service gross lease with
repairs and insurance on the leased one exception. In a modified gross
space. lease, the landlord may increase the
amount of additional rent paid each
year based on higher operational
Double Net Lease (Net-Net) costs. Usually there are limits in the
lease for how much the additional
Here, the tenant is responsible for rent can increase per year and what
rent, utilities, property taxes and type of documentation the land-
If you have any questions about insurance premiums for the build- lord must produce to support the
this topic or any other legal ing that makes up their leased space. increase.
topics, contact attorney Thomas The landlord is still responsible for
P. Peterson at +1.412.594.3914 or maintenance and repairs within

tpeterson@tuckerlaw.com. Please the leased space. Double net leases Terms of the Lease
I
include your full name, company are most common in multi-tenant

name, mailing address and email buildings. It is crucial for a tenant to know and
address in all correspondence. understand what type of lease they
are entering into. For the landlord,
Views expressed in Triple Net Lease (NNN) it is helpful to research what type
Legal Perspectives do not of lease best suits the type of com-
necessarily reflect those of This is the most desirable type of mercial building being leased and
I
Iron & Steel Technology. lease for a commercial landlord. how involved they wish to be in the
In this lease structure, the tenant operations of that building.
37
After establishing rent and expenses, the most A tenant may also want its use to be an “exclusive
critical issue is the term of the lease. There are posi- use” meaning that no future tenants (even those not
tives and negatives for both landlord and tenant in concerned with competition) can offer the same ser-
long-term, short-term or indefinite leases, so both vices offered by that tenant. At first glance, a landlord
parties need to know their objectives. Plus, the terms may not see this as a problem because, after all, the
of renewal clauses, including renewal pricing, are very chances of two substantially similar businesses want-
important. Both parties should be sure these sections ing to be close together would be, presumably, a rare
of the lease are clear and acceptable. occurrence. But, in cases where a shopping center is
Additionally, there are several terms and abbre- very large, a problem could arise for the landlord.
viations commonly used in commercial leases. Further, if a landlord is willing to make a tenant’s use
Understanding these terms and their impact on the exclusive then that use should be defined as narrowly
lease is of utmost importance. For example, common as possible to allow the landlord some flexibility with
area maintenance (CAM), also occasionally called future tenants.
operating expenses, means all of the landlord’s costs Another important term is a “personal guaranty.”
to operate and maintain a shopping center or build- When a commercial tenant is a new or fairly new
ing (and any parking or outdoor areas) except for business or when a commercial tenant has a less
those costs for which a tenant is directly responsible. than desirable credit score, a landlord may require a
The tenant pays the landlord a percentage of CAM personal guaranty from the individual(s) behind the
expenses based on the size of that tenant’s leased business.
space in comparison to the total amount of rentable For example, if John Smith owns ABC LLC, which
space in the shopping center or building. is a single-member entity, and ABC LLC is a startup,
For example, if the landlord’s CAM expenses in this case with no credit history, the landlord may
are US$100,000 for the year and tenant leases a require that John Smith sign a personal guaranty in
1,000-square-foot space in a 10,000-square-foot build- addition to the lease. This insures that if the lease falls
ing (i.e., 10% of the total rentable space in the build- into default and ABC LLC does not have the funds to
ing), then the tenant owes the landlord US$10,000 in pay rent, then the landlord can seek that back rent
additional rent as payment for CAM, usually payable from John Smith directly. In the event John Smith
in monthly installments. is married, the landlord may require that his spouse
Another extremely important, but often overlooked, signs the guaranty as well, so that in the event of
term in all commercial leases is called the “use default John will not be able to put assets in his wife’s
clause.” This is a clause in the lease which states how name to avoid making payment under the guaranty. It
the tenant must use the leased premises and what, if is easy to see why a commercial landlord would want
any, activities are prohibited. The limitations in a use the protection of a personal guaranty. A tenant who
clause can be as broad as what business the tenant will is a new business owner or one who has struggled in
conduct there (i.e., a plastic surgery center) or as nar- the past should not be surprised if he/she is presented
row as what specific services or products the tenant with a lease that attaches a personal guaranty.
can offer (i.e., a center for cosmetic fillers only and This brief summary is only an introduction to what
for no other purpose, including, but not limited to, is needed to navigate commercial leases, which for
surgical procedures requiring anesthesia). A tenant many companies can be their single largest liability.
will desire to keep its use clause as broad as possible to Assistance from real estate and legal professionals
allow for business expansion, whereas a landlord will before entering into these important transactions is
want a narrow use so as to not dissuade future tenants highly recommended. F
due to possible competition with existing tenants.
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I
38 “Our Stories” From World Steel Association (worldsteel)
How Steel Is Crucial to Champagne Making
From the mechanization of the bottling and storage processes, to the steel caps and cages that
help keep the wine fresh and give it its iconic look, steel plays a vital role in champagne production.
The World Steel Association The unique and intricate process of small wire cage designed to secure
(worldsteel), headquartered in opening a bottle of champagne is a cork in the champagne bottle and
Brussels, Belgium, is one of the instantly recognizable and is some- keep it sealed against the pressure
largest industry associations in the thing likely everyone has seen at some of its carbonated contents until it is
world, with members in every steel- point. Fewer might know, however, opened for drinking.
producing country. Its members that the iconic metal cage that must Originating from the French word
represent around 85% of global be removed before the cork can be museler — to muzzle — these cages
steel production. popped is called a muselet and that are comprised of three distinct parts
each and every one is made from assembled into a single piece, includ-
This monthly column features 100% steel. ing a lower ring, four wire legs and a
“Our Stories” from worldsteel, “The muselet isn’t merely an advan- metal circular cap which may show
covering automotive, construction tage, it’s a necessity,” says Françoise the name, emblem, logo or creative
and building, infrastructure, and Peretti, director of the Champagne design of the producer. Each muse-
innovation. Bureau UK and spokesperson for let is mechanically fastened onto a
the industry. “For the past 174 years cork and traditionally covered with a
and still unrivaled, the muselet has branded foil hood or capsule known
been pivotal in keeping champagne’s as the plaques de muselet.
Author precious effervescence in the bottle. Muselets perform a vital role in the
Without the muselet, there wouldn’t production of champagne and are
Desmond Hinton-Beales
editor, Specialist – The Content be any champagne.” key to ensuring the quality of each
Marketing Agency, Bristol, U.K. So, what is this industry essen- bottle, so much so that they will have
desmond.hinton-beales@ tial and why is steel the material of been used to seal almost every one
specialistuk.com
choice? In essence, the muselet is a of the 307 million bottles produced
I
I
The steel caps Champagne Taittinger uses are color-coded for different products.
39
The steel wire used has excellent elasticity to resist the many The steel’s resistance allows for high-volume production of
twists needed for muselet production. The steel is flexible but more than 6,000 bottles per hour. Here the wire is passing
has a tensile strength of more than 300 N/mm2. through a cooling line.
in 2017, as well as on the estimated 1.3 million bottles — twice as high as in a tire and the equivalent to more
held as stock, according to official statistics released by than 5 kg of weight on every square centimeter of glass.
the Comité Champagne. That’s an average hourly pro- This translates to the potential cork expulsion of a vig-
duction of more than 35,000 muselets, 24 hours a day, orously shaken bottle of champagne at 40 km per hour
all year long — and this is just to satisfy demand from and theoretically up to 100 km per hour for an unshaken
champagne houses, not the other sparkling winemakers, bottle left out in the sun — a fact discovered by German
and beer and cider producers also using steel muselets scientist Friedrich Balck of Clausthal University of
around the world. Technology, who registered the speed in 2008.
There are four main advantages that make steel the
material of choice for the champagne industry. It’s
An Essential Element cheaper than brass or copper and has a better lifetime
and mechanical properties. It also has excellent elasticity
It’s the raw material of mild steel — a type featuring no to resist the many twists needed for muselet production
more than 2% carbon and with no other appreciable and has strong mechanical resistance; maintaining the
alloying element — that is key to the muselet’s success. cork despite the pressure inside the bottle.
Also known as low-carbon steel, it is strong and easily Deneuville specifically credits the resistance of steel
worked, as well as affordable, contributing to making with the champagne house’s ability to maintain consis-
the muselet so practical, efficient and widespread in its tently quick bottling lines that sees approximately 6,000
adoption. bottles processed an hour. “It’s thanks to steel that we’re
“Muselets have to be pressure resistant for safety able to fulfill that function,” he says.
but they also have to be elastic enough to be shaped,
hygienic and anti-corrosive — steel is the essential
material,” says Dominique Deneuville, head of produc- An Historic Development
tion at Champagne Taittinger, a family-owned business
headed by third-generation producer Pierre-Emmanuel Historically, the earliest attempts to maintain the pres-
Taittinger. sure inside a champagne bottle involved wooden plugs
According to the Grandes Marques & the Maison de wrapped in oil cloths and sealed with wax; later cork stop-
Champagne (Champagne Growers’ Union), each muse- pers were secured to the bottle with simple hemp string
let “must allow for the easy twisting and untwisting of the formations, which were fastened by hand. However, both
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lower ring with no risk of breakage when the bottle is methods soon lost favor due to their inconsistency and
opened.” Irrespective of the size of bottle being opened, the amount of spoilage that resulted.
this process requires a very precise six half-turns of the In 1844, Adolphe Jacquesson was the first to incor-
twisted wire to loosen and release each muselet. porate a steel plate between the top of the cork and its
The wire must also “be supple when drawn but with a ties, balancing out the forces on the cork and preventing
tensile strength of more than 300 N/mm2” and be able the string from becoming embedded in the corks under
I
to “withstand the pressure inside the bottle which is pressure. The addition of a metal fastener, and then a
measured at six bar or between five and six atmospheres”
40 “Our Stories” From World Steel Association (worldsteel)
The ability to have customized caps, and to maintain
constant stocks of muselets, is essential to Deneuville,
especially considering the annual production of
Champagne Taittinger totals approximately 6 million
bottles, with an eventual sales target of 7 million.
“We use two muselet suppliers — the France-based
Le Muselet Valentin and Spanish ICAS — to ensure we
always have enough raw materials to fulfill orders. For us,
the buying criteria is based on quality, price and servic-
ing. We need to be able to fulfill orders when they come
in so our supplier nearby in France is convenient, but for
instance only one of our suppliers produces a particular
color cap for us.
“For the marketing department, our caps are very
important as a means of communicating information to
our consumers,” he says.
Roughly 35,000 muselets are produced every hour for the
The specific steel grade used for these discs, which
champagne industry.
are made to measure and personalized using different
printing techniques to make them a unique identifier
for each brand, is particularly suitable due to its many
qualities. This steel is anti-corrosive — a necessity for
steel cage, followed, but these early muselets were com- products in contact with any alimentation and stored in
plicated to install and difficult to open. underground cellars, having an excellent resistance for
Throughout the 19th century, many advances were stamping — an important part of the disc production,
made in the design and manufacture of muselets, with and is perfectly suited for coating and printing.
supply chains, material developments and machine But steel isn’t just used for bottle tops — it can be
automation playing large roles. However, it was the found scattered all along the 200 km of underground
Cortellazzi brothers, in Italy in 1952, who developed the chalk tunnels beneath the Champagne region, playing a
first semi-automatic machine that combined all three pivotal part in the mechanization process of production.
components of a muselet out of a single piece of metal Steel is the material of choice for gyropalettes — special
wire. remote-controlled metal cages filled with bottles, which
The 1960s and 1970s saw the introduction of the first are used in their thousands, to replicate and speed up
fully automatic machines with bottles fed by a conveyor the traditional method of moving the sediment from
belt and the wire cages delivered to the machine auto- one end of a bottle to the other by hand on a mass scale.
matically. Modern-day steel muselets are now attached
on bottles, usually inside the champagne house’s produc-
tion facilities, in the tens of thousands an hour and are This and other stories are available at stories.worldsteel.org. F
used as a means to identify either the brand, a particular
cuvée or a collection. Indeed, their personalized nature
has meant they’ve become valuable items for wine con-
noisseurs and effective marketing assets for wine brands.
Making a Mark
“What started out as a functional closing device has
grown into a true collector’s item and are much sought

after around the world,” says Peretti. Not only can
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the wire cage itself be customized in terms of color-

lacquered steel wire, but the capsules themselves are a
constant source of house creativity, identification and
celebration. Champagne Taittinger, for instance, has a
specific muselet for each of their champagnes — pink
for its rosé, purple for their sweeter Nocturne style and
grey for its Brut Reserve cuvées.
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42
Industry training and education is one of the major initiatives in AIST’s Strategic Plan. Access to world-class training is
vital in developing the next generation of steelmakers. With nearly 200 educational opportunities available each year,
AIST is committed to being the source for steel industry education and training.
CORE STEELMAKING PROCESSES Cold Rolling Fundamentals, held every 18 months,

The Modern Electric Furnace Steelmaking seminar covers the fundamentals, equipment, theory and new
is headed to the West Coast this year in February in technologies relevant to today’s cold mills. New year is
Portland, Ore., USA. Intended for those who wish to a roundtable discussion on mill alignment with Brian
gain a fundamental understanding of the electrical, Smith of ANDRITZ Herr-Voss Stamco, who serves as
thermomechanical and technical aspects of modern co-education chair of the Cold Sheet Rolling Technology
electric furnace steelmaking, the seminar brings together Committee (CSRTC), and Mark Zipf, SMS group Inc.
experts in the field, some of whom have been involved in
the course since its inception. Zipf is a regular participant and presenter at the
Cold Rolling Fundamentals, and has a number of
“The (EAF) conference is a great opportunity to get a presentations “back by popular demand,” as Liz
better technical foundation for electric arc steelmaking,” Hunter, co-education chair of the CSRTC, puts it. “The
said Lauren Jellison, melt/cast shift supervisor, Nucor knowledge that Mark Zipf brings to his talks is incredible
Steel Sedalia. “It’s a good chance for operators and and worth every penny.” The conference will be held
anyone who might not have a lot of experience in the first week of March in Charleston, S.C., USA, and
chemistry and phase diagrams to get introduced to the will feature a tour of Hunter’s home site, Nucor Steel–
field and be able to learn, develop and apply the things Berkeley.
they see in their everyday job.”
For those new to the industry, or those who do not

For long products personnel, the Long Products Rolling have a technical background but need to understand
I
seminar focuses on the process and equipment found more about steel production, The Making, Shaping and
within the rolling mill. The course will take place Treating of Steel: 101 is just the ticket. This course will
next month in Jacksonville, Fla., USA. From safety to be held in Richmond, Va., USA, and will offer a tour
metallurgy, descaling to predictive maintenance, this of Gerdau Long Steel North America’s Petersburg Mill.
comprehensive course is taught by industry experts Taught by Frank Fonner of NLMK Pennsylvania and
involved in all aspects of the production of long products. Bryan Webler of Carnegie Mellon University, the course
provides an understanding of how steel is produced and
I
the effects of making, shaping and treatment on the final

performance of steel products.
43
ESSENTIAL SUPPORT SYSTEMS also the production of emission-free iron) and the use of
AIST’s second Digital Transformation Forum for the reduced iron products.
Steel Industry will take place in March. The 2020
Digital Transformation Forum covers machine learning/ Back for its third installment is AIST’s International
artificial intelligence applications and use cases from Conference on Advances in Metallurgy of Long and
liquid steel, upstream (casting and hot rolling) and Forged Products, to be held in Vail, Colo., USA, in July.
downstream process, to final product. In addition, the The conference will focus on microstructural control,
Digital Transformation Forum will discuss the essential fatigue of heat-treated products, thermomechanical
roles humans play in a successful digital transformation processing developments, improved steel cleanliness,
journey. Strategies and methods to efficiently manage innovative facilities and process technologies, and much
the cultural change and human involvement will also more. The program is being developed by a scientific
be explored. The forum is being held once again at advisory committee comprised of steel producers, OEMs,
the historic Omni William Penn Hotel in downtown academics, researchers and representatives from the
Pittsburgh, Pa., USA. auto industry.
The 27th Crane Symposium will be held this summer. Finally, completely new to the lineup this summer is
This symposium presents an opportunity for crane the Congress on Safety in Engineering and Industry
manufacturers and operators to learn about the latest 2020, which will take place in June in Philadelphia, Pa.,
technologies regarding overhead cranes. As it has in USA. Leaders from multiple industries and professional
many years past, the symposium will be held at the Omni societies will gather to share safety challenges and
William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh in June. solutions. Safety is job one, and safety professionals
within the steel industry will find relevant topics in
the conference’s many breakout sessions, including
PRODUCT & TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT discussions on cranes and lifting methods; health, safety
Scrap Supplements and Alternative Ironmaking 8 will and environmental management systems; and handling
be held in March in Orlando, Fla., USA. This once- regulatory frameworks.
I
every-few-years seminar began back in 1993 with the

Iron & Steel Society. The conference is international For more information on AIST’s lineup of conferences
in scope, covering research, process and project this spring, turn to pages 195–217 of this issue and visit
development, and plant construction and start-up of AIST.org to secure your spot today. F
direct reduction and alternative ironmaking processes.
This year’s edition will focus on successful projects, the
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challenges experienced with struggling processes, new

approaches (such as flash ironmaking technology and
44 Digital Transformations
An Optimization Model for Making Alloy Additions During

Steelmaking at SSAB Iowa
Digital technologies are During steelmaking, different alloy- are conducted cautiously
transforming industry at all levels. ing agents are added to liquid steel until the required concen-
Steel has the opportunity to lead all at various stages to ensure the steel trations of various elements
heavy industries as an early adopter chemistry meets customer specifi- are achieved. Along with
of specific digital technologies to cations.1 At SSAB Iowa, alloys are alloy additions, the steel must
improve our sustainability and generally added to liquid steel in be completely deoxidized,
competitiveness. This column is different processing steps until the desulfurized, homogenized
part of AIST’s strategy to become specification requirements are met: and the bath heated to the
the epicenter for steel’s digital required temperature before
transformation, by providing a • Tapping from the electric arc the ladle is shipped to the
variety of platforms to showcase furnace (EAF): Bulk alloys vacuum tank degasser (VTD)
and disseminate Industry 4.0 are added into the ladle dur- or caster. On-time process-
knowledge specific for steel ing tapping. The stirring ing of heats at the LMF is
manufacturing, from big-picture power of the tap stream helps very critical to maintaining
concepts to specific processes. to quickly homogenize the the continuity of casting, and
alloying elements in the ladle, hence productivity. The steel
which minimizes subsequent has to be refined, alloyed to
Authors treatment time during the the required chemistry and
refining process. Therefore, heated on time to deliver the
Yufeng Wang
to utilize the advantage ladles to the caster to main-
senior research engineer, SSAB
Americas R&D, Muscatine, offered by adding alloys at tain the expected productiv-
Iowa, USA tap, mill metallurgists strive ity per the schedule. The time
yufeng.wang@ssab.com
to maximize the amounts of available to the LMF opera-
Sunday Abraham alloys added at tap in order tors to adjust the heat within
director, Research & Development, to achieve concentrations of specification is even shorter
SSAB Americas R&D, Muscatine,
Iowa, USA
dissolved elements as close when casting wider products
sunday.abraham@ssab.com as possible to the minimum because of the higher cast-
required by the specifica- ing throughput. In addition,
Rick Bodnar
metallurgical consultant, SSAB tions. However, the amounts some of the heats tapped
Americas R&D, Muscatine, of alloys added are depen- from the EAF may require
Iowa, USA dent on the variation of tap longer processing time at
rick.bodnar@ssab.com
chemistry due to the scrap the LMF due to non-optimal
Randy Petty mix. If the addition amounts quality as a result of slag car-
superintendent, Primary Operations,
are overestimated, the speci- ryover. These conditions may
SSAB Iowa Inc., Muscatine,
Iowa, USA fied customer chemistry can complicate the judgment of
be exceeded, resulting in the operators, and hence
Gary Brown
manager, LMF and Refractories,
production delays since the cause the chemistry of the
SSAB Iowa Inc., Muscatine, heat will have to be diluted or steel to deviate from customer
Iowa, USA diverted. specifications. The choice of

Preston Schaaf • Secondary refining at the an optimal combination of
I
associate metallurgist, SSAB Iowa ladle metallurgy furnace alloys for trim additions in
Inc., Muscatine, Iowa, USA (LMF): Alloys are trimmed the ladle is based on opera-
Myrissa Maxfield at the LMF to the final speci- tor judgment, which creates
associate metallurgist, SSAB Iowa fication levels. From a quality a challenge in itself to con-
Inc., Muscatine, Iowa, USA
point of view, to avoid steel sistently maintain an optimal
downgrades or diversions to and cost-effective operation.
alternate products with lower • Vacuum treatment in vac-
I
profit margins, the incre- uum tank degasser (VTD):

mental additions of alloys Depending on the steel
45
Figure 1
Alloy addition model structure (E1/E2, L1/L2, and D1/D2 represent the chemistry sample identification at the electric arc furnace
(EAF), ladle metallurgy furnace (LMF) and vacuum tank degasser (VTD)).
specification, some steels may require final to ensure both quality and cost-effective choices are
alloy trims after vacuum degassing. As a final made by the operators. To address the issues at dif-
stage, any miscalculations in alloy trims will be ferent steelmaking units, the model was broken down
very costly. into four separate modules: (1) EAF Module, (2) LMF
Module, (3) VTD Module and (4) Caster Module, as
To minimize the occurrence of deviations of steel illustrated in Fig. 1.
chemistry from specifications, and to produce steel The designs of individual modules are similar to
with optimal quality and optimize alloy additions with each other. Once the model calculation is initiated,
the purpose of ensuring cost savings, SSAB Iowa initi- the model begins to communicate with the mill level 2
ated a project to develop a comprehensive alloy addi- system to retrieve the information from each process
tion model in 2017. In addition to cost savings, the unit, such as heat identification and steel composition
model was intended to improve liquid steel yield and specification. The model automatically verifies or
increase productivity. This paper discusses features updates these items every minute to ensure the infor-
of the new alloy addition model and its applications mation is available in real time.
at the mill. For the EAF Module, if the steel chemical analyses
are available, the model preferentially takes the latest
I
analysis results as an initial condition for the EAF tap

Model Development bulk alloy optimization. However, it is unnecessary to
delay the model calculation since the tap chemistry
Model Structure — The model was designed to inter- test may not be available by the time additions need to
face with all of the liquid steel processing units, which be made. This is because post-tap chemistry tests usu-
includes EAF tapping, refining in the ladle and ally take a priority over tap tests. To ensure the bulk
casting, in real time. Utilizing the power of linear alloys are prepared on time, an algorithm was devel-
I
programming,2,3 the optimal types and amounts of oped to estimate the steel composition in the EAF. As
alloys are automatically recommended by the model presented in Eq. 1, the model essentially considers the
effects of steel grade, scrap recipe and steel chemistry Several chemistry tests are typically required at the
from previous heats. LMF and VTD as alloy additions are being gradually
performed to adjust the steel to within specification.
 N
 To ensure the accuracy of additions, the optimiza-
Ci = f  S , R,

∑C
m=0
i
m
/ N
 tion program only recommends the next alloy trim
amounts once it receives chemistry input from the
(Eq. 1) current test. During the holding period, the optimiza-
tion program idles, which saves a significant amount
where of computational resources. The design of the caster
module was used to display the chemistry results in
Ci = the estimated element concentration, wt.%, the tundish only at this stage. However, the caster
S = a parameter related to steel grade, module can be extended if any alloys would be added
R = a parameter related to scrap recipe, wt.%, in the tundish in the future.
Cmi = the measured element concentration after EAF
melting and Alloy Database — The alloy costs, chemistries (includ-
N = the total number of EAF chemical analyses. ing both major and residual elements) and relative
concentrations of elements for the grade being made
are important variables in the optimization program.
Table 1
Alloy Reference Table (element recovery rate is in wt.%)
Alloy EAF LMF VTD Cost C Mn P Si Al N Cu Ni Cr Mo Cb V Ti B
LarpingCarbon N Y Y 0.xx 9x.x
ChargeCarbon Y N N 0.xx 8x.x 1.xx
InjectCarbon Y N N 0.xx 8x.x 0.xx
Graphite Y N N 0.xx 6x.x
Al Cones Y Y N 0.xx 9x.x
Al Shred Y N N 0.xx 9x.x
Al Shot N N Y 0.xx 9x.x
LCFeMn Y Y Y 1.xx 0.xx 8x.x 0.x 0.x 0.x
FeMn Y Y N 0.xx 6.xx 7x.x 0.x 0.x
LCSiMn Y N N 1.xx 0.x 6x.x 0.x 2x.x 0.x
FeSi Y N N 0.xx 0.xx 6x.x 1.xx
SiMn Y N N 0.xx 1.xx 6x.x 0.x 1x.x 0.x
ElectroMn Y N N 1.xx 0.xx 9x.x 0.xx 0.xx
NitridedMn N N Y 1.xx 8x.x 7.x
LCFeCr Y Y N 2.xx 0.xx 0.xx 0.xx 6x.x
MCFeCr N Y N 1.xx 3.xx 0.xx 0.xx 0.xx 6x.x 0.xx 0.xx 0.xx 0.x
FeMo N Y N 8.xx 0.xx 0.xx 0.xx 6x.x
MoOxide Y N N 7.xx 0.xx 9x.x

NitroVan Y Y Y 1x.x 3.xx 1x.x 9x.x
I
FeCb N Y N 1x.x 0.xx 0.xx 0.xx 1.xx 1.xx 6x.x

FeV N Y Y 1x.x 0.xx 0.xx 0.xx 1.xx 8x.x
FeTi N Y Y 1.xx 0.xx 0.xx 6.xx 6x.x
FeB N N Y 1.xx 0.xx 1x
Cu N Y N 3.xx 100
I
Ni N Y N 4.xx 9x
47
At SSAB Iowa, a large number of alloys are added at However, the unit price of low-carbon ferromanga-
different steelmaking units. In addition, new types of nese is about twice that of the ferromanganese. For
alloy are continuously being trialed. To manage the those heats with low entry carbon, a combination of
alloys efficiently for the model, a reference table was carbon, ferromanganese and low-carbon ferromanga-
developed, including the alloy information for the nese are used to minimize the alloy costs while ensur-
applicable station, unit cost and recovery rates for dif- ing that the grade specifications for both carbon and
ferent elements, as listed in Table 1. To facilitate the manganese content are met. Additionally, the addi-
optimization, the table was implemented in the mill tion of individual alloys cannot be negative numbers.
database, which can be directly referenced during the To solve the problem, the objective function and con-
calculation. straints can be formulated using the standard linear
In the alloy reference table, the recovery rates of programming form, as given in Fig. 2.
alloys are maintained by the mill metallurgists. The To solve the alloy addition problem, the unit price
recovery rate of a given alloy can be dynamically and recovery rate of each alloy can be referenced
adapted according to historical data, which improves from Table 1. Each element entry concentration is
the accuracy of the prediction. In addition, it is easy based on the heat chemical analysis. Since this is a
to add any new alloys or remove the existing alloys multiple-step optimization problem, the definition of
from the reference table. The unit price of alloys is target element concentration relies on the processing
provided by the SSAB Purchasing Department. stage. For example, the minimum values required by
the specification are used for the EAF tap alloy target,
Alloy Addition Optimization — The core of optimization and the aim specification is used for the addition of
is based on the algorithm of linear programming. In alloys at the LMF and VTD. For some heats with high
past decades, models based on linear programming sulfur entry content, the model aims for an average
were often used to optimize the material and energy value between the minimum and target values of the
flows in steel plants.4–6 Steel mills usually have a specification, allowing sulfur removal before the heat
choice over the use of various materials and produc- is trimmed to the final composition. In addition, the
tion processes. For example, linear programming is silicon content in steel can be affected by carryover
used to analyze the value in the use of materials due slag from the EAF tapping; therefore, the operators
to the frequent fluctuations in their prices.7 The use have to determine the charge amount, although a
of linear programming for determining the best com- reference amount is recommended by the model. To
bination of alloys to achieve the chemistry specifica- accelerate the calculation, the algorithm of Simplex
tion for a given steel grade is
also becoming popular in the
steel industry.8–11
Generally, the alloy addi-
Figure 2
tion problem is formulated as
a cost-minimizing linear pro-
gramming model. Following
the standard form of linear
programming, the objective
function of the problem is
to minimize the cost of alloy
additions. A constraint of the
problem is that the concentra-
tion of each element after the
alloy addition meets the grade
specification. As a simplified
example, to trim the steel with

manganese, linear program-
I
ming is used to determine the

combined addition of ferro-
manganese and low-carbon
ferromanganese required. To
avoid a significant increase in
carbon content, low-carbon
ferromanganese is typically
I
used for some steel grades to

trim the manganese content. Linear programming problem formulation.
Figure 3
Model Interface Design — The
model was designed for the
applications at the meltshop with
minimal human interaction. As
a comprehensive alloy addition
optimization model, the model
interface includes all of the mod-
ules presented earlier. As shown
in Fig. 3, the heat number and
mill practice are available for the
heats being processed at a metal-
lurgical vessel. To track the status
at different units, the operators
only need to select the unit, for
example, Stand A at the LMF,
then the model is able to auto-
matically display the relevant
information for the heat at this
Model interface design.
unit, including chemistry sam-
ple identification number, heat
weight, chemistry range required
by specification, chemistry test-
was employed, which involves determining slack vari- ing results, recommended alloy additions and predict-
ables, setting up tables, checking optimality, identify- ed steel chemistry after the additions. To capture any
ing pivot variables and optimizing the solution. The changes in the process, the model checks for updates
detailed procedure of the algorithm can be found in every minute.
literature.12,13 Usually, it takes less than a second to
obtain the optimization results. Model Validation — To validate the model calculation,
the predicted chemistry results are compared with the
measured results. The comparison considers carbon,
manganese, silicon, copper, nickel, chro-
mium, vanadium, niobium, molybdenum
and titanium contents of the steel. The
normalized concentrations of different
Figure 4 elements are plotted in Fig. 4. The results
verify that the model calculations are in
good agreement with the measurements.
The few wider deviations in silicon content
are probably due to slag carryover from
the EAF during tapping.
Model Applications
Model Implementation — The model was

successfully deployed to the shop floor
(LMF), as shown in Fig. 5. As a touch-free

tool, the model automatically interacts
I
with the level 2 system to capture the

information and trigger the calculation.
Model Performance — Cost savings were

realized due to the implementation of
the model. As examples of the model
cost savings, several cases observed from
I
the operation are reviewed, as listed in

Model validation. Table 2. The first scenario is making low-/
49
Figure 5
medium-carbon steel grades. Due to the tight range
of carbon in some grade specifications and potential
carbon pickup from other alloys, operators usually
hesitate to add alloys with high residual carbon levels.
The typical approach is to add low-carbon-containing
alloys at the beginning, for example, low-carbon fer-
romanganese. After the chemical analysis, additional
carbon might be charged to further trim the carbon
to the specification. The problem with this approach
is that the low-carbon alloys are generally much more
expensive than regular alloys. In addition, the carbon
recovery from carbon-containing alloys could result in
additional cost savings. An advantage of the model is
considering how much carbon can be recovered from
the carbon-containing alloys when their additions
are maximized. With this approach, the cost saving
is maximized using less-expensive alloys and avoid-
Model installation at LMF pulpit.
ing trimming with carbon. In addition to cost sav-
ings due to carbon recovery from the alloys, such an
approach can lead to reduced processing time since
an additional chemistry test will not be required, as
would have been necessary if the heat was separately silicon contents, the only limitation in Option II is
trimmed with carbon. in achieving the maximum allowable silicon content
The second scenario is the use of MoO2 and FeMo from silicomanganese. As presented in Table 2, a con-
for alloying. Due to the difference in unit price and siderable cost savings is expected based on Option II.
element recovery rate, the model prefers to recom- Hence, taking advantage of the model, the additions
mend adding more MoO2 at tap instead of using FeMo of silicomanganese and ferromanganese are usually
for a trim addition at the refining stage. In this case, maximized at tap while ferromanganese and ferrosili-
up to US$1,262 per heat cost savings can be achieved, con are recommended for trim additions.
as shown in Table 2. Another advantage is that the The LMF alloy costs for three different steel grades
EAF tap provides excellent conditions for homogeniz- have been tracked since the model was implemented
ing the alloys; therefore, a significant amount of treat- on-line in July 2018. Compared to the historical
ment time can be saved in the refining stage. data (January 2017 to July 2018), the average LMF
The third scenario is making a steel grade con- alloy costs per heat has dropped by about US$20 to
taining silicon and manganese. One option is using US$700, as shown in Fig. 6. In addition, the number
ferromanganese and ferrosilicon exclusively for the of LMF chemical tests has decreased. After the model
alloying, and the second option is maximizing the implementation, the percentage of LMF heats requir-
use of silicomanganese before considering how much ing more than three chemical tests was reduced by
ferromanganese and ferrosilicon to trim the steel 1% (13.5% after versus 14.5% before), as illustrated in
with. Since the manganese contents in common Fig. 7. The reduction of the number of chemical tests
SSAB steel grades are typically much higher than the helps to minimize process delays.
Table 2
Model Case Study

Scenario Option I Option II Cost saving per 160-ton heat
I
LCFeMn: US$1.098.80 LCFeMn: US$303.20

I Total: US$312.90
Carbon: US$17.80 FeMn: US$500.50
II FeMo: US$10,915.60 MoO2: US$9,653.60 Total: US$1,262.00
LCFeMn: US$3,044.70
III SiMn: US$3,564.00 Total: US$452.90
FeSi: US$972.20
I
Figure 6 Figure 7
Average alloy cost per heat. Number of chemistry tests per heat at the LMF.
Conclusions 4. G. Dutta and R. Fourer, “A Survey of Mathematical Programming

Applications in Integrated Steel Plants,” 2001.
5. J.R. Middleton, “High-Impact Computer Integrated Meltshop
A comprehensive alloy addition model has been Management Systems — Effective Implementation With Sustained
developed for application to steelmaking at SSAB Success,” AISTech 2010 Conference Proceedings, Vol. I, 2010,
Iowa Inc. The model communicates with the mill pp. 1131–1141.
level 2 system from EAF tapping to casting, and 6. T.E. Kantor, G. Dowling and J.R. Middleton, “The New Integrated
Level II Melt Shop Management System at Latrobe Specialty Steels
automatically recommends the amounts and types of Company,” AISTech 2012 Conference Proceedings, Vol. I, 2012,
alloys to add using a linear optimization algorithm. pp. 973–985.
Implementation of this model has resulted in a signifi- 7. T. Fabian, “A Linear Programming Model of Integrated Iron and Steel
cant alloy cost savings along with an improvement in Production,” Management Science, Vol. 4, No. 4, 1958, pp. 415–449.
operational accuracy and efficiency. 8. M. Han and Q. Xu, “Integrated Optimization Model for Alloy Addition
of Basic Oxygen Furnace Based on Particle Swarm Optimization,”
IEEE, 2010, pp. 4257–4262.
9. K. Mandal, D. Pierce, P. Loomis, J. Novotny, G. Gurley and M. Pole,
Acknowledgment “Development and Implementation of an Online Process Model for
the Control of Steel Chemistry and Superheat During Secondary
Steelmaking,” AISTech 2012 Conference Proceedings, Vol. I, 2012,
The authors would like to thank the primary opera- pp. 1045–1053.
tions personnel at SSAB Iowa for their great support 10. Y. Li, S.M. Smith and N. Gupta, “Oxygen Steelmaking Furnace Alloy
during the course of this study. The authors also want Model at United States Steel Corporation,” Iron & Steel Technology,
to express their appreciation to SSAB Americas senior Vol. 10, No. 4, 2013, pp. 134–145.
management for permission to publish this work. 11. L. Yang, R. Zhu, K. Dong and G. Wei, “Research of Digital
Platform and Process Guidance Model in EAF Steelmaking Process,”
9th International Symposium on High-Temperature Metallurgical
Processing, 2018, pp. 591–600.
References 12. J.A. Nelder and R. Mead, “A Simplex Method for Function Minimization,”
The Computer Journal, Vol. 7, No. 4, 1965, pp. 308–313.

1. R.J. Fruehan, The Making, Shaping and Treating of Steel, Steelmaking 13. G.B. Gantzig and M.N. Thapa, Linear Programming 2: Theory and
Extensions, Springer, 2003.
I
and Refining Volume, AIST, 1998. F

2. C.H. Westerberg, B. Bjorklund and E. Hultman, “An Application of
Mixed Integer Programming in a Swedish Steel Mill,” Interfaces, This paper was presented at AISTech 2019 — The Iron & Steel Technology
Vol. 7, No. 2, 1977, pp. 39–43. Conference and Exposition, Pittsburgh, Pa., USA, and published in the
3. W. Wang, “Cost Optimization of Scrap When Making Steel With an Conference Proceedings.
Electric Arc Furnace,” McGill University, 2012, p. 131.
I
52
POWERING PLANTS,
AND SAVINGS
BY SAM KUSIC
THROUGH A NEW WORKSHOP, THE ENERGY & UTILITIES TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE

IS ENCOURAGING STEELMAKERS TO RECONSIDER HOW THEY THINK ABOUT ENERGY
CONSUMPTION. HERE’S A RECAP OF THEIR INAUGURAL EFFORT.
It goes without saying, but it takes a lot to make great steel —
“
experienced, knowledgeable operators; quality raw materials;
well-maintained equipment; and metallurgical know-how. ENERGY is the
And, of course, it takes energy. Lots and lots of energy. Gas to burn in the
furnaces; electricity to power any number of drives, pumps, compressor
SECOND-BIGGEST
and cranes; and water to cool. It’s the reason why the steel industry is COST OF MAKING
one of the most energy-intensive industries.
Given the energy consumption of a typical mill, one might assume that
reducing those costs in every way imaginable would be the top priority
STEEL, but you have the
POWER
“
for steelmakers. And to an extent they are. But some believe the mills
could be doing much better.
TO CONTROL IT.
“(The mills) treat it as a fixed cost rather than a variable cost,”
said Rishabh Bahel, utilities and energy conservation manager at
ArcelorMittal Cleveland.
“The thinking is that if you turn on the switch, the electricity Held 7–10 October 2019 in Oak Ridge, Tenn., USA, the
will be there. If you turn on the taps, the water will come workshop drew a mix of steel engineers and supervisors
out. And if something breaks, just call the suppliers — responsible for plant utilities. Bahel said the idea behind
they’ll come and fix it,” he said. the workshop was to explain core concepts and introduce
ideas that attendees might not have considered before.
“This is the mindset we are trying to change,” he added.
“We’re trying to show how energy touches every part of the
To that end, he and other members of the Energy & process and how you can make that part of the process
Utilities Technology Committee (EUTC) organized the energy efficient,” he said. The workshop grew out of the
inaugural Energy and Utilities — Industry Insights and committee’s desire to encourage more in the industry
Fundamentals Workshop. to consider energy issues and to drum up interest in the
EUTC. Thinking about these issues, and exploring them Within the U.S. steel industry, ArcelorMittal was one
53
within the committee is really a win-win, he explained. of the first to agree to work with the EPA and the
Energy Department programs. Larry Fabina, manager
“Energy is the one thing that always has a payback,” he said. of continuous improvement at ArcelorMittal USA and
“You reduce the pressure in a compressor, and you’ll see the a presenter at the workshop, told attendees that the
bills go down.” partnerships have been fruitful.
The committee partnered with the Department of Energy’s “A steel company that wants to work with the EPA — that
Better Plants program, housed primarily at the Oak Ridge wasn’t an easy sell,” he said. “But it was the right thing to
National Laboratory (ORNL), and the Environmental do for us because they have a very good program and a very
Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Energy Star program. good network.”
The Energy Star program is probably best known for the Betsy Dutrow, the Washington, D.C.-based manager of the
blue Energy Star labels affixed to certain energy-efficient EPA’s Energy Star Industrial Partnerships, provided an
consumer products. But the program also has a component overview of energy management and why it is effective.
aimed at helping industrial plants improve energy efficiency.
Also during the conference, attendees heard from Sachin
The program has, since 1992, helped U.S. industrial plants Nimbalkar, ORNL’s group leader for energy efficiency
save a cumulative US$42 billion in energy costs. And as research and analysis, who discussed ways steel plant
of 2017, businesses in 31 industrial sectors, including operators can benchmark themselves in terms of energy
steelmaking, were working with the Energy Star program to efficiency, and Thomas Wenning, program manager for
strategically manage their energy usage. industrial energy efficiency at Oak Ridge, who talked
about the resources available to plant operators looking
As for the Better Plants program, it counts more than to implementing an ISO 50001-compliant energy
220 partnerships with companies throughout the U.S., management system.
Attendees also took a deeper dive into energy

considerations within specific systems: industrial process
heating, lighting, compressed air, fans motors and drives,
and industrial wastewater.
Chenn Zhou, of Purdue University Northwest’s Center

for Innovation Through Visualization and Simulation,
discussed how advanced simulation and visualization
technologies are playing a key role in energy reduction.
Bahel said the EUTC was able to organize the workshop

due in large part to the collaboration with both the Better
Plants and Energy Star programs. And that, he said, comes
as they look to learn more about the steel industry.
“They are always happy to work with us and learn more

about the steelmaking process because the industry is one
representing more than 3,200 facilities across all 50 states. of the most energy-intensive industries.”
As partners, each of the facilities has adopted ambitious
energy, water and waste reduction goals. Partnering with them, he said, allows them to do better
research. And that, in turn, can lead to better energy
According to Better Plants, partner businesses have saved efficiencies within the industry.
more than US$6 billion dollars and 1.3 quadrillion Btus of
energy. More than a quarter of the partner businesses have “Energy is the second-biggest cost of making steel, but you
met their initial energy reduction goals. have the power to control it,” he said. F
54 Technical Article
Carbon and Oxygen Usage in the EAF —

Is More Always Better?
Many steelmakers add charge and injection carbon for slag foaming concurrently with oxygen
injection, but most often do not critically evaluate their current practices. Carbon and oxygen
injection is viewed as a means to maintain a good carbon boil for hydrogen and nitrogen removal,
as a means to sustain a foamy slag, and as a way to introduce chemical energy into the melting
process. However, it can also have a significant effect on the metallic yield, slag composition, slag
volume, as well as sulfur contents in both steel and in the furnace offgas. This paper discusses
the historical development and theory of carbon and oxygen usage, and presents examples of
Authors practices in common use. Practices relating to the resurgent use of direct reduced iron and hot
briquetted iron in North America are also described and evaluated. These practices are then
J. Kevin Cotchen (left) discussed with respect to how they affect the overall steelmaking process with the intent of
senior process engineer —
metallurgical division, SMS group providing guidance to arc furnace steelmakers so that injection practices are cost-effectively and
Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa., USA intelligently implemented.
kevin.cotchen@sms-group.com
Zane Voss (right)

metallurgist, CIX Inc.,
Clinton, Pa., USA
zane.voss@cixllc.com
S ince the charge materials made
to the furnace are the single
largest component of the liquid steel
development since the advent of the
mini-mill in the early 1980s. Prior
to 1980, before the widespread use
cost, the importance of making a of ladle furnaces and ladle metal-
material and energy balance of the lurgy, it was common for furnaces to
EAF process cannot be understated. utilize a two-slag practice. Furnaces
While many steelmakers make a were often refractory lined with tap-
charge calculation solely to deter- to-tap (TTT) times exceeding 3 or 4
mine the necessary residual content hours. The EAF process consisted of
to make a steel grade, there can be bucket charging of ferrous materials
a multitude of solutions to make and fluxes with melting occurring
the same grade. Most often a least- only by the input of electrical ener-
cost charge calculation is made to gy. Once meltdown was achieved,
determine the charge mix based oxygen was then injected using lanc-
upon the materials available in the es inserted into the furnace door(s)
yard. However, it is also important to concurrent with deslagging to
determine the “cost in use” or “value remove the phosphorus-laden slag.
in use” as mentioned in other tech- In some shops, carbon was often
nical papers.1,2 This paper primarily shoveled into the furnace during
focuses on only one aspect of this, the oxygen blowing, like the stok-
carbon addition, but also considers ing of a steam engine. Operators
how the choice of carbon source noticed that this caused the slag
affects other aspects of the opera- to foam and resulted in a better
tion, such as tap sulfur content and “slag-off,” smoother furnace regula-
slag volume. tion, and even decreased electri-

cal energy consumption. Little did
I
these operators know at the time

Background that they were making foamy slags
and that this practice would become
Steel production in electric arc fur- commonplace.
naces (EAFs) has seen significant
I
This article is available online at AIST.org for 30 days following publication.

55
Once complete meltdown was achieved, the heat by all chemical reactions and the energy required to
was often “blocked” with the addition of alloys and melt all materials had to be tallied. In performing
additional fluxes to build a reducing slag. After this, this energy balance, it was found that the oxidation
the heat was superheated to the aim tap temperature of carbon and metallics contributed about 15% of all
and tapped. While double-slag practices are still being the energy input, but it became readily apparent that
used in some of the smaller foundries and specialty a significant amount of energy input (approximately
shops, this practice differs markedly from the vast 9%) and yield loss (about 1%) could not be accounted
majority of today’s EAF operations. This paper not for. It was only by assuming that the scrap contained
only recounts the development of the equipment and 1% combustibles and about 0.5% moisture that the
practices that are universally recognized today, but calculations finally balanced. This discovery provides
also how they should be properly applied. important insight for those performing similar calcu-
lations for EAFs. It was these early handwritten calcu-
Development of Oxy-Fuel Burners and Oxygen Injection lations that have led to the sophisticated EAF process
— Discussion of oxygen and carbon injection is not models that are now used by equipment suppliers and
complete without mentioning the technology that led steel producers alike. Current process models can now
to its prolific use, which is the application of oxy-fuel perform a thorough and accurate material and energy
burners. Burner use was first applied outside the U.S. balance of an EAF and can even account for chemical
because of higher electrical costs abroad. A paper reactions and equilibria between metal, slag and gas
in the 1976 Electric Furnace Proceedings describes one phases. The results obtained can provide valuable
of the earliest applications of burner technology.3 insight as to whether a given EAF practice is perform-
Descriptions of the burner’s effects on the refractory ing properly.
walls raised concerns from EAF steelmakers.4,5 So, it As burner use became more common, it was soon
was not until water-cooled panel and roof technology discovered that operating burners at the stoichiomet-
became widespread in EAFs in the 1980s that burner ric 2:1 ratio of oxygen to natural gas was not optimal.
use became common. Water cooling and burner use Fume exiting the furnace, especially during the early
were introduced somewhat concurrently, because phases of melting, had high CO contents. Energy
in those instances where burners were added to that could be introduced inside of the furnace shell
refractory-lined furnaces without a fourth-hole fume was being lost to the water-cooled duct leading to
evacuation system, it was quickly discovered that both the baghouse. Accordingly it became more typical to
intensive water cooling and adequate fume evacu- operate sidewall burners super-stoichiometric with up
ation were necessary for burners to be successfully to 20–25% excess oxygen. Thus, accounting for, and
utilized. Burners were initially applied to supplement exploiting, CO generated by combustibles in the scrap,
electrical energy in EAFs with lower specific energy bath and injected carbon has become an important
input (<0.6 MVA/short ton). They were also found to factor as TTT times of less than an hour are now com-
be useful in providing energy into the “cold spots” of monplace, and steelmakers are trying to make best
a furnace. As EAF powering increased to the current use of all the energy sources being introduced into
de facto standard for ultrahigh-power (UHP) fur- the furnace.
naces with at least 1 MVA/short ton tap weight, burner Burner use must be properly accounted for, since
operation played an integral role in making EAFs the their gas consumption, as well as maintenance, must
melting machines that they have become. be considered as part of the total EAF operating cost.
As burner use proliferated and TTT times became During the meltdown of a furnace shell filled with
shorter through the 1980s, operators began to look scrap, burner heat transfer efficiency to the charge
for ways to shorten and combine the various EAF can be as high as 90%, but at flat bath this efficiency
process steps. Because the overall process was chang- can drop to 20% or even lower.7 However, the burner
ing, a better understanding of the material and must continue to fire throughout the heat to prevent
energy balance of an EAF was required. Where and plugging of the gas ports with the firing rate of a
how the energy was generated in the EAF was a common oxy-fuel type burner being 20 to 30% of its
subject of disagreement even within organizations maximum rate. Unfortunately, the majority of the hot
I
filled with recognized experts in the industry, such gases pass directly into the fume system, providing lit-
as Lectromelt. Accordingly, one of the authors of tle contribution to heating the charge. An alternative
this paper was tasked with developing a material and method to keep the burner ports open is to substitute
energy balance including a Sankey diagram based compressed air for burner oxygen. This provides a
upon detailed information gathered from a furnace larger gas volume and higher flow through the burner
at ARMCO Kansas City.6 The calculations had to ports compared to using pure oxygen, which can
account for all materials added and removed from result in reduced oxygen consumption and overall
I
the furnace, including scrap, fluxes, steel, slag, dust, operating costs. The most extreme case for poor burn-
offgas and even in-draft air. Plus, the heat generated er efficiency is a furnace that always operates under
flat bath conditions where scrap (e.g., CONSteel™) releases 1.46 kWh/Nm3 O2. This is explained by the
and/or direct reduced iron (DRI) is continuously fed. authors of one of the earliest papers that discussed
In such cases, the burner function of a sidewall injec- PC in the EAF in 1993, and in a follow-up paper the
tor can, and has been, successfully turned off. next year.11,12
In addition to acting as a burner, the vast major- The goal of PC is to recover the 4.5 to 4.7 kWh that
ity of sidewall burner installations now incorporate are available for each Nm3 of PC O2 depending upon
oxygen injectors with the burner providing shroud- whether the PC occurs in the foamy slag or in the free
ing gas to support a coherent oxygen jet, originally space above the melt and within the scrap, respec-
introduced as the Praxair CoJet™.8,9 These injectors tively. By monitoring the offgas composition at Nucor
have replaced most water-cooled lances that used to Steel–Utah, they were able to monitor and quantify
be inserted through the furnace sidewall, because the PC ratio defined as the ratio of CO2/(CO + CO2)
they are inherently safer by reducing water leaks in the offgas. The benefits gained at this facility are
and potential explosions. Sidewall injectors typically shown in Table 1. Similar PC results were reported by
impact the bath at an angle of 43 +3° and can be others.13 However, it is important to note the author’s
mounted in burner boxes that protrude into the fur- comments related to the problems that may or do
nace sidewall. This arrangement places the oxygen jet occur with improper oxygen use in an EAF. Among
closer to the bath for increased efficiencies and avoids these are increased electrode consumption (or panel/
washing of the sidewall refractory under the burner. roof damage), refractory wear and increased yield
When the injector is close to the steel bath and slag, it loss. This is similar to the experiences at Nucor Steel–
has been shown to produce a marked increase in fur- Decatur LLC that are described in a paper written
nace performance and decrease in conversion costs in decades later by one of the authors of this paper.10
some trials.10 In EAFs with good slag foaming practic- The conclusion is that a thorough knowledge of the
es, this type of equipment places the oxygen injector arc furnace process is required in order to properly
itself (and also any co-located carbon injectors) under configure operating profiles, offgas analysis is useful,
the surface of the foamed slag. There are substantial and accurate instrumentation is imperative. Without
advantages in this arrangement: primarily, a shorter all these, an intelligent, informed decision cannot be
oxygen jet means a more coherent jet impacting the made.
surface of the steel bath, increasing the likelihood Despite all the efforts to achieve post-combustion
that it penetrates the surface and reacts efficiently and recover this energy in an arc furnace, it is
with the steel. Another major benefit is that submerg- important to note that as temperatures increase, the
ing carbon injectors in slag effectively prevents car- amount of carbon monoxide created also increases, as
bon fines from being picked up by the offgas being illustrated in Fig. 1. Praxair originally presented this
extracted from the EAF. Any injected carbon comes information when they were investigating EAF burner
into contact with slag and is immediately available to operation and post-combustion. The original author
react with FeO in the slag. supplied this information again for inclusion in this
The oxygen injection in an EAF needs to be bal- paper.14 The difference is that information on the
anced with the requirements of the process to com- reaction kinetics supplied by Praxair was provided as
bust the carbon and various metallic elements con- molar fractions, but this is plotted as volume percent
tained in the charge to achieve the desired tap carbon in this paper, considering ideal gases.
and oxygen content. Too often steelmakers set a goal
for the amount of oxygen they want to inject instead
of calculating the amount required by the process.
The question steelmakers must ask is, “What will I be Table 1
oxidizing in the furnace?” because if carbon is not the
target, then metallics will be oxidized. The result will Furnace Operating Statistics Before and After Post-
Combustion Implementation11
then be a decrease in overall metallic yield, which is
the single largest cost in electric steelmaking. Conventional Post-combustion

Electricity (kWh) 365 327
I
Post-Combustion in the EAF — Post-combustion (PC), Lance O2 (ft3) 550 550

which is the complete combustion of CO to CO2 in an
Post-combusted O2 (ft3) 0 280
arc furnace, was seen as one of the ways to increase
overall energy efficiency and reduce electrical energy Burner O2 (ft3) 450 450
consumption. Complete combustion within the fur- Burner gas O2 (ft3) 275 275
nace is sought because the reaction 2CO + O2 → Charge carbon (lbs.) 12 12
CO2 releases 6.25 kWh/Nm3 O2 or almost 4 times
I
Injection carbon (lbs.) 13 13

the energy when compared incomplete combustion
represented by the 2C + O2 → CO reaction, which Electrodes (lbs.) 5.7 5.7
57
Figure 1
1.00E+00 100.00
1.00E-01
Mole Fraction (wet basis)
1.00E-02
10.00
% (wet basis)
1.00E-03
1.00E-04
1.00
1.00E-05 CO - Equilibrium
O2 - Equilibrium
CO2 - Equilibrium CO - 0.4 sec
1.00E-06 H2O - Equilibrium O2 - 0.4 sec
H2 - Equilibrium CO2 - 0.4 sec
1.00E-07 0.10
800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800
Temperature (°C) Temperature (°C)
(a) (b)
100.000 1.00E+00
1.00E-01
10.000 Mole Fraction (wet basis)
1.00E-02
1.000
% (wet basis)
1.00E-03
1.00E-04
0.100
1.00E-05
CO - 0.4 sec
0.010 O2 - 0.4 sec CO - Equilibrium
CO2 - 0.4 sec 1.00E-06 O2 - Equilibrium
H2O - 0.4 sec CO2 - Equilibrium
H2 - 0.4 sec
0.001 1.00E-07
800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800
Temperature (°C) Temperature (°C)
(c) (d)
Equilibrium and kinetics for methane and CO combustion: equilibrium CH4 – O2 (a), kinetics of stoichiometric CO – O2 – 0.4
second (b), kinetics of CH4 – O2 (c), and equilibrium CO – O2 (d).14
Because this information is based upon theoretical, Carbon Additions in the EAF
ideal conditions, some insight must be used to apply
this to the actual operation and reactions that occur Carbon added to the EAF is required to provide the
inside the EAF. During the early stages of scrap melt- carbon boil to flush the hydrogen and nitrogen from
ing, volatiles are evolved that will shift the equilibria, the bath before tap. The total carbon in the charge
resulting in incomplete combustion without sufficient can be calculated by making a summation of the
oxygen being available. Also, if the residence time of carbon contained in everything added to the fur-
the gases in the furnace is very short, complete com- nace including the different types of scrap, pig iron,
bustion will not occur in the furnace. Accordingly, it is DRI/hot briquetted iron (HBI), charge carbon and
I
difficult to recover this energy into the charge, or slag, injection carbon. The following sections discuss the
with the situation becoming increasingly worse once various methods and forms by which carbon can be
the furnace has achieved meltdown — not to mention introduced to the EAF.
the difficulties of efficiently transferring heat from a
gas to a solid or liquid. The best opportunity to recov- Evaluation of Charge Carbon Additions — Few steelmakers
er post-combustion energy is during the initial melt- have the time available to critically evaluate their car-
ing of the charge materials while they are still cold. bon addition practices, but doing so provides insight
I
into the overall process. Following is an explanation

of what happens in the furnace during charging.
Everyone that has ever observed an arc furnace can be estimated with fairly good accuracy based on
has looked in awe at the fireball that erupts from the the temperature and oxygen measurement made just
furnace whenever a charge is dropped. This fireball is before tap. Also, by keeping an accurate inventory
caused by the sudden deoxidation of the heel caused of the remaining heel, flux additions made and slag
by its rapid cooling by the scrap addition as well as removed from the furnace, a material balance can be
the burning of combustibles contained in the charge. made to determine the efficiency of a charge carbon
These combustibles are organic materials that cover addition. The following information is needed to do
the scrap, such as paint, grease, oil, soil, etc., as well this:
as any charge carbon added to the bucket. Plus, since
the most common form of charge carbon is low- • Charge carbon composition (primarily the
sulfur anthracite coal, one must consider that it typi- fixed C content).
cally contains only about 82% fixed carbon with the • Amount of carbon added.
remainder being ash and volatile organic compounds. • An estimate of the slag retained in the furnace
When anthracite is heated, the volatiles are driven after tap.
off. Therefore, essentially, only the fixed carbon is • Tap carbon content.
available to dissolve in the heel and participate in the • Tap temperature.
carbon-oxygen reaction that contributes to the boil
in the furnace. One must also take into account that Using this information, as well as an estimation of
during the early stages of melting, the carbon content how far the process deviates from the carbon-oxygen
of the heel will not be in equilibrium with the high and oxygen-FeO equilibria, a calculation can be made
FeO in the remaining tap slag. So, additional charge to determine the efficiency of a charge carbon addi-
carbon will be also lost during deoxidation of the tion. Fig. 2 shows a typical example of a calculation
remaining slag. made for an actual operating furnace wherein it can
While thermodynamic equilibria are used to make be noted that only about 50% of the total charge
calculations related to what is occurring in an arc carbon addition actually contributes to raising the
furnace, the materials in the arc furnace are seldom, carbon content of the heel. This is typical for most
if ever, in equilibrium because the melting and refin- furnace operations.
ing process is dynamic. Instead the furnace is in a Considering the calculation discussed earlier, some
constant state of quasi-equilibrium with metallics and interesting comments can be made as related to
fluxes being melted and oxygen and carbon being practices that are common in some of the larger DC
continuously added. Nevertheless, after tap, the com- furnaces operating in Compact Strip Production
position of the heel and slag remaining in the furnace (CSP) shops — in particular, the fact that they operate
with very large heels, and they
typically retain a significant
amount of slag from the previ-
ous heat in order to provide
Figure 2 sufficient foamy slag to bury
the comparatively longer DC
arc. For a typical 150-ton tap
weight, it is not unusual for
a DC furnace to have a heel
exceeding 100 tons, or for that
furnace to retain the total slag
generated during the melting
of the previous heat, or even
two heats. Accordingly, there
is a significant amount of free

oxygen available in the heel
I
as well as a large amount of

FeO available in the slag. When
a furnace is operated in this
manner, it was observed that
the complete charge carbon
addition seemed to “disappear.”
In other words, it did not result
I
in an increase in the carbon

Charge carbon efficiency calculation. content of the heel remaining
59
in the furnace. Therefore, it was decided, and it is EAF operating cycle. As the bath carbon levels reach
now common practice, to not add any charge carbon 0.1% and lower, the generation of FeO is increasingly
in the bucket. Instead, many of these shops utilize pig favored over the generation of CO in the steel bath.
iron as a source of carbon for the heel. This has a substantial effect on the need for injec-
tion carbon in the EAF. Earlier in the heat, when the
Injection Carbon Additions and Foamy Slags — The majority of injected oxygen is consumed by carbon in
benefit of injecting carbon to develop and sustain a the steel bath, slag FeO levels remain low, so the need
foamy slag is a well-established practice recognized for injection carbon is limited. Later in the heat, as
by steelmakers. Foamy slags are important to capture FeO levels increase, more and more carbon is needed
and focus the energy of the electric arc and to shield to control FeO.
the furnace sidewalls and roof. Their formation is
dependent on the reaction of CO in the bath as well
as in the slag via the reaction of metallic oxides with Carbon Injection — What Is Typical? What Is
carbon. Pretorius and Carlisle wrote the pre-eminent Excessive?
guide on foamy slags, which is followed by many
steelmakers, wherein they define the chemical com- Since the primary goal of carbon injection is for slag
position of slags that result in the best foamy slags for foaming, what would be considered a typical addition
various basicities and FeO contents.15 These slags are rate? Based upon the authors’ experiences, the injec-
created and constantly replenished by the simultane- tion carbon consumption normally averages between
ous injection of oxygen and carbon into the bath. In 8 and 12 kg/t, but there certainly are exceptions,
the U.S., the most common form of injection carbon, which the authors do not necessarily support.
like charge carbon, is low-sulfur anthracite coal due If increasing the amount of injection carbon result-
to cost and availability, but nearly any carbon source ed in increased energy input into an EAF, there
can be used. The actual practices are discussed in should be data to support this. SMS had collected
more detail below. operating data from a multitude of EAF shops back
Since injecting carbon is desirable, many believe in 2007. Fig. 3 shows a plot of power consumption as
that, if some is good, more must be better and, when a function of injected carbon and total oxygen con-
taken to the absolute extreme, as much as can possibly sumptions with trend lines and R2 evaluations noted
be injected certainly must be the epitome. However, for the two data sets. As it can clearly be seen, there
the injection of excessive amounts of carbon is not is no correlation between increased injected carbon
without side effects, particularly if the slag conditions and reduced electrical consumption, but increasing
cannot support it. The oxidation of carbon increases oxygen injection does appear to provide some ben-
the amount of offgas that must be handled by the efit (most likely at the expense of oxidizing metal-
fume system, and if it is not captured by the slag, fine lics). Likewise, Fig. 3 shows data from a single shop
carbon can be carried over into the fume system duct where one of four carbon injectors became plugged,
where it will burn, resulting in high baghouse tem- thus reducing the injection carbon by 22.3% with an
peratures. In addition, the carbon injection must be
at least balanced by the oxygen injection rate. High
oxygen rates can result in splashing of slag and/or
metal on the furnace walls and roof. This can lead to
delta flashovers to the walls and roof, metal accumu- Figure 3
lations on the electrodes, a.k.a. “skins” and buildup
on the walls, which can decrease the furnace volume
available to hold the charge. Because of this fact, EAF
literature abounds with papers citing reductions in
power consumption, even when the amount of injec-
tion carbon is reduced. To the trained observer, the

potential for injection carbon savings is obvious when
I
flame is emitting from every opening on a furnace.

The last consideration that is often ignored when
injecting carbon is that anthracite coal contains sili-
ceous ash that contributes to slag volume. This silica
must also be fluxed, creating a cycle of increasing slag
mass, energy consumption and metallic losses.
Of great importance in understanding how to opti-
I
mize carbon injection rates is comprehending how Power consumption as a function of injected carbon and total
slag and steel chemistries change over time in the oxygen consumptions.
Figure 4
If asked, most EAF operators
can tell of many occasions where
they have seen furnace slag roll-
ing out the slag door with small
flames, sparks and fumes com-
ing off of it. Many shops have
installed water sprays over their
slag pots for the occasions where
the pot begins to boil over. These
symptoms are usually the result
of unreacted carbon in the slag. It
does the EAF little good to inject
so much carbon that substantial
amounts of it are lost to the slag
pot. While these practices appear
to work, they are not ideal and
can be improved. A simple and
Power consumption as a function of injected carbon and total oxygen consumptions.
straightforward option is for the
operator to experiment with dif-
ferent injection rates and amounts
with any given scrap mix to deter-
insignificant effect on the power consumption (1.5% mine the point for optimal furnace performance and
increase). FeO control. For this to work, a relatively stable scrap
The data shown in Figs. 3 and 4 indicate that in mix must be maintained. If bath carbon levels vary
terms of energy consumption for the EAFs in question, erratically and unpredictably, it will be almost impos-
the amount of injection carbon is less of a factor than sible to arrive at a good, consistent injection practice
many believe. It seems that once some adequate level through experimentation alone.
of slag foaming is achieved, the effect on electrical As mentioned earlier, in a situation where the tap
energy consumption from additional injection carbon oxygen is relatively high (>600 ppm), the steel bath
is minimal. After this point, it seems that the most carbon at the end of the heat is very low, leading to
effective use for injection carbon is for FeO control a decrease in CO generation from the bath and a
in the furnace slag. This is an important function, marked increase in FeO generation. In this critical
since it has a major impact on metallic yield. Many period at the end of the heat, large amounts of iron
operations set the level of carbon injection based on can be oxidized to FeO in very short time periods
whether they feel the furnace is foaming “good,” “bad,” (refer to Table 2).
or just “ok” and whether slag FeOs are reasonable. A Injection carbon is critical in controlling this final
good rule of thumb is, “If slag FeOs are a little high, FeO buildup in the slag at the end of the heat.
turn the carbon up. If they look ok, leave it where it is.” Because of this situation, the methodology for carbon
injection should really be considered as two sepa-
rate stages: one for the bulk of oxygen
injection where the aim is to maintain
adequate foam, and a second for the end
Table 2 of the heat where the aim is to both main-
tain adequate foam and to control FeO
Estimates of FeO Generation in an EAF at the End of Heat as Oxygen
content. This is somewhat different from
Reacts With Iron Instead of Carbon
most EAF operations where carbon is typi-
Nm3/min. scf/min. cally set at one level and then maintained

Total oxygen FeO generated for the entire heat. The authors’ conten-
203.88 7,200
I
injection rate (kg/min.) lbs./min. tion is that most plants probably over-use
30 61.16 2,160 196.2 431.6
injection carbon early in the oxygen injec-
tion process and then greatly under-use it
40 81.55 2,880 261.6 575.4
at the end of the heat. A more ideal solu-
% of oxygen 50 101.94 3,600 326.9 719.3 tion would be to ramp up carbon injection
reacting
with Fe 60 122.33 4,320 392.3 863.1 at the end of the heat in proportion to
the amount of FeO being generated. As
I
70 142.72 5,040 457.7 1,007.0

notable in Table 2, the amount of injec-
80 163.10 5,760 523.1 1,150.8
tion carbon must increase quickly and
61
substantially to adequately control FeO generation. it has been used for up to 50% of the total charge in
Even with very capable carbon injection equipment extreme cases. The reasons for pig iron vary, but it is
and a good understanding of FeO generation, it is primarily used to lower the steel’s residual content. It
likely that in many cases the amount of FeO generated also has side benefits.
will simply overwhelm the ability to deliver carbon Steelmakers have discovered that pig iron is a desir-
effectively to the EAF. However, there is opportunity able charge material because it:
to improve current processes and make a substantial
positive impact toward metallic yields. • Can be used to dilute residuals.
If a steelmaker is interested in doing trials to • Provides a source of carbon to the bath to cre-
determine the effect of injection carbon on power ate a boil and flush hydrogen and nitrogen
consumption, this may require resetting of pressures from the bath.
and conveying gas rates on injection vessels. If the • Contains excess carbon that is already in solid
injection system is designed to operate at a fixed rate, solution, so it easily alloys with the heel.
another technique is to simply increase the carbon • Has a low melting point, so it melts quickly.
particle size. Larger-sized particles inherently inject • Has a high density, so it is can be used to
at lower rates. The authors suggest this technique decrease total scrap volumes often resulting in
because it is often found that plants use carbon that a single bucket charge.
contains excess fines. If too fine, carbon particles can
easily be carried out the fourth hole. Over a decade On the other hand, pig iron can contain high
ago, a colleague did in-plant trials using “barley-sized” amounts of silicon. While this can generate a signifi-
carbon in which all the fines had been screened out. cant amount of chemical energy, this high silicon con-
This material was found to be just as effective in foam- tent requires increased lime additions. This increases
ing as the unscreened material, and at much lower slag volumes as well as metallic losses. All of this must
addition rates.16 be taken into account when evaluating the value-in-
So, how does the ash content of the carbon affect use of high-silicon pig iron.
the overall EAF operation? Table 3 shows a typical Unlike pig iron, hot metal additions have the added
seller specification for injection carbon. Problems benefit of providing sensible heat to the charge.
with this specification include: Numerous papers extol the benefits of hot metal.18,19
When hot metal is used, the electrical consumption
• “Barley” anthracite is defined as 3/16 to 3/8 inch in an EAF can be reduced approximately 50 kWh/t
size. (There is no limit on the amount of under- for each 10% addition of hot metal, but this often
sized material.) depends on how and when the hot metal is added.
• The total sum of all constituents well exceeds The benefit is also that the tap-to-tap time can be
100%. (What is the actual analysis?) reduced, but not without limitations. The rate of
• The ash analysis is not provided. (Ash varies decarburization limits the addition rate to about of
widely depending on the source.)
Also included in Table 3 is an ash analy-

sis available from the U.S. Geological Table 3
Survey.17 Based on this information, esti-
mates can be made based upon a 5 kg/t Injection Carbon Typical Characteristics17
addition of injection carbon containing Barley-sized Oxide or This study 333 Appalachian
11% ash. By assuming that all ash reports Product anthracite element (%) coal samples (%)
to the slag and silica and alumina must be Size 3/16 inch Ash 6.8 13.3
neutralized for a B3 basicity of 1.6, then Typical analysis SiO2 41.2 41
it is estimated that 1.6 kg/t of slag will be
Total moisture <4% Al2O3 26.8 23

created assuming 30% FeO in the slag.
While this amount of slag provides only Ash (dry) <12% CaO 3.57 1.9
I
a modest increase in the metallic losses Volatile matter <6% MgO 1.47 0.90
as FeO in the slag (estimated at 0.04%), Total sulfur <1% Na2O 0.56 0.36
increasing the slag amount does increase
Total fixed carbon >82% K2O 1.07 1.80
the opportunity for losses due to metallics
trapped in and carried out by the slag. Fe2O3 10.40 21
MnO 0.02 0.073
Carbon Contained in Pig Iron or Hot Metal
I
TiO2 1.40 1.2

Additions — When used, pig iron typically
SiO3 2.70 2.4
comprises 10–30% of the total charge, but
Figure 5
low metallization and carbon contents. Numerous
600 80 authors such as J.A.T. Jones have developed tools to
better determine each materials value.1 The question
Electric Power Consumption (kWh/t-s)
Tap-to-Tap Time
500 70 is: What are the most recent trends in DRI quality? To
Blown Oxygen (Nm3/t-s)

answer this, one only needs to look at DRI producer/
Tap-to-Tap Time (min),

700 60
consumers such as ArcelorMittal Lázaro Cárdenas
Blown Oxygen and Nucor to determine what characteristics that have
300 50
been found to be most desirable. The overwhelming
200 40 current trend is to use DRI with high metallization
and carbon content.
100 30 Numerous papers and studies have been published
Electric Power
Consumption discussing the benefits and challenges with consum-
0 20 ing DRI or HBI in the EAF.2,22,23 Although many of
0 20 40 60 80 100
Hot Metal Ratio (%)
these contain extensive discussions on the carbon
contained in the material, they rarely go into detail
on the impact of DRI/HBI use to balancing carbon
Effect of hot metal ratio on the working aspects of EAF.19
injection. DRI and HBI have an interesting impact on
the EAF when they are consumed continuously via a
roof feed system. Unlike highly dense pig iron, which
sinks in the bath and melts into the bulk of the heat,
40% of the total charge to achieve the minimum tap- DRI and HBI are less dense than the steel but more
to-tap time. Hot metal additions beyond 40% will still dense than the slag. This results in both DRI and HBI
continue to decrease power consumption, but the tap- floating at or near the slag-metal interface after being
to-tap time will increase.19 The effect of hot metal on fed to the EAF.
power consumption and heat times is shown in Fig. 5. As the pellets or briquettes fall through the EAF
slag, they are coated with a layer of solidified slag that
Carbon Contained in DRI/HBI Additions — In the early likely slows the dissolution of these particles in the
1980s, it was not uncommon for DRI to contain 1.2 steel bath.24 As DRI and HBI have some amount of
to 1.5% carbon with approximately 92% metalliza- FeO remaining and also have carbon available, they
tion.20,21 The intent was to provide sufficient carbon will begin to produce CO gas as they heat up. Some
to reduce the unmetallized iron with enough remain- interesting work was performed at the University of
ing to support a good carbon boil. For the “early Toronto using x-ray video of DRI pellets submerged in
adopter” DRI producers that were coupled with steel liquid slag and the images clearly show the creation of
plants, it was not uncommon for the DRI production a “halo” of CO gas around the pellets as they begin to
facility to be a separate cost center from the steel heat up.24 This first stage of decarburization proceeds
production facility. Where a steel plant desires high rapidly, and in experiments with individual pellets,
metallization, high carbon and low gangue, the DRI it was complete 10–20 seconds after the start of gas
plant can have conflicting goals. It has been stated evolution. As illustrated in Table 4, this CO genera-
that a DRI facility has a 2.5% decrease in production tion is small compared to the total amount of carbon
for every 1% increase in metallization, and increasing available in the merchant DRI and HBI used in the
metallization corresponds to an increase in natural U.S. today, but is still useful in generating a foamy slag.
gas consumption.21 If the iron pellets are sourced Once the initial decarburization step is complete,
from the lowest-cost producer, excessive gangue con- research at Carnegie Mellon University indicates that
tents, particularly silica, can also be high, leading to DRI pellets begin to melt and coalesce, eventually
excessive amounts of slag and larger metallic iron sinking to join the bulk steel bath.25 These results also
losses in the steelmaking process. If the DRI facility revealed that in some cases the CO generation from
also supplies merchant DRI, the situation could often the DRI pellet can create a bubble of iron surround-
become worse. Finally, when shipped long distances, ing a pocket of CO, reducing the density of the molten
I
a steelmaker must always consider losses due to reoxi- pellet and thus suspending it in the slag for some time.
dation and fines generation. The current market is Whether this could happen in an industrial situation
much different from those early years. where there is extensive and sometimes violent mix-
It was the widespread purchase and consumption of ing at the slag-metal interface is unclear, but it is an
merchant DRI by steelmakers over the last few decades important aspect to consider when discussing the
that prompted them to determine each charge mate- metallic yield impact of consuming high amounts of
rial’s value in use, which has subsequently led pur- DRI.
I
chasing managers to adopt quality standards and This research raises an interesting question as to
impose contract penalties for substandard DRI with the methods of FeO reduction out of the foaming
63
Table 4
of the “surplus” carbon available in DRI/HBI after a
Calculations of “Surplus” Carbon Available in DRI/HBI After stoichiometric amount is consumed by the reduction
FeO Is Reduced
of FeO. Even in the case of 2% carbon DRI/HBI, as
Metallization Metallic FeO Total carbon Surplus carbon much as 1.2% carbon can still be present in high
(%) iron (%) (%) (%) (%)
metallization material, far higher than any scrap
94 84.6 7.0 2.0 0.82 type besides cast iron or pig iron. When continuously
95 85.5 5.8 2.0 1.02 charged to the furnace, the DRI/HBI provides for a
96 86.4 4.6 2.0 1.21
substantial reservoir of carbon to react with injected
oxygen or to reduce slag FeO. Table 5 details calcula-
94 84.6 7.0 4.5 3.32
tions on “surplus” carbon addition rates for varying
95 85.5 5.8 4.5 3.52 DRI feed rates and the corresponding consumption
96 86.4 4.6 4.5 3.71 of injection oxygen.
The considerable amounts of carbon made avail-
able through continuous charging have a marked
impact on the need for injection carbon. At even
Table 5 moderate feed rates of DRI or HBI, it is possible for
Calculations of the Rate of Surplus Carbon Made Available an EAF to operate with low injection carbon rates and
at Different DRI Feed Rates After Internal FeO Reduction still have very high foam height (assuming proper slag
and Amount of Injection Oxygen Consumed. Assuming chemistry is maintained). At ArcelorMittal Lázaro
4.5% Total Carbon in DRI and 100% Oxygen Efficiency Cárdenas, it has been shown that no injection carbon
DRI feed rate (metric Surplus carbon m3/minute O2 at all is needed in the heat until the very end of the
tons/minute) available (kg/minute) consumed process when the steel bath carbon is depleted and
2 90 84 FeO generation rates rise.26,27 While this example is
3 135 126 an EAF operation with 100% DRI feed, there is great
potential to optimize the amount of injection carbon
4 180 168
based on the particular scrap mix and operational
5 225 210 parameters of the furnace.
6 270 252
7 315 294
Summary
8 360 336
It is too often found that EAF chemical energy prac-

tices have developed over weeks, months and years
where the operators have strayed away from sound
slag in an EAF consuming DRI or HBI continuously. metallurgical practices. Sometimes this is out of
The traditional model is that of a two-zone reaction, convenience, such as starting the injection carbon
as detailed in a paper from ArcelorMittal Lázaro at a set rate and continuing unchanged throughout
Cárdenas, where decarburization is accomplished in the heat. Sometimes a process change is the result of
the liquid steel by injected oxygen and reduction of unintended consequence. An example might be the
FeO is accomplished in the slag layer and in close purchase of substandard or lower-cost carbon injec-
proximity to the slag-metal interface.24 In the case of tion material that is finer than originally used. This
top-fed DRI or HBI, the material will be suspended could unintentionally cause increased injection rates
near the slag-metal interface and in the slag itself that provide no actual benefit.
while it heats and begins to melt and coalesce. Given Changes in the availability or quality of raw materi-
the existence of aggressive mixing at the slag-metal als like pig iron, DRI or HBI can have massive impacts
interface and the tendency of smaller particles to on the need for lancing oxygen and injection carbon.
become suspended in the slag, it seems likely that Sometimes the changes are the product of ignorance.
high-carbon metallic particles could be suspended in An example might be an untrained operator believing
I
the slag and be available to react with liquid FeO.25 In that more is always better. It is the duty of managers
this case, it would seem that at least some decarburiza- and metallurgists that oversee the EAF operation to
tion occurs within the slag layer between suspended constantly and critically evaluate the operation with
iron droplets and the foamed slag, something very the goal of constant process improvement. It was the
akin to the behavior seen in an emulsified BOF slag. goal of the authors to better educate operators by
As the DRI pellet (or HBI briquette) begins to melt providing a different way of viewing and evaluating
and join the bulk steel bath, a substantial amount of EAF practices.
I
carbon is made available. Table 4 shows calculations

15. Pretorius, E.B., and Carlisle, R.C., “Foamy Slag Fundamentals and
References Their Practical Application to Electric Furnace Steelmaking,” Electric
Furnace Conference Proceedings, 1998.
1. Jones, J., “Value in Use of DRI — What Are the Cost Benefits of Using 16. Conversation with Mark Trapp, CIX LLC partner.
DRI in Mini-Mills?” DRI & Mini-Mills Conference, September 2013. 17. U.S. Department of Interior, Geological Survey Bulletin 1528, 1982.
2. Hornby, S.; Madias, J.; and Torre, F., “The Myths and Realities 18. Gottardi, R., et al., “Decarburization Efficiency in EAF With Hot Metal
of Charging DRI/HBI in Electric Arc Furnaces,” AISTech 2015 Charge,” Iron & Steel Technology, January 2012, pp. 61–69.
Conference Proceedings, Vol. II, 2015, pp. 1895–1905.
19. Lee, K., and Park, J., “The Proper Metal Ratio for a Good Practice
3. Kai, T., and Lubker, R.A., “High Efficiency Operation for Electric Arc and Its Effect on the Refining Behaviors in Twin-Vessel DC-EAF,” 7th
Furnace Steelmaking New 140-Ton Furnace Constructed at Toshin’s European Electric Steelmaking Conference, Venice, Italy, 26–29 May
Himeji Works,” Electric Furnace Proceedings, 1976. 2002.
4. Petersson, M., “Increased Productivity Using Oxy-Fuel Burners for 20. Turcotte, S.; Marquis, A.; and Dancy, T., “The Use of Direct Reduced
Electric Arc Furnaces,” Industrial Heating, October 1982. Iron in the Electric Arc Furnace,” I&SM, November 1980.
5. Mearns, L., “Experience With Controllable Air, Oxygen and Fuel 21. Resler, S., “The Use of DRI in the Electric Furnaces at Georgetown
Burners on EAFs at Bethlehem Steel’s Bar, Rod and Wire Division,” Steel,” Electric Furnace Proceedings, 1998, p. 439.
I&SM, May 1988.
22. D’Souza, J.; Marri, A.; and Ali, S.A.A., “Use of High Percentage
6. Cotchen, J.K., ARMCO Kansas City 160-t EAF Material and Energy Quality DRI in EAF and Its Benefit in Cost Reduction,” AISTech 2011
Balance, calculations made while working for Lectromelt in 1982. Conference Proceedings, Vol. I, 2011, pp. 955–972.
7. Pretorius, E.; Oltmann, H.; and Jones, J., EAF Fundamentals, LWB 23. O’Malley, R., “The Heating and Melting of Metallic DRI Particles
Refractories Process Technology Group. in Steelmaking Slags,” Ph.D. thesis, Massachusetts Institute of
8. Mathur, P., “Fundamentals and Operating Results of Praxair CoJet™ Technology, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, 1983.
Technology,” I&SM, March 1999. 24. Li, J., and Barati, M., “Kinetics and Mechanism of Decarburization
9. Mathur, P., “Praxair CoJet™ Technology,” Electric Furnace Conference and Melting of Direct-Reduced Iron Pellets in Slag,” Metallurgical and
Proceedings, March 1997. Materials Transactions B, Vol. 40B, February 2009, pp. 17–24.
10. Voss, Z., et al., “Electric Arc Furnace Process Improvement and the 25. He, Y., and Pistorius, P.C., “Carbon Transfer During Melting of Direct
Law of Unintended Consequences,” Electric Furnace Conference Reduced Iron,” Vol. 14, No. 1, Iron & Steel Technology, 2017.
Proceedings, 2014. 26. Gonzalez, R.L.; Acosta, F.L.; Lowry, M.; Kundrat, D.; Wyatt, A.; and
11. Mathur, P., and Daughtridge, G., “Oxygen Injection for Effective Post- Fuchs, H., “Optimizing Fe Yield in an All-DRI-Fed EAF,” AISTech 2015
Combustion in the EAF,” Electric Furnace Conference Proceedings, Conference Proceedings, Vol. II, 2015, pp. 1906–1917.
1993, pp. 299–303. 27. Gonzalez, R.L.; Acosta, F.L.; Kundrat, D.; and Wyatt, A., “Control of the
12. Mathur, P., and Daughtridge, G., “Recent Developments in Post- Oxygen State of the Slag and Metal During the Final Stage of Melting
Combustion Technology at Nucor Plymouth,” Electric Furnace in the EAF Fed With a 100% DRI Charge,” AISTech 2013 Conference
Conference Proceedings, 1994, pp. 299–303. Proceedings, 2013. F
13. Gregory, D.S., et al., “Results of ALARC-PCTM Post-Combustion at
Cascade Steel Rolling Mills,” Electric Furnace Conference Proceedings, This paper was presented at AISTech 2019 — The Iron & Steel Technology
1995, pp. 299–303. Conference and Exposition, Pittsburgh, Pa., USA, and published in the
Conference Proceedings.
14. Personal communication with Pravin Mathur, Praxair Inc.
Did You Know?
Gerdau and SKF in Agreement to Improve Productivity at Brazilian Steel Mills

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nected condition monitoring units. Data from critical machinery at the two steel mills will be analyzed at SKF’s Rotating Equipment
Performance Center in Brazil. Based on this analysis, SKF and Gerdau can plan maintenance and corrective actions, improving
machine reliability and performance.
Fladimir Gauto, executive director at Gerdau Special Steel Brazil, said, “We are focused on generating value and increasing
competitiveness in our operations, as well as on advancing with the implementation of innovative solutions in the steel industry.
Our partnership with SKF will certainly be an important support in this regard.”
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us on a fee basis, we give them access to our full competence around the rotating shaft, in order to improve productivity. For an
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Power Profile Optimization in TenarisTamsa’s

Electric Arc Furnace
Electrical profile configuration is known to be designed in order to balance voltage, current and
reactance. This paper presents the development of tools that were created to improve power
profiles in terms of operational and safety issues. This includes a simple model to assess the
characteristics of a profile before testing it, and a statistical approach to take advantage of actual
temperature measurement from water-cooled panels to optimize thermal behavior in the furnace.
With these tools, it has been possible to develop a methodology to make strategic changes like
power increase in a safe and fast manner.
Authors
T
Francisco Raul Aguirre Ortiz (left) he importance of an adequate These tools were created and
raw materials manager, TenarisTamsa,
Veracruz, Ver., México electrical profile for the electric applied during 2016 and 2017 to
fraguirre@tamsa.com.mx arc furnace (EAF) is well known, and increase TenarisTamsa’s furnace
it’s necessary to take into account electrical power to its maximum
Pablo Enoc Hernández Paredes (right)
steelmaking senior manager, the correlation between electrical level to get the highest possible pro-
TenarisTamsa, Veracruz, Ver., México variables and stable arc operation. ductivity from the installed trans-
pablo.hernandez@tamsa.com.mx High-voltage operation is related to former. Nowadays these tools and
less electrode consumption, which approaches are essential to make
normally is one of the main trans- any adjustments and monitor the
formation costs. Nevertheless, volt- process.
age is proportional to arc length
and will increase arc radiation to
furnace walls, which, depending on Introduction
design, metallic charge and other
particularities, could cause unde- Characteristics of TenarisTamsa’s EAF
sired effects such as higher refrac- — TenarisTamsa’s furnace is a typi-
tory wear or safety risks due to water cal tri-phase-alternating current
leaks from the water-cooled panels. with an eccentric bottom tapping
The present work describes the (EBT) system, capacity of 200 tons
tools that were created to modify of liquid steel (40 tons to remain as
and optimize TenarisTamsa’s EAF hot heel and 160 tons as heat size).
power profiles. It will detail: (1) It has a 135-MVA transformer, one
the development of a simple model reactor to work with high voltages
based on the furnace’s control sys- and a chemical package comprised
tems that allows the creation of of four oxygen injectors, four car-
profiles and simulates chemical and bon injectors, two lime injectors, six
electrical configurations to calcu- oxy-gas burners, and a supersonic
late main key performance indica- lance both for cleaning slag door
tors (KPIs), and (2) the character- and support oxygen injection. Fig. 1
ization of thermal load through the shows the geometry and configura-
different process stages using the tion of the electric arc furnace.
I
panel’s cooling water temperature The metallic load is approximate-

and the use of “high-temperature” ly 180 tons, from which around
events to monitor the impact of this 70% is scrap, 20% pig iron and 10%
effect in a statistically representative is pre-reduced. A charge is made
manner. through two or three 80 m3 buckets
I
This article is available online at AIST.org for 30 days following publication.

67
Figure 1
TenarisTamsa’s electric arc furnace.
for scrap and pig iron, and through a conveyor belt

for the pre-reduced (in the present study, three bucket Figure 2
heats were not considered since they represent less
than 1% of production). The process is divided into
three main stages during power-on: first bucket melt-
ing, second bucket melting and refining.
Cooled Panels Set — The furnace has a set of water-

cooled panels that are divided into 12 positions
around its circumference and other three positions
(A, B, C) in its vertical component (Figs. 2 and 3).
Each panel has a temperature sensor mounted at
the water circuit outlet and it’s connected to an alarm
system that triggers different protective actions when
a limit value is reached. There are three different
alarm levels that could deactivate burners, disconnect
one phase or disconnect the furnace completely.
Each one of these alarms is also registered as an
event, from which is possible to gather valuable statis-
tical information.
Operation Control — Power profiles are controlled by an

I
automated system where the user can configure each

of the operational modes for chemical and electrical
regulation, dividing the process into steps controlled Water-cooled panels.
by specific total energy consumption (electrical +
chemical). The following parameters are controlled
by the automated profiles:
I
• Transformer tap.
• Reactor tap.
Figure 3
arc radiation (Fig. 4). Coordinated efforts were taken
to overcome this crisis with different actions such as
water pressure increase, power profile modifications
and a panel material change from steel to copper in
critical areas, among others.
In 2016, the continuous casting machine was
revamped and a new trimming station installed to
increase the steel shop’s productivity. With these mod-
ifications, the necessity to take most of the installed
transformer and reach the design average power of
97 MW arose. Fig. 5 shows the evolution of average
power during 2016 and 2017.
Power Profile Simulator
Vertical positions of water-cooled panels. As it was mentioned previously, TenarisTamsa’s EAF

has an automated level 2 system to manage power
profiles. This system applies the set configuration to
the electrical controller and to each chemical pack-
• Current. age element following the evolution of total energy
• Burner gas and oxygen flows. (chemical + electrical).
• Oxygen injector flow. To configure a power profile, there is a module in
• Carbon flow. the proprietary level 2 system that divides the process
• Total lime (lime injectors). into three main stages: first bucket melting, second
bucket melting and refining. In each of these stages,
the user is able to set any number of “steps” (in spe-
Background cific total energy per charged ton) separately for elec-
trical and chemical profiles.
The furnace currently operating at TenarisTamsa’s In order to achieve the objective of developing a
steel shop was installed during 2012, and in 2013 it new profile maximizing productivity, a simulator was
reached 90 MW for average heat power, which was developed that allowed different proposals to be cre-
when it became necessary to balance the production ated and modeled for use at the industrial level. This
cycles between melting and casting at the continuous power profile simulator was created using an Excel
casting machine. book to perform the required calculations, using the
During this first power increase, water leaks coming applicable formulas to obtain the main electrical vari-
from cooled panels were occurring frequently. The ables.1 To obtain chemical power, a simplified formula
cause was identified as thermal fatigue cracks due to
Figure 4 Figure 5
104
102
100
Average MW
98
96
I
94
92
90
88
86
1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6
2016 2017
Power 90 90 90 91 90 91 92 95 96 97 99 99 98 100 100 100 100 100
I
Transversal cracks due to arc radiation. Average electrical power evolution.

69
Figure 6
Vx
Equations
I
V ⋅ cos ϕ
Va =
3
x
V ⋅ senϕ
I =
V/1.73 X⋅ 3
Ra Va
I ⋅X ⋅ 3
senϕ =
V
V ⋅ senϕ
X =
3 ⋅I
X: Total Reactance V ⋅ cos ϕ
V: Phase-to-Phase Voltage P = 3 ⋅ Va ⋅ I = 3 ⋅ ⋅ I = 3 ⋅ V ⋅ I ⋅ cos ϕ
3
Ra: Arc Resistance
Va: Arc Voltage Radiation Index (KW · V/cm2) = Pa · Va/3 · d2
I: Current Pa = Active Power
D = Furnace Wall – Electrode Distance
Equivalent single-phase circuit equations.
was used. The equations used to calculate electrical carbon, electrode consumption and average current,
power are shown in Fig. 6. among others.
This tool receives the same input as the level 2 To validate the output provided by the simulator,
system and allows the results to be analyzed from the calculated results for the 90 MW profile that
configuration changes in terms of energy balance has been operating since 2013 were considered and
(electrical/chemical), power-on, arc stability, radia- compared with the average real values from a sample
tion index, etc. Figs. 7–10 show the graphic results of 494 heats melted from January to March 2016; just
given by the simulator. heats with less than 15 minutes of interruption were
In addition, it also provides a table with valuable considered in order to take out any effect from start-
information to adjust and modify power profiles such ups. Table 1 shows a comparison between real and
as power factor, consumptions of gases, insufflated calculated results, with a difference ranging between
1 and 2%.
Figure 7 Figure 8
I
I
Electrical configuration (transformer, currents and reactor). Electrical and chemical power.
Figure 9 Figure 10
Gas and oxygen total flow. Arc voltage and radiation index.
Table 1
Comparison Between Calculated and Real Results of In order to weigh the arc radiation effect, informa-
90 MW Profile tion from the exit water temperature sensors that are
Real Simulated Difference installed on each of the panels is used. In Fig. 11, it is
Power-on (min) 45.09 44.12 2% possible to see graphical information from each of the
Average power (MW) 90.3 91.8 -2%
24 water-cooled panels that complete sections A and B
from one typical heat. It is possible to distinguish two
O2 consumption (Nm3/ton) 33.2 32.7 2%
periods with a temperature increase in some of the
CH4 consumption (Nm3/ton) 7.9 8.0 -1% panels; these correspond to the end of bucket melt-
Electrical consumption KWh/ton 418.0 413.2 1% ing when scrap has lowered, arc begins to be exposed,
and foamy slag is not yet working because of the solid
phase that is still enough to prevent its formation. If
the water temperature of any panel surpasses the
Furnace Thermal Load Characterization configured limit, an alarm event is generated. In the
example in Fig. 11, there were no alarms, even though
Due to high-voltage operation, whenever a change there was a typical temperature increase.
in the electrical profile is performed, it is considered This thermal behavior is considered when a power
critical to maintain control of the radiation to the profile is designed; for example, reducing voltage
cooled panels because: and power when arc exposure is higher to reduce the
probability of an alarm event from occurring and,
• From past experiences, after a certain number therefore, limiting wear to the refractory and the
of operations, cooled panels made of steel are water-cooled panels.
affected with transversal cracks, causing small Analyzing high-temperature event statistics, it is
water leaks that, if not detected, lead to refrac- possible to confirm the trend that was observed in
tory hydration with high risk of a shell failure one typical heat. In Fig. 12, a histogram of high-
and an uncontrolled spill of steel. If cracks temperature events of 2,693 heats was plotted against
are detected, they are repaired with a loss in power-on time in 5-minute intervals. It can be noted
productivity. that the highest probabilities to have an event are just
I
• A higher exposure to arc radiation will impact the moments that were explained earlier.
in a higher refractory wear mainly in “hot This information was also used to characterize hot
spots” such as in front of the electrode, which spots in the furnace by analyzing events by their loca-
decreases the duration of furnace campaigns. tion depending on the panel that had the rising tem-
• Higher exposure generates more frequent stop- perature. The shell was divided into three 120° angu-
pages: every time one panel reaches the tem- lar sections corresponding to each electrical phase.
perature limit, an alarm is activated. From these results, it is evident that there is a het-
I
erogeneous heat distribution in the phase 2 section,

71
Figure 11
On-line registry of water-cooled panels of one typical heat.
which is the most critical in terms

of arc radiation exposure.
Figure 12
In order to balance heat distri- 30
bution, in the new power profiles, 24.3%
1st Bucket Melting
% High-temperature events
2nd Bucket Melting

25
the burner close to the phase 2 Refining
20.1%
section remains turned off and 20 18.4%
was replaced by lime injection 15.4%
15
in order to protect the wall and 11.9%
take advantage of the higher heat 10
6.2%
concentration. 5
2.3%
Fig. 13 plots the distributions of 1.3%
0
events from each of the three sec- 1–5 6–10 11–15 16–20 21–25 26–30 31–35 36–40
tions, before and after the modi- 1st bucket melting 2nd bucket melting Refining
power on (min) power on (min) power on (min)
fications of the chemical pack-
age mentioned before. As it can
be observed, even if it seems to High-temperature events by power on. (Sample of 1,241 high-temperature events
from 2,693 heats.)
be more balanced, there are still
significant differences between
the phase 1 and 2 sections with
respect to the phase 3 section.
• Maintain similar arc radiation index during
high-exposure moments.
Design of New Profile • Modify oxygen injection to get a similar electri-

cal and chemical energy consumption.
I
Premises that were considered for designing the new

power profile include: Based on these premises and with the recommen-
dations of an electric arc furnace expert, the new
• Reach maximum power using as high a voltage profile was developed. The moments where there is
as possible to minimize electrode consumption. less arc exposure are ideal to increase power with less
• Maintain similar sinusoidal power factor as it importance on the radiation index, which becomes
is calculated for the 90-MW profile in order to more critical during stages of high arc exposure, as it
I
not compromise arc stability. has been already addressed. Taking this into account
and using the simulator, the new profile resulted
Figure 13
High-temperature events histogram by angular section, before and after power increase.
with an average power of around 100 MW per heat,

which means 10 MW more than the profile used at Table 2
the moment (90 MW). To calculate potential benefits, KPI Comparison for 90 MW and 100 MW Profiles
productivity was calculated considering technological Calculated Calculated
power-off (bucket charge, EBT preparation and tap- 90 MW 100 MW
ping), heat size and average real scrap yield. A sum- Power on (minutes) 44.12 39.82
mary of this is shown in Table 2.
Average power (MW) 91.8 101.2
In Figs. 14 and 15, calculated power and radiation
index for both the 90 MW profile and the 100 MW O2 consumption (Nm3/ton) 32.7 32.9
profile are compared. Radiation index during high- Electrical consumption (kWh/ton) 413.2 411.3
arc-exposure moments remains almost the same, with Liquid ton per heat 162 162
just an average increase of 3%, which is considered
Power off (minutes) 12 12
negligible and will be confirmed during industrial
tests. Productivity (tons/hour)* 173.2 187.6
*14.4 tons/hour increase
Results
To validate the results, it was necessary to wait until interruption time were taken into account in order to
2017, due to some issues during second the half of take out the effect of start-ups.
2016 that prevented to have normal conditions (rainy Some relevant aspects that could be highlighted
season, oxygen restrictions, etc.) similar to the last from the table are:
stable period using the 90-MW profile (considered
from January to March 2016). So the period between • An increase of 16.6 tons per hour was obtained.
April and May 2017 was considered as standard opera- • Productivity increase is due to a higher average
I
tions with the new 100 MW profile. One heat from power and consequent decrease in power-on.
this period compared with one typical heat with the • Electrical and chemical consumptions are simi-
previous 90 MW profile is shown in Fig. 16, where real lar in both scenarios, achieving the set objective.
power and radiation index are plotted against power- • Alarm ratio, which is the number of high-
on to show the real effect of the new configuration. temperature events in a given period divided
In Table 3, the results of using the new profile by the number of heats produced in the same
over the main KPIs and the benefit on productiv- period, is even lower with the 100-MW profile.
I
ity are shown. Just heats with 15 minutes or less of

73
Figure 14
Calculated average power between 90 and 100 MW against total energy per charged ton.
Figure 15

I
Calculated radiation index between 90 and 100 MW profiles against total energy per charged ton. (Red shadow correspond to
high arc exposure moments and green shadow when the arc is covered by scrap or foamy slag.)
I
Figure 16
(a) (b)
High-temperature events histogram by angular section, before and after power increase.
Table 3
Acknowledgments
KPI Comparison Between Operation With 90 MW and
100 MW Profiles
The authors would like to thank all personnel of
Calculated Calculated
90 MW 100 MW
operations, technology and engineering departments
from TenarisTamsa’s steel shop for their support.
Sample (No. of heats) 494 575
They would also like to thank TenarisTamsa for the
Power on (minutes) 45.1 40.5 opportunity to participate in this project and to all
Average power (MW) 90.3 100.5 that provided valuable feedback on an earlier version
O2 consumption (Nm3/ton) 36.8 37 of this manuscript. Special thanks to Luis Ricardo
Jaccard, electric arc furnace expert, for his valuable
Electrical consumption (kWh/ton) 418 415.1
support and analysis during first trials.
Liquid ton per heat 162.2 163.3
Power off (minutes) 12.3 12.1
Productivity (tons/hour)* 169.7 186.3 Reference
High-temperature alarm rate** 0.35 0.17
1. L.R. Jaccard, “Operation of the Electric Arc Furnace,” http://www.
*16.6 tons/hour increase jaccard.com.br/ES/operacao-at.pdf. F
**Alarm ratio (No. events/No. heats)
This paper was presented at AISTech 2019 — The Iron & Steel Technology
Conference and Exposition, Pittsburgh, Pa., USA, and published in the
Conclusions
Applying a structured and ordered strategy, it was

possible to achieve positive results in a smoothly with
minimal risks. An increase of 9.8% in productivity was

reached, which is higher than expected, maintaining
I
the same level of energy consumption and even a

smaller alarm ratio. The created simulator and the
analysis of high-temperature events are very powerful
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Numerical Investigation of Decarburization Reaction

Characteristics in Electric Arc Furnace Steelmaking Process
The electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking process is a complex, high-temperature physico-
chemical process in which gas, solid, liquid, and arc plasma coexist, and momentum, mass and
heat transfer are coupled. Attempts to concurrently capture all of the complex physical phenomena
through traditional simulation are difficult, time-consuming and prone to divergence. In this study,
a comprehensive computational fluid dynamics model was developed for a full-scale industrial
EAF. A new integration approach was proposed in this study based on the momentum transfer
between the jet and the molten bath. In-bath decarburization characteristics were investigated.
E lectric arc furnace (EAF) steel-

making has grown significantly
over the past 60 years. In general,
(MnO) and thus “returning” iron to
the bath.
Currently, most research works
EAFs consumed approximately one- are carried out using a one-dimen-
third of the world’s steel scrap in sional mathematical model to inves-
2010 and produced around 415 mil- tigate the decarburization process.
lion tons of crude steel. This amount In this paper, a multi-phase reacting
is expected to continue to increase flow computational fluid dynam-
to reach 872 million tons in 2050, ics (CFD) model has been devel-
which is 2.1 times greater than the oped to model the decarburization
crude steel production for the year including the oxygen/steel interac-
Authors 2010. tions and chemical reactions during
In the EAF steel refining pro- the EAF steel refining process. The
Yuchao Chen (top row, left) cess, oxygen is injected through Euler-Euler method was applied to
Ph.D. student, research assistant,
Center for Innovation Through the burner to stir the molten bath simulate the gas-liquid two-phase
Visualization and Simulation (CIVS), and remove metal impurities. This flow. The coherent jet model was
Purdue University Northwest,
Hammond, Ind., USA
phenomenon is known as decarbu- developed to provide the oxygen
rization. The molten bath mainly velocity boundary conditions for
Yu Wang (top row, right) contains metal elements like silicon, the in-bath flow calculations. The
master’s student, research assistant,
CIVS, Purdue University Northwest, aluminum and manganese. When chemical reactions were modeled
Hammond, Ind., USA the impurities meet with the dis- by considering the key chemical
Guangwu Tang (middle row, left) solved oxygen bubbles, the oxygen reactions in the steel refining stage.
research assistant, CIVS, directly reacts with those elements Based on the developed CFD model,
Purdue University Northwest,
Hammond, Ind., USA
to form metal oxides and CO in the flow field and chemical species
tangg@purduecal.edu the bath. If the carbon is sufficient, distributions in the EAF steel bath
those metal oxides will further react are revealed.
Armin K. Silaen (middle row, right)
senior research engineer, CIVS, Purdue with the carbon to have the reduc-
University Northwest, Hammond, tion. Otherwise the decarburization
Ind., USA
asilaen@pnw.edu rate is mainly controlled by the mass Methodology and Modeling
transfer of carbon in the molten

Kyle Vanover (bottom row, left)
metallurgist, Steel Dynamics Inc.,
steel. During the steel refining pro- Based on the previous work,1 the
I
Butler, Ind., USA cess, the metal oxides, being of less- steel refining CFD model has been
kyle.vanover@steeldynamics.com er density than molten steel, will be developed to describe the detailed
Chenn Q. Zhou (bottom row, right) absorbed by the slag layer to foam liquid steel flow properties during
director, Steel Manufacturing Simulation the slag, while the generated CO gas the steel refining stage. A superson-
and Visualization Consortium;
director, CIVS; professor, mechanical escapes through the slag and (ide- ic coherent jet submodel was devel-
engineering, Purdue University ally) undergoes post-combustion. In oped to provide the critical bound-
Northwest, Hammond, Ind., USA
the meantime, non-iron metallics ary conditions for the in-bath steel
I
czhou@pnw.edu
(e.g., Mn) may also react with gen- refining. The energetic approach2
erated FeO, forming a metal oxide has also been implemented to
77
couple the supersonic coherent jet model and the user-defined function (UDF). The realizable k-e tur-
in-bath multi-phase flow model using a theoretical bulence model was used to solve the turbulent flow
interface, which represents the cavity created by the in the bath. For the in-bath chemical reactions, the
jet in the liquid steel phases. The direct momentum species transport model was used to solve the spe-
transfer on the jet cavity surface is assumed to be 6%3 cies conservation in the bath and another UDF was
of the total momentum generation, which can be coupled to the species transport model to further pre-
expressed as follows: dict the chemical reaction rate for each species and
phase mass transfer. Generally, the reactions in the
Psteel = 0.06rvsteel 2A molten bath are complex because of the impureness
of the charged material. It is impossible to consider all
(Eq. 1) oxidation reactions simultaneously during the refin-
ing stage. Considering that some of the elements have
ρO 2  1 x max  either relatively low content or relatively small free
νsteel (x ) =  ∫ νax (x )dx  energy of formation of their oxidation reactions dur-
ρsteel  x max − x steel xsteel
 ing the steel refining stage (based on the Ellingham
diagram4,5), in this paper, only the major reactions
(Eq. 2) that happen near the oxygen-steel interface are con-
sidered. That is, the oxidation of elements other than
where C, Fe, Mn are not take into consideration in the cur-
rent study.
A = surface area of the jet cavity, The reaction mechanism in the molten bath was
xsteel = the axial distance between the burner front to affected by the carbon content, which is shown in
the bath free surface and Fig. 1. At high carbon content, where the mass frac-
xmax = the axial distance between the burner front to tion of carbon was higher than the critical value
the lowest point of the jet cavity. 0.3%, the major reactions happening in the bath
were C + 1/2O2(g) = CO(g); Fe + 1/2O2(g) = (FeO);
Since bubbles are easily generated during gas and Mn + 1/2O2(g) = (MnO); and (FeO) + C = Fe + CO(g).
liquid phase contact, the bubbles can be a significant The decarburization was controlled by C + 1/2O2(g)
stirring source in the EAF refining stage. Therefore, = CO(g), where oxygen mass flowrate is the limiting
majority momentum should be generated and trans- factor. The reaction rate was determined by:7
ferred by the bubble stirring phenomena during the
steel refining stage. With the bubble stirring, total Wm d [%C ] 2ηQ O2
− = xC
energy used to stir the liquid steel phase can be 100MC dt 22, 400
expressed as follows:
(Eq. 4)
 P T P  T  T 1 2 

ε = nRT
 L  ln 1 + η  n ln n +  1 − n  + n  ρGn uGn 
 P2 TL PL  TL  PnTL  2  

where

(Eq. 3) Wm = the mass of liquid steel,

MC = the mole mass of carbon,
where [%C] = the mass percent concentration of carbon in
molten steel,
R = the gas constant, QO = the supplied oxygen flow rate,
2
P1 = the static pressure at the nozzle exit, η = the utilization ratio of oxygen and
P2 = the atmospheric pressure, xC = the distribution ratio of oxygen for carbon in
TL = the liquid temperature, liquid steel, which can be calculated by following
rGn = the gas density, equations:

uGn = the gas velocity and
 P 
I
η = the percentage of the momentum contributed by ∆GC = ∆GC0 + RT ⋅ ln  CO 0.5 

direct transfer from the supersonic coherent jet.  aC ⋅ aO2 
In order to study the decarburization reaction char- (Eq. 5)

acteristics in an electric arc furnace, a multi-phase
Eulerian-Eulerian model was used in this simulation ∆GC
xC =
to clearly observe the interface flow between gas and ∆Gtotal
I
steel phase. The momentum transfer, bubble stirring

and phase interaction are solved by coupling the (Eq. 6)
Figure 1
where
∆Gi = the Gibbs free energy for

oxidation reaction of corre-
sponding substance,
R = the gas constant and
aC and aCO = the activities of C
and CO (ai =γiXi).
At low carbon content, where

the mass fraction of carbon was
lower than the critical value 0.3%,
the major reactions happening
in the bath were C + 1/2O2(g) =
CO(g); Fe + 1/2O2(g) = (FeO);
and Mn + 1/2O2(g) = (MnO).
The decarburization was no lon- Impact of carbon content on chemical mechanism.6
ger controlled by the supplied
oxygen. Instead, the mass carbon
transfer rate to liquid steel will
directly impact the decarburiza- Figure 2
tion, which can be expressed as
follows: 8
d [%C ]
−Wm = − ρm kC Ainter ([%C ] − [%C ]e )
dt
(Eq. 7)
(a) (b)
where
The simulation domain for the multi-phase flow and decarburization reactions in bath.
kC = the carbon mass transfer
coefficient (MTC) through
the bubble surface,
Ainter = bubble intersurface area, generated by the jet on the liquid steel surface,
[%C] = oxygen mass concentration in molten bath, which is a part of the boundary of the computational
DC = diffusion coefficient of carbon and domain. The energetic approach2 will calculate the
dB = bubble diameter. energetic balance between the momentum of the jet
and the energy needed for penetration, to determine
the profile of the in-bath cavity surface as shown in
Modeling Geometry and Conditions Fig. 2b, which is assumed to be parabolic in this study.
Geometry — The computational geometry used to Boundary Conditions — The current model has taken
complete the calculation of the fluid flow and decar- both the momentum stirring and bubble stirring
burization reactions in an EAF includes two parts: into account. Since the cavities were used to simulate
coherent jet and liquid steel bath. Based on the the effect of the supersonic jet, the oxygen bubble
previous validated CFD model9 for coherent jet, an generation and momentum transfer on the surface of
industrial-scale coherent jet has been simulated. cavities were considered. The coherent jet simulation
I
The determination of the computational domain was completed first to obtain the oxygen flowrates at
for the multi-phase flow model is the key step in this different axial distances from the jet tips. The axial
study. The simulation domain involves the gas, liquid oxygen mass fraction for the industrial coherent jet is
steel and liquid slag phases, which are illustrated in predicted, as shown in Fig. 3. In this study, the oxygen
Fig. 2. Due to the elimination of the coherent jet in mass transfer rate into the defined cavity surface was
the multi-phase flow simulation domain to accelerate defined according to the simulation results from the
the computational efficiency, the interface between supersonic coherent jet model, which is given in Fig. 3.
I
the gas and liquid steel needs to be defined dur- Based on the simulated axial oxygen mass fraction,
ing the simulation, taking into account the impact assuming the oxygen is not dissolved into the slag, the
79
Figure 3
Results and Discussion
Stirring Mechanism — In the EAF refining stage, the

liquid bath is stirred by supersonic jets, the door
lance and the electromagnetic force. In this study, the
electromagnetic force is neglected. In terms of the
stirring by the coherent jet and door lance, there are
two different mechanisms — momentum transfer and
bubble stirring. Generally, part of the momentum
will be directly transferred to the liquid steel, and
the liquid steel will be pushed away from the contact
interface. The gas momentum also helps maintain the
cavity shape. In EAF operation, the decarburization
reaction generates CO bubbles that rise quickly to the
top surface, creating a strong stirring power due to
the bubble liquid drag force. Momentum transfer is
generally considered in numerical modeling research;
The oxygen mass fraction along the coherent jet axis. however, bubble stirring is normally neglected as
technical assumptions due to the complexity. In this
study, the effects of momentum transfer and bubble
Table 1 stirring on the flow field development were analyzed,
as shown in Fig. 4.
Key Initial Conditions in the Steel Refining Stage Simulation
Fig. 4 shows the momentum transfer from the super-
Species Percentage of content sonic jet to the molten bath with and without bubble
[%C by mass] 0.41% stirring. Fig. 4a shows the flow field development due
[%Mn by mass] 0.25%
to the gas momentum transfer from the coherent jet
without considering the bubble stirring. It can be seen
[%Fe by mass] 99.34%
that a high-velocity fluid flow region occurs along the
jet direction from the tip of the cavity. The vertexes
were generated by the sides of the high-velocity flow.
oxygen transfer rate at the cavity surface is approxi- When averaged, fluid velocity in the bath fluctuated
mately 0.591 kg/second. Based on literature,3 the most frequently around a value of 0.01425 m/second.
momentum transfer rate was defined as 10%. The key From Fig. 4b, it can be seen that because of the gen-
initial conditions of the geometry used in this multi- eration of oxygen bubbles, the high-velocity region
phase simulation are listed in Table 1. occurred surrounding the jet cavity. The direction of
momentum transfer became weak compared to the
floating gas bubbles. In addition,
significant turbulence was gener-
ated through bubble stirring in
Figure 4 the liquid bath, which was able
to cause better mixing. The aver-
age in-bath velocity was approxi-
mately 0.1485 m/second, which
is about 10 times as much as the
in-bath average velocity without
bubble stirring. From this com-
parison, it is noticeable that the

(a) bubble stirring is one of the most
I
important ways of stirring in the

EAF steel bath during the refin-
ing stage.
Fig. 5 shows the mixing simula-
tion with a comparison between

(b) the two different stirring mecha-
nisms. A tracer was introduced in
I
Momentum transfer with no bubble stirring (a) and momentum transfer with bubble the center of the steel bath. The
stirring (b). simulations ran until the tracer
Figure 5
(a)
(b) (c)
Tracer concentration in the bath versus time (a); mixing time of flow field without bubble stirring (b); and mixing time of flow field
with bubble stirring (c).
was fully diffused inside the bath. During the simula-

tion, the concentration of the tracer was monitored Figure 6
at different locations in the bath to determine the
mixing time. Fig. 5a shows the tracer concentration
changing with time. Figs. 5b and 5c show the mixing
times needed in the liquid steel bath to achieve full
diffusion without and with bubble stirring. It can be
seen that without the bubble stirring, the mixing time
was 1,665.3 seconds. However, with the bubble stir-
ring, the mixing time was 174.9 seconds, which was
significantly lower. In the refining process, the suffi-
cient mixing of species is desired. So in this case, the
generation of CO bubbles in the EAF steel bath can- Variance of mass fraction of C vs. time.
not be neglected for estimation of the liquid flow field.
Decarburization Rate — Decarburization reactions are

the most important reactions during the EAF refining the other locations. By way of the bubble-stirred flow
stage. The decarburization reaction rate determines field, the higher-carbon-containing liquid steel far-
the process time and steel quality. In this study, a 3D ther from the cavity was gradually transported closer
I
CFD model was developed to simulate the decarburi- to the cavity and reacted with oxygen.
zation reactions along with the flow field developed in The carbon and manganese mass fractions in the
the liquid steel bath. In this case, the details of species liquid steel bath are shown in Fig. 7. It can be seen
concentrations can be revealed at any location and that before about 130 seconds, the carbon content
time. Fig. 6 shows the variance of carbon mass fraction (mass fraction) was much higher than the content of
at 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 seconds of decarburization. the manganese and the reaction rate of decarburiza-
The carbon content was decreasing gradually with tion was also faster. The carbon content was lowered
I
time. The 3D simulation shows that the carbon con- to 0.03% after 800 seconds. The advantage of the
tent near the cavity surface decreased faster than at 3D CFD model for simulating the decarburization
81
Figure 7
reaction process is that the local properties of the flow
and carbon concentrations can be revealed as shown
in Figs. 8 and 9.
According to Fig. 8, the carbon concentration in
the EAF steel bath decreases non-uniformly during
the decarburization process. There are five coherent
jets around the furnace and one of them is located on
the sump of the furnace. The gas jet from the coher-
ent jet burner located on the furnace sump travels a
longer distance with a decreased coherency, creating
an uneven distribution of carbon concentration. The
door lance used near the slag door also promotes the
decarburization reactions near the slag door. In a
combined effect, the bath can be decarburized faster
near the slag door while slower under the furnace
sump. The carbon concentration distribution on the The variance of species mass fraction in liquid steel phase
plane 0.5 m from the furnace bottom, when the aver- with respect to time.
aged mass fraction of carbon is 0.03%, is shown in
Fig. 9. At this time point, the volume-averaged mass
fraction of carbon is 0.0332% and the carbon mass
fraction near the door lance is 0.03%, where the dif-
Figure 8
ference is 10.67%.
Conclusions
A three-dimensional multi-phase reacting flow CFD

model has been developed that includes detailed
consideration of furnace geometry, flow field and
decarburization reactions during the EAF steelmak-
ing refining stage. A coherent jet CFD model was
developed separately to provide the boundary condi-
tions for the multi-phase flow in-bath simulation. An
energetic approach was applied to model the transfer
of the coherent jet momentum into the liquid steel Carbon distribution in the bath with respect to time.
bath. Both the momentum transfer stirring mecha-
nism and the bubble stirring mechanism are consid-
ered and compared. It is indicated that the bubble
stirring mechanism plays an important role in the
Figure 9
EAF flow field development due to the turbulence
from decarburization-generated CO movement. The
major decarburization reactions are considered along
with the flow field development. The decarburization
reaction characteristics have been investigated. It is
indicated that the carbon concentration in the liquid
steel bath could be unevenly distributed in the liquid
steel bath due to burner arrangements.

I
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the Steel

Manufacturing Simulation and Visualization
Consortium members for funding this project.
The Center for Innovation Through Visualization
I
and Simulation at Purdue University Northwest Carbon distribution on the plane (0.5 m from furnace bottom)
is also gratefully acknowledged for providing all when averaged [%C] is 0.03%.
the resources required for this work. The authors References

also appreciate the help from Kyle Vanover (Steel
Dynamics Inc.), Dan Holmes (Nucor), Hamzah 1. Chen, Y.; Silaen, A.K.; and Zhou, C.Q., “Numerical Simulation of Fluid
Alshawarghi (Praxair), Jianghua Li (AK Steel), Joe Flow During the Steel Refining Process in an Electric Arc Furnace,”
MS&T 2018 Conference Proceedings, 2018.
Maiolo (Praxair), John Lowry (Nucor), Michael Lowry
2. Memoli, F.; Mapelli, C.; Ravanelli, P.; and Corbella, M., “Simulation
(ArcelorMittal), Sunday Abraham (SSAB Americas) of Oxygen Penetration and Decarburization in EAF Using Supersonic
and Yufeng Wang (SSAB Americas). Injection System,” ISIJ International, Vol. 44, 2004, pp. 1342–1349.
3. Sano, M., and Mori, K., “Fluid Flow and Mixing Characteristics in a
Gas-Stirred Molten Metal Bath,” ISIJ International, Vol. 23, No. 2,
1983, pp. 169–175.
Disclaimer
4. Matsuura, H., and Manning, P.C., et al., “Development of a
Decarburization and Slag Formation Model for the EAF,” ISIJ
The material in this paper is intended for general information only. International, Vol. 48, No. 9, 2018, pp. 1197–1205.
Any use of this material in relation to any specific application 5. Mazumdar, D., and Evans, J., Modeling of Steelmaking Processes,
should be based on independent examination and verification of CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla., USA, 2010.
its unrestricted availability for such use and a determination of 6. Shukla, A.K., and Deo, B., et al., “An Insight Into the Mechanism and
Kinetics of Reactions in BOF Steelmaking: Theory vs. Practice,” Steel
suitability for the application by professionally qualified person- Research Int., Vol. 81, No. 11, 2010, pp. 940–948.
nel. No license under any patents or other proprietary interests 7. Wei, J., and Zhu, D., “Mathematical Modeling of the Argon-
is implied by the publication of this paper. Those making use of Oxygen Decarburization Refining Process of Stainless Steel: Part
or relying upon the material assume all risks and liability arising I. Mathematical Model of the Process,” Metallurgical and Materials
Transactions B, Vol. 33B, 2002, pp. 111–119.
from such use or reliance.
8. Saint-Raymond, H.; Huin, D.; and Stouvenot, F., “Mechanism and
Modeling of Liquid Steel Decarburization Below 10 ppm Carbon,”
Materials Transactions, JIM, Vol. 41, No. 1, 2002, pp. 17–21.
9. Tang, G.; Chen, Y.; Silaen, A.K.; Krotov, Y.; Riley, M.; and Zhou, C.Q.,
“Investigation of Coherent Jet Potential Core Length in an Electric
Arc Furnace,” Steel Research International, https://doi.org/10.1002/
srin.201800381, 2018. F
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I
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Using Thyristor-Controlled Series Reactors To Improve

EAF Productivity and Lower Operating Costs at North Star
BlueScope Steel LLC
The installation of an advanced, dynamically controlled series reactor system has enabled North
Star BlueScope Steel (NSBSL) to run its 195-ton, twin-shell, AC shaft furnaces with independent
voltage and current control on each electrode. Precise individual arc current setpoints lower
electrode consumption. Accurate individual arc voltage control delivers well-shielded balanced
or specifically unbalanced arc power. The variable series reactor system is based on the Hatch
SPLC technology and has operated continuously for two years. In addition to record production
achieved in 2017, lower operating costs have been benchmarked through less refractory wear, less
Authors tap changer maintenance and fewer electrode breaks.
Michael Campbell (left)

engineer, Hatch Ltd., Mississauga,
Ont., Canada
m.campbell@hatch.com
Tom Ma
N orth Star BlueScope Steel LLC
(NSBSL) operates a twin-shell
Fuchs shaft electric arc furnace
thyristor-controlled series reactor
system.
The successful installation of this
director of electrotechnologies, Hatch (EAF) that produces high-quality technology was facilitated by the
Ltd., Mississauga, Ont., Canada
tom.ma@hatch.com
coils for many different industries following:
in the U.S. The furnace nominally
Rex McClanahan (right) taps 195-ton heats from each of two • Market timing was right to
meltshop manager, North Star
BlueScope Steel LLC,
shells using a single-furnace trans- utilize increased efficiency.
Delta, Ohio, USA former. The electrode arms pivot • Increased electrode costs
rex.mcclanahan@nsbsl.com from one shell to the next shell with became a key decision driver.
Weldon Hull
fast-moving hydraulics, minimizing • Space was available at the
EAF maintenance engineer, electrode oxidation times between main substation to install the
North Star BlueScope Steel LLC, power-off and power-on. It is an new technology.
Delta, Ohio, USA
weldon.hull@nsbsl.com
energy-efficient technology that • No changes were required on
allows scrap melting in one shell the furnace transformer or
Jeremy Cargill while the other is pre-heating scrap electrode masts.
retired, North Star BlueScope Steel
LLC, Delta, Ohio, USA
with chemical energy. Scrap pre- • NSBSL could continue to
jlcargill@msn.com heating therefore occurs before and use the newly installed AMI
during power-on, delivering excel- Smart Furnace system.
lent kWh/ton indices. Furthermore,
since the electrodes have very mini- Generally, meltshop capital
mal power-off time, NSBSL enjoys investments require a very solid and
some of the lowest electrode con- conservative business case. In and
sumption indices in the industry. around 2014, the U.S. economy was
NSBSL was furnace limited in improving from the housing mar-
2016 and had four unavailable volt- ket crisis of 2008, and tax dollars
age taps on its furnace transform- were starting to fund infrastructure
er (taps 18–21). NSBSL also had capital projects. Consumer spend-
unused MVA capacity on its furnace ing began to improve at the same
transformer, which meant it could time. NSBSL was continuing with its
I
utilize higher voltage to increase capital-efficient growth initiatives

MW on each shell. It was a sig- and would only consider innova-
nificant challenge to speed up the tive technologies that could help it
melt program and lower electrode squeeze existing capital assets while
consumption. not risking already-installed tech-
After a careful team assess- nologies, and not requiring compli-
ment between NSBSL, Hatch and cated operational training. In other
I
ABB, NSBSL decided to install words, NSBSL chose a path forward

SPLC™ technology, a dynamic that would help it focus on making
85
Figure 1 Figure 2
— Monthly production — Capability utilization % 1,800
8,600 80%
8,380 78% 1,750
Weekly production (’000 tons)

8,160 76%
Monthly production (’000 tons)
Capability utilization (%)

7,940 74%
73.2% 1,700 1,689
7,720 72%
7,552
7,500 70%
1,650
7,280 68%
7,060 66%
1,600
6,840 64%
6,620 62%
6,400 60% 1,550
17-Dec-16
14-Jan-17
11-Feb-17
11-Mar-17
8-Apr-17
6-May-17
3-Jun-17
1-Jul-17
29-Jul-17
26-Aug-17
23-Sep-17
21-Oct-17
18-Nov-17
16-Dec-17
Jul-15
Jul-16
Jul-17
Oct-14
Oct-15
Oct-16
Oct-17
Jan-15
Apr-15
Jan-16
Apr-16
Jan-17
Apr-17
U.S. monthly steel production and capability utilization. U.S. weekly steel production. Source: Platts. Originally
Source: Platts. Originally appeared in Iron & Steel appeared in Iron & Steel Technology, Vol. 14, No. 2, 2017.
Technology, Vol. 14, No. 2, 2017.
more steel profitably, with better quality and lower The series reactor soon became a standard com-
operating costs in a safe and reliable manner. ponent for EAFs. Steelmakers realized the series
The SPLC system electrically stabilizes high-voltage reactor helped reduce the bore-down arc severity; it
arcs on each electrode and ensures the currents are somewhat lowered flicker; and it enabled operation at
equal and that the arc lengths are adjusted to the an even higher power factor, higher arc voltage and
foamy slag depth. By running at maximum arc length lower electrode kA. Steelmakers also realized that the
during bore-down and refining, and at equal current series reactor was not really needed during foamy slag
(kA), NSBSL was able to concentrate on its chemical operation during refining and introduced a circuit
energy and foamy slag practice without sacrificing breaker to switch out the series reactor during foamy
electrodes, refractory or energy. slag to increase the refining MW.
In today’s market, the reasons NSBSL implemented In 1997, a thyristor-switched series reactor was intro-
the technology are as valid as ever. Figs. 1 and 2 sup- duced at CO-Steel LASCO1 as a natural evolution
port the business case for improving productivity, from a circuit breaker–switched reactor. The thyristor
showing continued increase in demand, and growing valve enabled faster switching, but more importantly
pressure on capacity utilization. it enabled the amount of circuit reactance to smoothly
vary from near zero to a maximum of about 18 ohms,
Evolution of High-Power AC Furnaces — In the 1970s, similar to the continuously variable transmission
many AC steel scrap–melting EAFs had a maximum (CVT) popularized for cars in the 1990s and 2000s.
power of around 45 MW, and a bore-down voltage of Melting evenly around each electrode is an impor-
about 550 V, at a power factor of 0.707, the maximum tant requirement for efficient modern EAF operation.
power transfer point. The reactive power compensa- Because there are limited ranges to set the kA and
tion was either a switched capacitor bank or a static MW differently on each electrode due to interphase
VAR compensator (SVC) to correct the power fac- coupling factors, a chemical solution is typically
tor to about 0.95, which also regulated the furnace utilized. By adding chemical energy in between the
bus voltage and controlled flicker. Steelmakers were electrodes aimed at the cold spots, steelmakers were
not content with 45-MW furnaces, and knew that able to speed up heats by using less-expensive chemi-
higher kA at the same voltage would actually lower cal energy.
I
furnace MW and increase electrode consumption. The SPLC fills a gap by delivering a variable reac-
They instead began to raise the furnace transformer tance capable of adjusting the kA or arc voltage on
tap voltages to about 850 V to reach 55 MW at a 0.85 each electrode individually. The variable reactance
power factor. This milestone increased MW with lower also can be adjusted from zero to maximum reac-
kA but brought in some problems. At this power level, tance on a cycle-by-cycle basis to avoid a short circuit
flicker generation coupling to other sensitive indus- or loss of arc. The variable reactance can be adjusted
trial or municipal loads became a utility concern, and from zero to maximum reactance to adjust to melting
I
the IEEE519 standard was upgraded to a statistically conditions. This paper has been written to explain
relevant flicker (Pst) weighted index. how these attributes have helped NSBSL improve
operations by fine-tuning the variable reactance to circuit by applying a proprietary algorithm and pre-
their chemical program and operating practice. dictive calculations to maintain the electrode current
to its setpoint. It is this high-speed, predictive control
approach that allows for effective current control even
The Project when melting steel with long arcs.
To date, there are six installations using dynami-
NSBSL Background — NSBSL is an EAF shop operat- cally controlled series reactor systems.
ing in Delta, Ohio, USA, owned and operated by
BlueScope of Australia. The hot-rolled bands pro- Equipment — The core equipment of the installation is
duced at NSBSL serve a large North American market largely visible in Fig. 3. The new aluminum bus work is
and deliver a range of low-carbon, medium-carbon the point of interconnection. Switches, difficult to see
and high-strength, low-alloy products to various indus- in the photograph, enable isolation of the substation
tries including automotive, construction, agriculture for maintenance access, and are used as the point of
and general manufacturing applications. The key interconnection to the existing system.
process steps in the plant are shown in Table 1. Outdoor air core reactors, visible in the upper left,
Despite the original design capacity, NSBSL has are installed per phase. These provide the functions
continually optimized its production steps and is described throughout.
now operating over 2 million metric tons production Inside the new blue building is the Hatch control
annually. system and the ABB thyristor valve. The Veristack thy-
ristor valve design is installed in the building in par-
SPLC Background — The SPLC and the combination of allel with the outdoor reactors. High-speed controls
the SPLC and SVC contain technologies patented and wired in to the AC800 PEC Control platform monitor
proven by Hatch. SPLC is the only arc stabilization the electrical operations and control the thyristors. A
technology that controls the arc on each of the three high-speed link ties this control system to the elec-
furnace electrodes at the speed of the arc to provide trode regulator, and integrates with the plant.
consistently stable furnace operation. The thyristor A closed-loop deionized water-to-air cooling circuit
controls used at NSBSL adjust the reactance in the and dry cooler heat exchanger was provided to cool
the thyristors. The building is multi-purposed and
the lightning protection zone of the substation was
Table 1 extended to cover the new equipment area.
North Star BlueScope Steel LLC Plant Overview
SPLC Technology, as Built, at NSBSL — Fig. 3 gives an
Production step Design capacity Description overview of the project footprint, installed adjacent to
75% scrap, 25% alternative the existing substation.
Raw materials n/a
iron
Electric arc 1,500,000 tons/year Twin shell, Fuchs shaft OBT
furnace 300-short-ton shell 157 MVA Control of the Arc on an EAF
Twin ladles enabling
Ladle furnaces 195 ton precision metallurgical Traditional EAF Arc Control — Over the years, since
control and quality product the advent of the electric arc furnace, few technolo-
gies have been introduced to
change the nature and behav-
Table 2 ior of how this process is con-
Global Application of Dynamic Series Reactor Systems
trolled. As EAF technology has
evolved to ultrahigh-power fur-
Nominal
naces, throughout the industry,
Company Year Location power (MW) Comments
transformers are applied with

Whitby, Ont.,
Gerdau 1999 85 Three-electrode scrap steel EAF tap changers, electrode regu-
Canada
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lators and series reactors to

Bonao, Dominican Two installations: six-electrode manage the electric arc power.
Falcondo 2003 65
Republic nickel-laterite furnaces
Significant gains in chemical
Sorowako, energy contributions are worth
PT Vale 2012 90 Three-electrode nickel-laterite
Sulawesi, Indonesia
considering as well. However,
North Star Three-electrode Fuchs shaft this paper will focus on the
2016 Delta, Ohio, USA 120
BlueScope Steel steel EAF
electrical side of electric arc
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El Estor, Izabal, furnaces. In order to provide

Pronico S.A. 2018 90 Three-electrode nickel-laterite
Guatemala
context on traditional EAF
87
Figure 3
control, a brief aside and history lesson from William
E. Schwabe, an expert of electric arc furnace opera-
tion, from his 1962 paper is appropriate:2
“Purpose of Electrode Regulation

Electrode regulation is the fixing of the vertical position
of an electrode in order to maintain the desired arc gap
between the electrode tip and the melt. The arc gap, in turn,
in conjunction with the current and the potential difference
between electrode tip and charge, controls the amount of
power released in the arc.
For a given operating voltage at the transformer, the arc
gap is the only variable by which the arc power can be regu-
lated. It can be compared to a variable resistor, R, in which
I2R heat is released. Regulation of power, then, is maintain-
ing an arc resistance suitable for the melting process.” Overview photograph showing new technology substation
footprint (light gravel area and middle building), integrated
Many furnace operators are familiar with series into exiting substation and static VAR compensator (SVC)
layout (shaded out in bottom right).
reactors, and in some cases operators have imple-
mented circuit breakers to bypass the series reactor to
complete the bore-in and early melt stages. The SPLC
is the next step in AC electric arc furnace operation,
offering a new variable by which the arc power can be geometry of the power into the furnace in 360°.
regulated (and regulated faster at that). Generally, there will be one “hottest spot” in the
furnace, where refractory or sidewall wear is the high-
Independent Voltage and Current Control — One of the est. This presents a practical bottleneck in the power
powerful building blocks of the SPLC technology is delivery. Sometimes off-balance setpoints can be
the added freedom it provides to the furnace power applied, but there are limits. The hot spot, panel, wall,
delivery. In a conventional power system, each phase bricks, etc., become the de facto limit on the overall
is closely coupled. Because the current from one power levels as operations teams cautiously avoid caus-
phase must flow through the other two, all three resis- ing unnecessary wear and maintenance. The typical
tances are interconnected. Thus, all three voltages hot spot at NSBSL prior to the SPLC installation is
and currents are also interconnected. Any change in described in the following.
the resistance on one phase affects the other two. The
algorithms in the SPLC control
software are able to act quick-
ly enough to counteract these
changes in the arc length so
that when one electrode moves
Figure 4 Figure 5
around, the other two remain
relatively unaffected. This prin-
ciple is shown in Fig. 5. In this
example, first the voltage is low-
ered, then returned to setpoint,
then raised. Throughout, the
currents are unaffected.
The measured data in Fig. 6

shows a demonstration of this in
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action at NSBSL. In sequence,

first voltage A was raised, then
voltage C was raised, without
any effect on the remaining
phases or the current. More Illustrative figure showing controlled changes
discussion on why this is useful in one voltage while the other two voltages and
follows. three currents remain unaffected.
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The useful part of this is EAF circuit showing SPLC,

in the ability to optimize the transformer and electrode.
Figure 6
Graph showing intentional voltage offset on two different phases (Phase A, blue; then phase C, green). Each lasts approximately
30 seconds from start to finish. Notice that the other two phase voltages remain unaffected and all three currents are
maintained throughout. The electrode regulator was responsible for adjusting the voltage on each electrode while thyristor
controls were responsible for maintaining the current.
NSBSL operates a twin-shell shaft furnace. This now able to lower the voltage on this phase without
requires them to operate with high coverage of changing the current. It is possible to set the current
unmelted scrap on the shaft side, and low coverage as desired, affecting production speed, power-on
and arc flare problems on the opposing side. They will, time and electrode consumption, and set the voltage
at times, experience other hot spots as well, depend- as desired, optimizing productivity but protecting
ing on burners and chemical energy delivery. Within refractory and minimizing maintenance.
this paper, the behavior of the system is demonstrated As a win-win benefit, NSBSL can also raise the volt-
in one example. The reader is left to extrapolate other age setpoints on the electrodes closer to the shaft to
possibilities and how this can apply to the situation at take advantage of the fact that they are better covered
their own furnace. By changing the power geometry, by scrap.
it is possible to mitigate hot spots by control, not just
by design, and compensate for changes as the case Physics and Electricity Meet to Make the Arc More Stable
may be. Whether hot spots are from scrap layouts such — It is well known that arcs tend to follow a “square”
as in the shaft furnace, or injection burners/oxygen wave voltage pattern. In each electrical cycle:
incident angle flare or backsplash, or other localized

issues, it is helpful to be able to compensate for these • Voltage rises across the air gap.
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temporarily until permanent solutions can be applied. • Eventually there is enough energy to ionize the
Figs. 7–9 show how one phase, the “hot phase,” air molecules and establish a conductive arc.
tends to cause arc flare to the furnace shell, while the • Energy is transferred through the arc into the
other two phases are well protected. In other words, steel.
one of three phases sets the limit on how much volt- • The voltage then falls back to zero, and the arc
age can be run in the furnace. Unfortunately, trying is extinguished.
to run “low impedance” on this phase would cause
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high current and overheat the metal bath, which is This process repeats in each cycle (1/60 of a sec-
a dilemma. With the SPLC technology, NSBSL is ond, 16.6 ms). The unfortunate outcome is that this
89
Figure 7
square wave is trying to fit into
a round hole, in the electrical
grid. The sinusoidal alternat-
ing grid current is disturbed
by this square voltage, causing
flicker, harmonics and overall
noise on the grid.
It is also known that the
arc instability can be mitigated
by adding series reactance to
the circuit. While not actually
changing the characteristics of
the arc, it offers several techni-
cal benefits that improve the
overall stability of the furnace:
1. It reduces the short-circuit

current, so cave-ins and
current spikes don’t reach
as high a maximum.
2. They enable higher trans-
former tap voltage, which
gives higher voltage for arc
striking (before current
conducts).
3. The compensation for the Basic NSBSL EAF layout in meltshop.
arc instability upstream and
dampening of the arc har-
monics before they reach
the grid. Figure 8
Reactive impedance is pro-

portional to frequency accord-
ing to: impedance, X = jωL = j
2π f L, where f is the frequency
in Hertz and L is the induc-
tance in Henries. Thus, for the
harmonics generated by the
EAF, added reactance has a
1 x f impedance at the power
frequency, but has n x f imped-
ance for each higher order.
This proportionately reduces
their effects.
The SPLC technology is
the logical evolution of fixed
series reactors, taps and bypass Simplified furnace cross-section showing arc flare with balanced electrode voltages.
switches. It enables real-time
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adjustment of a large reactor

to selectively apply to opti-
mal reactance to the furnace,
reduce the variability, improve EAF control, and opportunity to improve the “electric” part of the elec-
provide benefits for the operator, for production, for tric arc furnace. No single element can claim respon-
maintenance and for the utility company. sibility for net benefits in a meltshop, but each contrib-
uting factor lays claim to being part of the team that
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It All Fits Together — By improving the power going got there. In Fig. 10, the circle of EAF productivity
into the furnace, this technology provided NSBSL the shows how starting from the electrical supply itself,
Figure 9
connected chemistry and the
process around it. All of this
is affected by, and affects, the
overall operations and main-
tenance picture. By consider-
ing all these factors, and how
to control them, the EAF was
improved.
Results and Discussion
Production Benefits With the

SPLC as a Tool — The year
after NSBSL installed the SPLC
technology, the EAF team saw
the biggest single-year gains in
Simplified furnace cross-section geometry showing reduced arc flare with unbalanced recent history, in practically all
voltage setpoints. Scrap piles and arc flare exaggerated to illustrate effect. EAF key performance indicators.
The addition of the SPLC tech-
nology is attributed to the single
largest impact on these benefits.
everything in the meltshop comes together to give “There’s a number of different things: From the
the full picture of EAF operations, and how NSBSL standpoint of arc stability, we’ve improved it greatly
achieved and continues to achieve its landmark ben- early in the heat; vastly reduced the number of tap
efits year over year. changes; increased the ability to have our power
The circle represents the factors affecting produc- cables run longer from the mechanical side. I think
tivity. Each element is connected: electricity, chemis- through the very beginning it showed us how we could
try, process conditions, operations and maintenance. reduce electrode consumption with a couple of other
The focus of this paper is the electrical energy. The variables,” said Rex McClanahan, meltshop opera-
circle shows how electrical energy at the middle is tions manager.
This SPLC technology enabled the team to take a
furnace that they had already spent years optimizing,
and then with the same team, the same key personnel,
Figure 10 they proceeded to push their limits and achieve these
significant successes, without additional risk or dam-
age to the furnace.
The numbers in Table 3 don’t tell the whole story.
Operations and Maintenance Additional benefits were realized due to:
Scrap Shutdown
Mix Schedules
Chemical and Process • Reduced shunt cable wear.
Burner Use • Significantly fewer transfer tap changes, reduc-
Metal Turnaround
Superheat Current Arc Hot Time ing maintenance costs.
Maintenance Control Stability Panels/Shell • Fewer and smaller scrap caves and electrode
Practice Voltage
Control Electrical Slag breaks.
Loss of Arc Tapping
Gunning Energy Volume
Flicker
Time
Steel Input Foamy
Temperature Power
Slag
Downstream Collapse Electrode
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Oxygen
Delays Content
Carbon Swapping Table 3
Content
Caster Cave-Ins Operational Improvements Attributed to the SPLC at NSBSL
Delays Ladle Delays
Chemistry Parameter Net change
Problems and
Delays
Electrode consumption –7.00%
Power-on time –2.65%
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Tap-to-tap time Improved

Campbell’s circle of EAF control — the factors affecting
overall EAF productivity. KWh/tn –1.00%
91
• Operators are happy because they have a more Acknowledgments

flexible and quicker response to changes in the
power. The authors would like to thank all of those involved
• The ability to run the furnace more consis- in the project for their hard work and dedication:
tently, at the same speed each heat, and better ABB as the lead and equipment supplier worked
predict when the next batch would finish. This diligently and passionately to provide the highest-class
allowed better timing on electrode changes and equipment solution and bring this project to fruition;
the ability to hold a heat when they knew they Hatch for its interest in innovation and research and
could finish in time. development, and continuing to support the SPLC
technology; and NSBSL for buying in to this technol-
Having a faster tap-to-tap time means that for the ogy — the operators for pushing it to the next level,
same throughput, it is also possible to realize more management for providing the right team to get the
scheduled maintenance downtime. By reducing tap- job done, and everyone in the plant consistently dem-
to-tap time, NSBSL created about 2% more time for onstrating results.
maintenance, inspection and taking care of what
needed to be done.
References
Next Steps 1. T. Ma and J. Mulcahy, “The SPLC — A New Technology for Arc
Stabilization and Flicker Reduction on Electric Arc Furnaces,” Electric
Furnace Conference Proceedings, 1999.
NSBSL has yet to reach the power and voltage limita-
2. W. Schwabe, “Fundamentals of Electric Furnace Electrode Regulation,”
tions on the furnace transformer, which presents an Electric Furnace Conference, 1962. F
opportunity to push the limits of high power and lon-
ger arc to become an even more efficient EAF opera- This paper was presented at AISTech 2019 — The Iron & Steel Technology
tion. With the SPLC technology as part of the melt- Conference and Exposition, Pittsburgh, Pa., USA, and published in the
shop, the next steps are now much more achievable.
Did You Know?
ArcelorMittal Mills Seek New Sustainability Credential

All of ArcelorMittal’s European flat-rolled facilities will begin working to obtain a new sustainability certification developed by
ArcelorMittal and others, the company has announced.
In a statement, ArcelorMittal said the sites will now undertake a 12-month, third-party audit of their production processes to
ensure they meet rigorously defined standards across a broad range of social, environmental and governance criteria. This is done
before a final decision from an independent certification committee is made.
Those criteria are set out under the ResponsibleSteel certification, the steel industry’s first global standard and certification
initiative aimed at improving greenhouse gas emissions, water stewardship, human and labor rights, and business integrity, the
company said.
“Responsible production techniques and high ethical and business standards have become increasingly important to our custom-
ers and consumers,” said Geert Van Poelvoorde, chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products, in a statement. “It’s
at the heart of how we do business, giving our customers the reassurance that we meet their sustainability expectations by meeting
carbon, environmental and social standards at every stage of production.”
In 2020, ResponsibleSteel will launch a standard for the certification of steel products, which will include stringent requirements
for raw materials supply chain, the company said.
Sites in Belgium, Germany, Spain and France will be part of the initial wave of auditing.
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92
2019
EMERGING LEADERS ALLIANCE
CONFERENCE RECAP
The 2019 Emerging Leaders Alliance (ELA) conference was held 3–6 November
2019 in Falls Church, Va., USA. In all, 61 young professionals registered for the
leadership training, including 15 representatives from the steel industry, who were
sponsored by AIST, AIME, or their company. The AIST candidates were selected
from nominations submitted by the AIST Board of Directors and AIST Foundation
Trustees. AIST has served as a managing partner of the Emerging Leaders Alliance
since 2011. The conference guests were able to network with other engineers and
science-related professionals from a variety of other ELA partner organizations,
including:
The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society
ELA Conference Sessions:

•P
ersonal Vision: Becoming an Indispensable • Motivating Others
Leader • Innovation, Creativity and Problem Solving
•M
aking the Transition From Technical to • Conflict Management
Management
•H
ow to Present Like an Award-Winning
• S ocial Styles: Building Highly Productive Actor: Increase Your Presence and Influence
Relationships That Matter
• Global and Virtual Team Leadership
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The AIST representatives included:

Drake Snarski, AK Steel; Shannon Larkey, Aaron Langness and David Sena, ArcelorMittal;
Liwei Zhang, ArcelorMittal Research Center; Michael Noll, Commercial Metals Company;
Rachel Schmidt, Elwood Corp.; Chris Hersh, HarbisonWalker International; Manuel Huerta
and Nicole Sitler, Hatch; Hannah Konen, Nucor Steel–Utah; Megha Jampani, Praxair (Linde);
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Chris Amsden, SSAB Americas; Rob Coward, Steel Dynamics Inc.; and Bryan Beard, TMEIC.
emergingleadersalliance.org
PIONEERS
AT
HEART
Digital Assistance Tools and Remote Service Solutions for

Electric Arc Furnaces
Understanding electric arc furnace (EAF) plant digitalization includes the seamless interaction of
equipment and smart automation with digital assistance tools like know-how databases and rule
engines. These tools assist EAF operators in the efficient production of established and new steel
grades. New features from business intelligence systems allow deep insight and provide essential
information for best decisions and life cycle measures. In addition, service contracts with a
flexible validity period and secure cloud technology for remote support add value in obtaining
access to professional analyses. Adding predictive maintenance strategies can also be done
Authors without compromises for availability and reliability.
Richard Stadlmayr (pictured)

product manager, Electrics &
Automation Steelmaking,
Primetals Technologies Austria
GmbH, Linz, Austria
S teelmaking with electric arc fur-
naces (EAF) has developed con-
tinuously in recent decades. There is
for general operation as well as
special rules for single steel grades.
In this context, such a rule editor
richard.stadlmayr@primetals.com
steady growth in the overall market enables EAF steelmakers to digi-
Thomas Reindl share of produced electric steel. The talize know-how from experienced
head of development, Electrics &
Automation Steelmaking,
main benefit of EAF steelmaking is operators in a systematic way. These
Primetals Technologies Austria the high flexibility of raw material rules become available for all fur-
GmbH, Linz, Austria input. A wide range of scrap metal, nace operators irrespective of their
reindl@primetals.com
pig iron, direct reduced iron (DRI) education or experience level. And
Brigitte Laimer or hot briquetted iron (HBI) and the rules, for example, in the digital
senior sales manager, Electrics & also quite a high portion of hot know-how database, are automati-
Automation Service,
Primetals Technologies Austria
metal can be processed with an cally considered for the EAF melting
GmbH, Linz, Austria EAF. Since the variation of the raw process.
brigitte.laimer@primetals.com material mix is an attractive option Extending the digital assistance
to influence the production cost, system with a state-of-the-art track-
one has to employ an assistance tool ing system for mobile equipment
to overcome and to compensate for and service parts opens up a new
these variations within the physi- dimension of process optimization
cal production. A modern digital with the beneficial side effect that
assistance tool for the charge mix one steps away from any paper-
calculation provides a consistent based documentation and manual
foundation of information from ladle or equipment identification.
the planning of the heat based on The tracking system has a compre-
the required grade and batch size, hensive software environment for
toward the metallurgical processing equipment management, real-time
in the EAF furnace and finally the tracking, as well as a history and
pre-alloying for the treatment with- reporting tool. The integration of
in secondary metallurgy (ladle fur- an automated identification mecha-
nace (LF)/vacuum oxygen decarbu- nism based on radio frequency iden-

rization (VOD)/RH). In addition, tification (RFID) tags or vision sens-
I
digital assistance includes boundary ing systems, for example, takes away
conditions such as optimal distri- simple but periodically repeating
bution of chemical and electrical manual inputs from the operators.
energy, the power profile of the elec- A new degree of freedom for opti-
trode control system and limiting mization offered by an automated
the electrical power demand of the tracking solution is the move toward
overall plant. Today, modern digital dynamic heat size planning based
I
assistants offer the opportunity to on the actual condition of the used,

enter rules and expert knowledge or the foreseen/planned, teeming
95
ladle. In combination with modern EAF process con- of the daily use. Furthermore, the new license model
trol, this idea exploits the available ladle capacity in has the flexibility to add, maintain or reduce certain
an optimal way without violating any limits such as software modules at appointed due dates without con-
the ladle’s maximal filling level or the metallurgical tractual changes.
requirements of the steel grade. Ultimately, the over-
all EAF output can be raised without major changes Digital Assistance Tools for EAF Steelmaking — The
to the mechanical installation. general understanding of the generic term “digital
In a more general view, an automated measure- assistance tool” means the furnace operator is sup-
ment system for EAF probe sampling and tempera- ported by a comprehensive suite of interacting tools,
ture measurement under full power is also a kind of which helps to achieve the requested steel composi-
digital assistance, because it takes away dangerous tion under varying pre-conditions. Based on the usual
jobs from human workers. Aside from the important landscape of EAF automation, including production
safety aspect, an automated sampling system increases planning, level 1 automation and level 2 process opti-
the repeatability of probe and temperature sampling mization, the following tools lead to stronger links of
due to well-defined measurement positions, depth of all existing automation levels.
immersion and correct time behavior as defined by Today’s EAF steelmaking uses level 2 process opti-
the probe supplier. A seamless integration in the EAF mization to manage the ongoing production with
process control and dynamic EAF optimization leads maximal feedback and on-line information for the
to a constant high hit rate for the chemical composi- supervisor. A typical human machine interface (HMI)
tion of the molten steel. screen may look like Fig. 1.
One very important aspect of steelmaking is the The HMI contains all relevant information at a
accompanying metallurgical service for friction-free glance and allows the operator to make optimal deci-
operation of the EAF, LF/VD/RH and the continuous sions for best practice results. On-line information
casting machine (CCM). Clearly, the supply and deliv- such as steel temperature, predicted and actual heat
ery of spare and wear parts is an important aspect. In composition, power tap, as well as time scheme and
addition, metallurgical service for the computer sys- desired amount for the flux material can be seen. In
tems and application software is important to main- addition, the complete processing history and the
tain the high performance of the tuned production planned treatment sequence defined within a stan-
system after the start-up period. The real benefit of a dardized melting procedure for the remaining heat
valid service contract is the guaranteed short response treatment is shown. On-line changes by the operator,
time for any kind of required support. The service due to any reason, that result in a deviation from the
contract avoids time-consuming procurement pro- pre-defined treatment are always possible. However,
cesses at the buyer and the supplier. It gives maximal the furnace operator has to enter some remark for
flexibility for the release order of advisory, remote ser- the heat tracking about why changes of the melting
vice for small software changes, and upgrades result- profile have been mandatory.
ing from dynamic process condi-
tions or on-site expert support
for the restart period after major
repairs or mechanical changes. A Figure 1
rather new field of metallurgical
service is the upcoming option
of having a subscription license
model for the entire application
software system running the EAF,
LF/VOD/RH and the casting
machine. The observable benefit
for the plant is the permanent

access to the latest version of the
I
released application software and

all its new features, recent devel-
opments and successfully commis-
sioned software improvements.
On the other hand, a positive
impact on the balance sheet of
the company results from par-
I
tially shifting CapEx investments Typical human machine interface (HMI) screen for electric arc furnace (EAF) process
to OpEx costs without limitations optimization.
Figure 2
or phosphorus can be reduced
below the admissible threshold
by the treatment, whereas other
elements like zinc or copper have
to be “diluted” by suited virgin
material. In the best case, the
heat simulation covers the com-
plete route of the hot steel, e.g.,
EAF → LF → VD → CCM in order
to define a good removal strategy
for non-metallic elements.
Obviously, the complete simula-
tion of the heat requires the full
Complete heat simulation for best hit rates after meltshop product release. model suite of all upstream aggre-
gates to care for the final chemi-
cal composition. This is state of
the art because the physical/met-
The clear focus of all digital assistance tools is to allurgical models are available and one uses the so-
optimize the overall furnace operation with respect called digital twin of the process in an optimal way.
to input and operational know-how and optimal sam- A combination with simulation tools for the down-
pling strategy. stream process is possible. But, in general, this is only
meaningful for combined casting-rolling technology
Digital Assistance for the Optimal Charge Mix: EAF steel- like endless strip production. In this case, the optimal
making for carbon and commodity steel is mainly chemical and thermal balance can be addressed dur-
based on scrap metal input. Provided that one wants ing the heat planning phase.
to go for customized alloyed steel as the final product, In terms of a mathematical notation, one has to
a charge pre-calculation and a process simulation of solve a non-linear optimization problem with numer-
the entire heat is more or less mandatory for efficient ous constraints for elements and available mate-
production. The pre-calculation of the charge mix rial and fraction size. Since this class of optimization
gives advice about which material mix will meet the problem is really demanding, one has to care for
desired steel grade best under the given constraints of strategies to avoid local solutions (local minimum),
input analysis, limits for certain material and costs for which does not represent the global optimum. The
the applied raw material. In combination with a com- main strategy to overcome this is to introduce slip
plete heat simulation of the pre-selected charge mix, variables, add and restrict optimization variables, and
one is also informed if unwanted elements like sulfur use penalty formulations.
Fig. 3 shows a rough sketch of
the charge mix optimization. The
user of the digital assistance tools
does not really have to care about
Figure 3 the deep mathematics. However,
one has to be aware that accu-
rate input data is important for
reliable simulation. In this case,
the simulation draws a good pic-
ture of the expected metallurgy.
For sure, some input data of the
scrap is uncertain, which leads

to deviations at the exit of the
I
EAF. Provided that a database for

the estimated scrap composition
is accessible, then it is possible
to give boundaries for the varia-
tion of the metallurgical simu-
lation. By means of representa-
tive statistical distribution for the
I
scrap analysis, the impact on the

Charge calculation for optimized scrap/material mix. final product analysis after EAF
97
Figure 4
tapping can be minimized for an
increased hit rate.
Digital Assistance for Rule-Based

Steelmaking: Rule-based steel-
making has the intention to
incorporate available additional
expert knowledge from various
sources directly in the ongoing
production process. Rule-based
steelmaking is a structured and Rule engine for structured input and digitalization of knowledge.
proven way for the “digitalization
of knowledge.” This means that
besides the well-defined standard
melting profile (SMP), which is the overall outline documentation rules have to be fulfilled for seam-
for the melting, additional rules and limitations for less reporting and proofing quality. A paperless tool
special grades or plant-specific processes can be auto- for equipment tracking supports the complex plan-
matically checked by the underlying level 2 software ning of teeming ladles in circulation, maintenance,
system. repair, pre-heating and relining. The goal is to have
A fairly simple example for a rule may be that the a minimal number of ladles in circulation, because
trigger for the first EAF sample may not be started this corresponds directly with maintenance effort,
before a certain amount of consumed electric and/ consumption of resources, e.g., natural gas for heat-
or chemical power. Another rule can be about the ing additional ladles and, of course, required main-
measured or simulated oxygen activity before the tenance personnel. An equipment tracking system
heat is released at the EAF for tapping. Based on is not primary for knowing the actual ladle/tundish
measurement information, the rule engine checks if position. Equipment tracking is an important tool for
the currently dissolved oxygen in the hot steel is too active resource planning and it opens new ways for
high or outside given admissible tolerances. In case of production increase with minimal investment.
a threshold violation, the operator is advised to imple- For teeming ladles, it is of interest to have an auto-
ment additional measures before EAF tapping to limit matic, contact-free and passive identification system,
the oxygen to a certain amount. The rule engine is which allows the automatic assignment of the tapped
designed to check certain rules and, in case of recog- steel to a unique ladle that passes throughout the
nition, the rule engine suggests appropriate measures production route. In case of steel grades with multiple
to the furnace operator to overcome the issue. Usually,
those suggested countermeasures come from very
experienced operators or metallurgical databases to
solve the recognized deviations.
Figure 5
The complete set of rules can be added, adjusted,
modified and assigned to all or only special grades by
process responsible persons, operational experts or
metallurgists, for instance. The rule engine is a suit-
able answer within the digital production initiative to
collect know-how from successful and well-established
melting procedures. Digital assistance by rule-based
steelmaking enables less-experienced furnace opera-
tors to achieve best practice results within a short
training period, and it leads to a more unified EAF

production. First implementations at EAF mini-mills
I
in Europe show promising results accompanied by

good customer feedback.
Digital Assistance for Equipment Tracking and Management:

Electric steelmaking, especially in mini-mills and
plants with a focus on special steel, have to manage
a rather large portfolio of steel grades with certain
I
requirements on cleanness of hot heel, ladles, tundish- Equipment tracking environment with automatic recognition
es or lining properties. Tough quality regulations and and identification.
Figure 6
metallurgy, because VD/VOD and RH
treatment require a certain ladle free-
board, or a constant ladle filling level for
friction-free handling.
Automated Sampling Systems: From a cer-

tain point of view, automated sampling
systems may also be seen as digital assis-
tance systems to support the ongoing pro-
duction. Of course, such systems are well-
established, and several solutions can be
found across the world. They prevent
humans from being exposed to hazard-
ous positions in front of an EAF or close
to hot metal during sampling. Automated
systems also help achieve more repeat-
able results during sampling. Automated
systems have a well-defined behavior in
terms of sampling time, immersion depth
and immersion time. The remote-operat-
ed sampling system can be directly inte-
grated in the process sequence without
loss of time. The sample can be taken
under 100% power and the output of the
measurement is immediately processed by
the application software.
One cornerstone of the digitalization
initiative is the consequent use of auto-
mated sampling systems and robots in
Impact of dynamic heat size strategy on productivity. the meltshop. This is one measure to
raise the degree of automation for highly
repeatable tasks inside the meltshop while
taking a positive, major step forward in
treatments in an LF/VD, the equipment tracking worker safety.
checks the correct processing route to avoid costly
rescheduling of heats. Service Solutions for Electric Steelmaking — In addition
In the case of carbon and commodity EAF steel, to the installation and start-up of the customized
ladle tracking, for example, equipment tracking with application software solutions for steelmaking, a ser-
automated identification, opens up a new dimension vice contract with remote support opportunity is an
of productivity increase by managing the increas- important item in maintaining the software perfor-
ing volume of used ladles. The implementation of a mance and its computer systems for reliable operation.
dynamic heat strategy exploits the close interaction Remote access via secure connection enables the plant
of common level 2 systems of EAF, LF/VD/RH and operator and service team to maintain the achieved
CCM without mechanical changes of the plant setup. performance of the installed application software at
The core idea is to keep the filling level of the ladles the highest level.
constant over the lining lifetime. According to this Typically, a service contract has a wide range of
approach, the heat size (mass) is growing and the opportunities for support of ongoing production:
I
treatment time is adjusted at each aggregate. The

adjustment of the required process parameters such • Support and system checks for the health status
as heating time, alloying material or casting time is of the computer systems and hardware.
managed by the common level 2 optimization system. • Implementation of small changes for higher
There are many benefits of the dynamic heat size tailoring of the application software.
strategy. On the one hand, the effective output is • Upgrade or extension with new functions.
higher due to optimized utilization of the ladles with • Maintain compatibility of the application soft-
I
the available equipment. On the other hand, a posi- ware for later changes of the used operating
tive side effect is achieved for treatment in secondary system (OS upgrade).
99
Figure 7
• Additional training for new personnel.
• Contingent of service hours for advisory.
• Easy appointment of on-site advisory within the
service contract without procurement process.
The real benefit of having a service contract for

computer systems and application software support is
the opportunity to quickly react to upcoming needs.
In the case of a valid service contract for software
systems, the maintenance team or the IT department
can retrieve any kind of support or advisory with-
out starting a time-consuming purchase process for
small- and medium-budget volumes. Computer and
Automated EAF sampling (under power).
software issues need to be solved within several hours.
Complex procurement procedures of big enterprises
may take up to one week, which can hinder efficient
troubleshooting. In case of special regulations, more
time can pass until efficient support becomes avail- unfounded. The technology is widely used in com-
able. Worldwide operating enterprises, especially, munication systems as it has been developed for the
have the power to offer a real 24/7 service due to the banking sector and highly sensitive data systems. The
permanent presence of experts in the company. transmission protocols are developed by specialized
From a technical point of view, a well-proven secure IT companies and universities. The steel industry is
software connection via SSL and encryption can pro- just another user of this proven data technology.
vide remote access without risk of unauthorized third-
party access or data leaks. To support a software proj- Modularity as Key Concept for Upgrading System Hardware
ect before, during and after commissioning, a remote and Application Software: In contrast to mechanical
data connection offers the possibility to access the equipment that may last up to 20 to 25 years, com-
plant network from anywhere in the world. To ensure puter and software systems require continuous main-
a cost-effective, realizable, reliable and secure con- tenance service to ensure safe and reliable operation.
nection, the setup of a secure virtual private network In order to stay fit for upcoming requirements and
(VPN) connection is recommended. Secure VPNs flexibility in production, a modular software concept
use established cryptographic tunnel protocols to and a focused team for the IT systems has to be pres-
provide the intended confidentiality (blocking snoop- ent. Especially, the periodic software upgrade of core
ing and thus Packet sniffing), sender authentication functions in electric steelmaking like electrode control
(blocking identity spoofing), and message integri- systems or process optimization makes sense. On the
ty (blocking message alteration) to achieve privacy. one hand, computer systems and system software stay
When properly chosen, implemented and used, such updated. On the other hand, one gets access to the
techniques can provide secure communication over new features for reduction of energy/electrode con-
unsecured networks. Many different projects have sumption, slag management and feedback like condi-
already been implemented successfully worldwide. A tion monitoring information or system health status.
secure tunnel (PPTP, L2TP, …) is established by a The upgrade of core computers and their application
firewall, which establishes a TCP/
IP connection to customers’ VPN
or remote access service server via
the internet. Traffic from certain
service computers are routed via Figure 8
the secure VPN tunnel to the

production network. Special net-
I
work routings have to be set up

on both the customer and service
supplier sides. Clearly, the setup
of the remote access service has
to be supported by the local IT
department.
The fear of unauthorized
I
access to production comput-

ers and application software is Secure and fast remote connection for computer and application software support.
software has to be done within some hours or days to introduction and flexible maintenance of the soft-
avoid unwanted delay in the production restart. In the ware license?
best case, the upgrade works “on the fly.” This means A classical purchase model for software requires
that the currently running version supports the ongo- deciding whether the complete scope of the license
ing production. The upgrade to the new version of the should be installed in advance. Requested changes
system is done in the background and the new version like the extension of certain packages or the elimina-
becomes active after the defined restart of the application of unused modules are usually not possible. In
tion server. This optimal performance requires a rich contrast, a subscription license model offers complete-
experience in modernization and a special focus on ly new flexibility for adjusting to the user’s needs with
the interface concept. additional commercial benefits. By means of a sub-
For instance, the upgrade of well-known electrode scription license model, one installs a base package
control systems like ARCOS or SIMELT to its suc- with access to continuous software updates through-
cessor systems stick to a clear and proven concept. out the license period. Furthermore, the activation
Everything out of one supplier’s hand leads to the best and deactivation of software modules can be done
results concerning short downtimes. The exchange to in an easy way. The maintenance of the application
new hardware and operation system and the instal- software is outsourced to the supplier, who has devel-
lation of the new application software can be man- oped and delivered the software. The plant IT depart-
aged within five working days. The downtime itself ment does not need to care about requested changes
takes two to three days, and the remaining days are by metallurgists and furnace operators, because the
reserved for tuning and training. The work covered by changes can be directly made to the application
the application upgrade typically has to include: software within an hourly quota appointed in the
software service contract. Any complex workaround
• Changing of industrial PC and operating sys- solutions due to protected software code and capsu-
tem (Windows embedded). lated interfaces are avoided.
• Extend to latest technology in computer hard- From a commercial point of view, procuring the
ware (flash disk, redundant network adaptors, software based on a subscription license model reduc-
etc.). es the initial CapEx costs and shifts investment costs
• Integrated local touch panels for increased user to OpEx expenditures, which can be paid by the
comfort. generated profit. The effective return on investment
• Updated spare part availability and new state- is shorter since the initial costs can be reduced at the
of-the-art service channels like e-commerce. same benefit of immediate profit and balance sheet
• Permanent application license for new version. impact. The subscription license guarantees the latest
• Benefit from the latest knowledge of electric arc state of the model suite, access to the latest tested and
technology. proven features, and independence from upcoming
• Benefits from advanced technology and extend- changes in the operating system (e.g., Win 7 to Win
ed functionality, e.g., new controller functions. 10 or beyond). In a nutshell, new alterative models for
• Improved analysis, statistic and business intel- the installation of computer application systems are
ligence tools. available. A subscription model is easier to adapt to
• Extended heat reporting and latest user com- daily needs after the purchase process with positive
fort for easy use. commercial aspects.
This bundle of support service is also available for

application software solutions in a similar way. The Conclusions
detailed scope of delivery can be defined within the
service contract in a very flexible way. The broad use of computer systems and application
software solutions for EAF furnace control contribute
New Subscription License Model for Computer Application to optimized operation and provide for a unified
System: The decision to install the latest version of melting practice. The trend of digitalization has
I
application software for EAF/LF furnace control is introduced process optimization in such a way that
quite easy. The concept for a sustainable implementa- the automation system fits seamlessly into the overall
tion of those systems is much more challenging. One and continuous modernization strategy of the plant.
has to answer questions such as how to purchase the One key is to achieve best practice operation by means
software license. For example, is it best to buy the of an entire set of digital assistance tools, which sup-
license together with software service support, or is port the furnace operator irrespective of his or her
it possible to maintain the application system with experience level. A second trend is the structured
I
an internal IT department? Is it more attractive to digitalization of operational know-how, which is accu-

use a subscription license model for the combined mulated by some very experienced furnace operators.
101
A rule engine supports EAF steelmaking by checking required. Furthermore, the subscription license has
all implemented constraints and production rules for a direct commercial benefit, because a major part of
the overall production process. The rule-based steel- the overall investment budget is shifted to continuous
making concept generates supporting messages and operational expenses. By the way, there is no need
advises the operator on how to react to recognized for financing models or a big one-time investment.
deviations from the standardized melting procedure A subscription model gives permanent access to the
for best furnace guidance. latest features and software version independent from
Besides mechanical maintenance, the continuous future software changes.
modernization of computer systems and update of
application software also becomes important in order
to maintain the achieved performance of the initially References
commissioned software systems. Service agreements
allow plant maintenance and IT departments to react 1. Lueckhoff, J.; Apfel, J.; and Buttler, J.; “Raw Material Flexibility in
to requested software changes and implement tai- Electric Steelmaking,” AISTech Conference Proceedings, Vol. I, 2016,
pp. 903–910.
lored functions in a very short time by omitting the
2. Herzog, K.; Kuehas, T.; and Winter, G., “The Digitalization of the Steel
complete procurement process for small and medium Industry With Examples From Continuous Casting Automation,” ISIJ
budgets. A new way of achieving software flexibility is meeting, Hokkaido University, Japan, September 2017.
with subscription license models. These models allow 3. Zipp, P., “Latest Modernization Developments and Results of Three
the activation or deactivation of single software pack- Recently Modernized Electric Arc Furnaces,” AISTech Conference
Proceedings, 2018. F
ages and functions during the license period in an
easy way. The benefit of this idea is that one does
not need to decide at a very early state of the invest- Conference and Exposition, Pittsburgh, Pa., USA, and published in the
ment phase which packages of the model suite are Conference Proceedings.
Did You Know?
Russian Scientists Declare Success in New Steel Trial

A research team at Russia’s National University of Science and Technology (NUST MISIS) has developed a new corrosion-
resistant steel grade designed for oil pipelines.
The university said in an announcement that the new grade, dubbed Severkor, is designed to better withstand the harsh environ-
ment of oil and gas fields, reduce environmental hazards, and lower operating costs. Development of the grade began in 2016 in
partnership with Russian steelmaker Severstal.
In the fall of 2019, a test pipe made from the material finished up its yearlong trial at an oil and gas field in Perm Krai, Russia.
The result was striking, researchers said.
“After a year of work in the oilfield, the pipe remained virtually new. The new technology for the production of the rolled metal
for the manufacture of longitudinal oilfield pipes ensured their real increased corrosion resistance,” said NUST MISIS research
fellow Alexander Komissarov.
Komissarov said the new grade is based on new alloying schemes (adding dopants to the composition of materials to improve
the properties of the base material), which provide the necessary structural and phase composition of steel in the production of
rolled and flat products.
Researchers are seeking a patent for the new steel grade.
I
IJAN 2020 IRON & STEEL TECHNOLOGY AIST.ORG
Application of a Man-Less, On-Demand Immersion Optical

Temperature Measurement Device at the EAF
Reliable temperature control is critical in the operation of any electric arc furnace (EAF).
Typically, temperature measurements are made with disposable thermocouples immersed using
an automatic manipulator system. Recently, Heraeus Electro-Nite Co. LLC has paired with Steel
Dynamics Inc. – Flat Roll Group Butler Division to commission a new, on-demand, immersion
optical temperature measurement system. The system allows semi-continuous temperature
measurements with endpoint temperature prediction to reduce the potential for excessive heating
of the molten metal. This new method for measuring temperature has shown potential benefits to
the EAF operation, such as increased safety through reduced operator exposure to molten metal,
reduced variation of ladle metallurgy furnace (LMF) arrival temperatures and increased frequency
of on-target LMF arrival temperatures.
Authors
I n late 2017, Heraeus Electro-
Nite Co. LLC paired with Steel
Dynamics Inc. (SDI) – Flat Roll
Theory of Operation
Unlike traditional temperature

Group in Butler, Ind., USA, to com- measurement techniques, such as
Paul Turner (top row, left)
mission the first North American thermocouples, which rely on the
manager of product engineering,
Heraeus Electro-Nite Co. LLC, installation of a man-less, on- radiation of heat to a measuring
Hartland, Wis., USA demand, immersion optical tem- element, CoreTemp is an OTM sys-
paul.turner@heraeus.com
perature measurement system, tem. Temperature measurement is
Jeremiah Fredrick (top row, right) CoreTemp. The optical temperature accomplished by the transport of
senior product engineer, measurement (OTM) system offers infrared (IR) light to a measuring
Heraeus Electro-Nite Co. LLC,
a new approach to measuring mol- pyrometer that converts the mea-
Hartland, Wis., USA
jeremiah.fredrick@heraeus.com ten steel temperature in an electric sured light intensity to a tempera-
arc furnace (EAF) by utilizing opti- ture. The main components of the
Alex England
cal cored wire to perform the tem- system that accomplish the opti-
Heraeus Electro-Nite Co. LLC,
Hartland, Wis., USA perature measurement of the mol- cal temperature measurement are
ten metal bath. At the end of 2017 shown in Figs. 1–3. The optical fiber
Bob LaRoy (bottom row)
and over the course of 2018, two is used to transport light from one
melting day supervisor, Steel
Dynamics Inc. – Flat Roll Group Butler systems were installed at SDI Butler location to another.2,3 In this case
Division, Butler, Ind., USA on furnace Battery 2, one on EAF it is used to transport the IR light
bob.laroy@steeldynamics.com
No. 3 and the other on EAF No. 4. produced by a molten metal bath
Brent Walchuk SDI Butler operates two batteries of back to the measuring pyrometer.
process metallurgist, Steel Dynamics twin-shell Fuchs furnaces (four total Optical fibers are typically made
Inc. – Flat Roll Group Butler Division,
Butler, Ind., USA
furnaces), which have since been from two concentric glass materials,
brent.walchuk@steeldynamics.com revamped by Superior Machine Co. a core and the cladding.2,3 A simple
Each individual furnace is capable schematic of optical fiber construc-
Tim Bosserman
of melting 150 metric tons and has tion and how light travels through
electrician, Steel Dynamics Inc. – Flat

Roll Group Butler Division, Butler, a shell diameter of 7.3 m.1 Each optical fiber is shown in Fig. 1. The
Ind., USA EAF battery shares a single 120-MVA purpose of the metal jacket and fill-
I
tim.bosserman@steeldynamics.com
transformer with a tap-to-tap time er material around the optical fiber
of approximately 40 minutes and is to add mechanical support so that
a total melting capacity of 2.9 mil- the optical fiber can be reliably fed
lion metric tons per year across into a molten metal bath.
all four furnaces.1 SDI Butler also One of the requirements for a
charges 14 metric tons of hot metal representative optical temperature
per heat into its EAFs from the Iron measurement in liquid metal is that
I
Dynamics facility on-site, in addi- blackbody conditions are created

tion to the scrap charge. when measuring. A blackbody is an
103
Figure 1 Figure 2
ideal thermal radiator; as such,
it absorbs all incident radiation
and emits the maximum pos-
sible radiation energy.4–6 The
radiation energy, in this case
IR light, can be transported to
a measuring device, such as a
pyrometer, by means of an opti-
Simple schematic of optical fiber Cross-section of the optical cored wire cal fiber. When measuring the
construction and how light travels construction. temperature of a liquid metal
through optical fiber.2 bath using the OTM system, the
optical cored wire is immersed
fully into the molten metal bath
and creates a blackbody at the
Figure 3 interface of the optical fiber
in the cored wire and the mol-
ten metal bath. If blackbody
conditions do not exist, such
as in an instance where the
optical cored wire is not fully
immersed in liquid metal, the
optical cored wire will transport
IR light from multiple sources
to the measuring pyrometer
rather than from the black-
body (liquid metal, optical fiber
interface). This will result in a
Simple schematic of the optical cored wire and measurement pyrometer. non-representative temperature
measurement. An example of
this is shown in Fig. 4.
Figure 4
(a) (b)
Optical cored wire transporting light from multiple sources when not fully immersed in the liquid metal (a) and optical cored
wire fully immersed in the liquid metal, creating blackbody conditions and transporting light from only one source (b).
I
Looking at Fig. 4, it can be seen that when the opti- • Unmelted scrap — Decreases light intensity in
cal cored wire is not fully immersed into the liquid the measurement region due to localized cool-
metal, it will transport IR light arising from not just ing of the molten metal bath.
the metal bath, but also the IR light from the slag and • Fracturing and refreshing of the optical fiber
the IR light from the hot refractory, thus contaminat- as it is consumed in the metal bath during the
ing the measurement. By bypassing the slag layer and measurement — Brief interruption in the trans-
completely submerging the optical cored wire into port of light through the optical fiber.
the metal bath, a blackbody is created at the tip of the
submerged optical fiber and it transports only the IR Due to the above sources of variation, optical tem-
light of the molten metal bath back to the measuring perature measurements, while just as representative
pyrometer. When measuring under blackbody condi- as a traditional thermocouple measurement, are not
tions in a molten metal bath, the intensity of the light as smooth in appearance, as shown in Fig. 6.
traveling through the optical fiber from the light
source, which is the molten metal bath, to the mea-
suring pyrometer can be converted to a temperature Laboratory Testing
according to Planck’s Law multiplied by emissivity.5-7
In order to establish the temperature measurement
∈C1
Eb λ (λ ,T ) =
 C2 
(W / m 2
⋅ µm ) capability of the CoreTemp system as compared to
conventional immersion thermocouples, the optical
λ  e λT − 1
5
  cored wire and system were tested in a series of con-

trolled 250-kg induction furnace steel melts. For the
(Eq. 1) first test, the steel temperature was heated to 1,580°C
and held at that temperature. A reference thermo-
where couple was taken, followed by a series of five optical
measurements. This procedure was repeated until
Ebλ = radiant intensity emitted from a body (W/m2 ·
µm),
C1 = 3.742 × 108 (W · µm4/m2),
C2 = 1.439 × 104 (µm · K),
λ = wavelength (µm) and Figure 5
∈ = emissivity (for a blackbody ∈ = 1).
Violet
Red
The intensity and wavelength of the IR light in a 1014 Visible light region
molten metal bath directly correlates to the tempera- 5800 K (Solar)
ture of the molten metal bath. At lower temperatures, 4000 K
the intensity of the IR light produced from a molten 1012 Locus of maximum
power:
λT = 2898 µm · K
metal bath is lower than when the molten metal bath 2000 K
is at higher temperatures. With regards to the wave- 1010
length of the measured light, a response can be seen 1000 K
at multiple wavelengths. For measuring the tempera-

500 K
Ebλ, W/m2·µm
ture of interest, the measured light must be filtered 108

at the desired wavelength. This relationship is shown
graphically in Fig. 5. 300 K
When measuring, typically the optical cored wire is 10 6
fed into a molten metal bath starting from a location

above the bath. The optical cored wire passes through 100 K
104
the ambient air in the metal furnace or holding vessel
first, then through the slag layer and last into the mol-
I
ten metal bath. Unlike traditional thermocouple tem- 102

perature measurements, optical temperature mea-
surements react almost instantaneously. This means
that the measurement is sensitive to variations in the 1
0.01 0.10 1 10 100 1000
measurement region, such as:
Wavelength λ, µm
• Gas bubbles — Brief interruption of the black-
I
body conditions at the optical fiber and molten Blackbody spectral emissive power vs. wavelength for
metal interface. various temperatures.5
105
Figure 6
(a) (b)
Optical temperature trace example (a) and thermocouple measurement trace example (b).
Figure 7 removed, allowing the steel to cool natu-

rally. A reference thermocouple was taken,
followed by a series of five optical tem-
perature measurements. This sequence
was repeated until the steel bath cooled
to 1,560°C. The results of one of these test
series are given in Fig. 8. Both Figs. 7 and
8 show that the optical temperature mea-
surements were consistent with immersion
thermocouple measurements at steelmak-
ing temperatures.
Industrial Results
The CoreTemp system shown in Fig. 9 is

Optical temperature measurement stability at 1,580°C. an on-demand OTM system consisting of
a programmable logic controller (PLC)
unit, a wire feeder, cored wire coil, wire
guides, an entry port into the furnace and
a total of 20 optical measurements were taken. The a human machine interface (HMI). The cored wire is
results of this test are shown in Fig. 7, with results sum- the consumable portion of the system that transports
marized in Table 1. light from the molten metal bath to a pyrometer,
In order to assess the performance of the system the measuring instrument. The length of optical
and cored wire across a range of steelmaking tem- cored wire contained in a coil is 1 km, which lasts for
peratures, another test was performed where the steel approximately 500 to 1,000 measurements, depend-
bath was heated to 1,700°C and the heat source was ing on application, before needing to be replaced. It
I
is fed by the wire feeder into the furnace through a

series of wire guides and an air-purged entry port.
The wire feeder and cored wire are connected to and
Table 1 controlled by the PLC unit. The HMI in the operator
Summary Data for the Optical Temperature Measurement
pulpit or control room displays a unique user inter-
Stability Study face to operate the system and display the tempera-
ture measurements.
I
N Delta temperature (°C) Temperature StDev (°C)

In October 2017, a system was installed on the slag
20 –3.17 2.12
door side of EAF No. 3 at SDI Butler. A schematic of
Figure 8
flexible joint when the furnace tilted to
tap or slag-off.
In May 2018, a second system was
installed on the sump of EAF No. 4 at SDI
Butler. The wire feeder was placed on the
sump platform due to space constraints
on the slag door side of the furnace. It
was also proposed to move the system on
EAF No. 3 to the sump after the setup
on EAF No. 4 made it through the trial
phase. The system on EAF No. 3 was
moved to the sump during October 2018.
A schematic of the current system instal-
lations is shown in Fig. 11. A short run of
wire guide pipes connected the outlet of
Temperature range capability study of the CoreTemp system and optical
the wire feeder to the entry port located
cored wire.
in the gap between the vertical shell and
horizontal sump panel of the EAF. The
cored wire coil was located on the melt
the initial application is shown in Fig. 10. The wire deck approximately 12 m behind the wire feeder. The
feeder, cored wire coil and control unit were all wire was run through a series of roller guides to direct
located on the slag door side of the furnace. The wire its path of movement to the feeder. The PLC control
feeder was mounted on the tilt platform and moved unit was placed on the mid-deck below the melt deck.
with the furnace. The rigid wire guides were mounted The wire feeder was electrically connected to the PLC
around the furnace shell and connected the feeder control unit on the mid-deck, via cables that were
on the slag door side to the furnace entry port on routed through the water-cooled shell on the EAF.
the sump (eccentric bottom tapping). The cored wire Fig. 12 shows the sump side of EAF No. 3. The cored
coil was located approximately 6 m behind the wire wire coil was set well behind the furnace with the wire
feeder. The cored wire was open to free air between being fed through a series of roller guides up to the
the packaged coil and the feeder, and acted as the feeder on the sump platform. The cored wire was
Figure 9 Figure 10
I
CoreTemp components.
I
Simple schematic of the system installed on the

slag door side of EAF No. 3.
107
Figure 11
routed in such a way as to not interfere
with walkways or other working areas.
The wire feeder mounted on the sump
platform was angled toward the sanding
hole and connected to the OTM system
entry port via two sections of rigid stain-
less 1 1/4 -inch SCH 10 pipe to guide the
wire into the furnace.
During EAF operation, the OTM sys-
tem was used to determine the ideal time
to measure the endpoint oxygen with a
CELOX® sensor. The recommended prac-
tice when using CoreTemp is as follows:
• The first measurement is taken as a

check to confirm the bath is complete-
ly molten in the sump.
• When the metal bath is confirmed
molten in the sump, a measurement
sequence is initiated. The measure-
ment sequence consists of four mea-
surements, one directly after the other,
in 20-second intervals from the start of Current installation schematic of the optical temperature system on EAF
the first measurement. No. 3 and EAF No. 4.
• An endpoint CELOX measurement is
taken to determine bath oxygen and
carbon content. Figure 12
Two different examples of heats where
this practice was used are shown in Fig. 13.
During the heat shown in Fig. 13a, the first
four optical temperature measurements
taken established a heating rate to give
the operator a good idea of when to take
an endpoint CELOX to determine the
carbon content, as well as to confirm the
temperature of the steel at the slag door.
In this case, although the steel was at the
desired temperature, the carbon content
was high, resulting in continued oxygen
refinement for the next 4 minutes, which
further increased the bath temperature.
The heat plot in Fig. 13b shows a heat in
which the optical temperature measure-
ments align with the CELOX and the car- CoreTemp application install on the sump side of EAF No. 3.
bon content was in the desired range so
the heat was immediately tapped. Another

interesting phenomenon that can be seen
I
in Fig. 13b is a slight cooling of the bath

when the power to the arc is reduced or turned off. graph against the electrical power input, as shown
In addition to a temperature measurement, the in Figs. 14 and 15. In the sequence of measurements
HMI in the operator pulpit also displays the electri- shown in Fig. 14, the first two measurements resulted
cal power input, the tilt of the furnace, along with in scrap impacts, shown as blue squares at the bottom
the temperature and active oxygen measured with of the y-axis on the graph. Although no temperature
a CELOX. The HMI is also used to initiate a single was measured, the result of an identified scrap impact
I
optical temperature measurement or a sequence of is also valuable information because the sump area is
measurements with each result being plotted on the not typically visible and knowing there is unmelted
Figure 13
1700 58 1700 58
1680 57 1680 57
1660 56 1660 56
1640 55 1640 55
Temperature (°C)
Temperature (°C)
1620 MWh 54 1620 MWh 54
CoreTemp CoreTemp
1600 53 1600 53
CELOX® CELOX®
1580 52 1580 52
1560 51 1560 51
1540 50 1540 50
1520 49 1520 49
1500 48 1500 48
2:42:43 2:43:26 2:44:10 2:44:53 2:45:36 2:46:19 2:47:02 2:47:46 2:48:29 2:49:12 11:27:22 11:27:50 11:28:17 11:28:45
Time Time
(a) (b)
Heat plot from December 2018 on EAF No. 4 (a) and heat plot from January 2019 on EAF No. 4 (b).
Figure 14 scrap present helps the operator

make informed adjustments to
the melting process.
As the sequence of optical tem-
perature measurements contin-
ues, an algorithm is used in con-
junction with the continued elec-
trical power input to plot a tem-
perature prediction curve that
provides the operator an approxi-
mation of how much more power
is required to reach a desired
temperature, as shown in Fig. 15.
Examining Fig. 15, the predict-
ed temperature is displayed to
be 1,618°C at 71 MWHr while a
HMI display showing the beginning of a measurement sequence.
CELOX was taken at 70 MWHr
and displayed a temperature of
1,610°C, thus the prediction cor-
Figure 15 related with the actual heating
rate of the steel bath. Instances
where a significant difference
is observed between the optical
temperature measurement trend
and the CELOX measured tem-
perature are indicative of a non-

homogeneous bath, due to either
I
unmelted scrap or incomplete

mixing.
One of the key performance
indicators (KPIs) that has been
tracked at SDI Butler to gauge
the impact of CoreTemp on the
operation of the EAFs is the per-
I
centage of heats that have arrived

HMI display showing the measurement sequence temperature evolution and at the LMF cold, hot or within
prediction.
109
Figure 16
temperature specification (OK). Fig. 16 shows the
percentage of heats that arrived at the LMF hot, cold 50
and within specification (OK) from September 2018 41.4%
to end of December 2018 for EAF Battery 1 (no OTM) 40 38.6%
Percentage of Heats
34.8%
and EAF Battery 2 (has OTM). Fig. 16 shows a reduc- 32.4%
29.1%
tion in hot heats and an increase in heats arriving to 30
23.8%
the LMF within temperature specification for Battery
20
2 over the 4-month analysis period.
The next KPI examined was the standard deviation
10
of the LMF arrival temperatures for all heats made
between September 2018 and December 2018. The
0
LMF arrival temperatures for Battery 2 had a stan- 1 2
Battery
dard deviation of 2°C lower than Battery 1 during the
months of September, October and December and Cold Hot OK
are shown in Fig. 17. Additionally, the distribution of
LMF arrival temperatures for Battery 2 was typically Percentage of heats that arrived at the LMF hot, cold or in
6°C tighter than Battery 1 during those months. specification for both EAF Battery 1 and Battery 2.
Another KPI that has been tracked is equipment
uptime of the OTM system. Fig. 18 shows system
uptime for the months of September 2018 through Figure 17
December of 2018. Percent uptime was calculated as
follows: LMF Arrival Temp. Std. Dev. (°C)
29
28
No . heats CoreTemp available for use
%Uptime = 27
Total No . of heats made 26
25
(Eq. 2) 24
23
There were two instances that negatively affected
22
the uptime of the OTM systems: Sept Oct Nov Dec Sept Oct Nov Dec
EAF Battery 1 EAF Battery 2
1. Incineration of the feeder electrical cables
routed through the EAF shell on the EAF Standard deviation of LMF arrival temperatures for both EAF
No. 3 system in November, causing the OTM Battery 1 and Battery 2.
system to be unusable until repairs and instal-
lation improvements could be made during
the down day a week and a half later. Figure 18
2. Failure of the welds on the cored wire entry
port mounting flange on EAF No. 4 in 100
December. The OTM system was unusable 90
until the mounting flange could be rewelded 80
in place during the next down day 2 weeks 70
after the incident.
Uptime %
60
50
In addition to uptime of the OTM system, the 40
actual usage of the system by the EAF operators was 30
tracked as well and is shown in Fig. 19. The graphs of 20

Fig. 19 show the usage of the OTM system by month 10
I
per crew on each of the two furnaces at Battery 2. The 0

Sept Oct Nov Dec
impact of the equipment downtime shown in Fig. 18 EAF 3 EAF 4
can be seen in Fig. 19, specifically in November for
EAF No. 3 and December for EAF No. 4.
Uptime of the optical temperature equipment for each EAF by
Data was also tracked on the usage of the consum- month.
able products at EAF Battery 2, specifically on the
usage of oxygen probes. When using CoreTemp, a
I
reduction in EAF probes was also observed and is

shown in Fig. 20. An average reduction of one probe
Figure 19
140 140
120 120
100 100
Count of Heats
Count of Heats
80 80
60 60
40 40
20 20
0 0
A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D A B C D
Sept Oct Nov Dec Sept Oct Nov Dec
Crew Crew
Not Used Used Not Used Used
(a) (b)
EAF No. 3 OTM usage by crew and month (a) and EAF No. 4 OTM usage by crew and month (b).
Figure 20
5.0 5.0
Avg. Battery 1 CELOX usage Avg. Battery 1 CELOX usage
4.5 4.5
4.0 Avg. EAF 3 CELOX usage Avg. Battery 2 CELOX usage 4.0 Avg. EAF 4 CELOX usage Avg. Battery 2 CELOX usage
when using CoreTemp when not using CoreTemp when using CoreTemp when not using CoreTemp
Avg. CELOX/Heat
Avg. CELOX/Heat
3.5 3.5
3.0 3.0
2.5 2.5
2.3 2.3
2.0 2.0
1.8
1.5 1.5
1.0 1.0
0.5 0.5
0.0 0.0
35 36 37 38 39 40 40 41 42 43 44 44 45 46 47 48 48 49 50 51 52 53 36 37 38 39 40 40 41 42 43 44 44 45 46 47 48 48 49 50 51 52 53
Sept Oct Nov Dec Sept Oct Nov Dec
Week Week
(a) (b)
EAF No. 3 average CELOX usage per heat when using the OTM system (a) and EAF No. 4 average CELOX usage per heat when
using the OTM system (b).
for every two heats made was observed for EAF No. 3 of no production so the operators are not on the
and a reduction of one probe for every three heats furnace floor when molten metal is present, such as
made was observed for EAF No. 4. In comparison after EAF tapping. The improved control of the fur-
and shown in Fig. 20, the average CELOX usage for nace provided by the increased measurement resolu-
Battery 1 was three probes per heat. tion also reduces the risk of any temperature-related
events within the furnace that may prove harmful to
operators.
Safety
The unique design of the CoreTemp system allows Conclusions

I
for significant improvements to plant practice that

provide a safer workplace for all employees. The During 2018, the CoreTemp system was successfully
system was designed to reduce operator exposure implemented on EAF No. 3 and EAF No. 4 at SDI
to molten metal as a component of Industry 4.0 and Butler. The measurement capability of the system was
has been achieved by housing all controls within the confirmed both in the laboratory as well as in a typical
furnace operator pulpit, meaning the system can be steelmaking production environment at SDI Butler.
run completely by one operator from the pulpit. The The benefits of using the system in the EAF melting
I
coil lifetime of approximately one week means that a process as observed by SDI Butler were:
coil exchange can be planned to align with a period
111
• Safety — Ability to take temperature measure- Wiley, the management group at SDI Butler and the
ments in the EAF without having any operators Heraeus Electro-Nite Co. LLC engineering team
on the operating floor. for their continued support and drive to success-
• Increased percentage of heats arriving to fully implement the CoreTemp system into the EAF
the LMF within the proper temperature process. The authors would also like to thank Ricky
specification. Rollins and Andrew Spencer for playing a key role in
• Reduced temperature variation of heats arriv- the early stages of installing CoreTemp at SDI Butler.
ing at the LMF.
• Ability to measure steel temperature in the EAF
earlier in the heating cycle. References
• Ability to measure steel temperature in the EAF
without collapsing the foamy slag during arcing 1. “2019 AIST Electric Arc Furnace Roundup,” Iron & Steel Technology,
done by opening the slag door and removing Vol. 16, No. 1, January 2019, pp. 128–151.
the oxygen lance, as is done with immersion 2. J. Enderle, “Optical Biosensors,” Introduction to Biomedical
Engineering, 2nd Ed., Burlington, Mass., USA, 2005, pp. 539–548.
measurements using a manipulator.
3. J.J. Carr, “Fiber-optics,” Introduction to Biomedical Equipment
• Increased control over the EAF steel tempera- Technology, 4th Ed., Upper Saddle River, N.J., USA, 2001, pp. 538–
ture by being able to measure temperature in 539.
the sump with CoreTemp and through the slag 4. D.C. Giancoli, “Blackbody Radiation,” Physics, 6th Ed., Upper Saddle
door with CELOX. River, N.J., USA, 2005, pp. 756–757.
5. Y.A. Çengel, “Blackbody Radiation,” Fundamentals of Thermal-Fluid
Sciences, 2nd Ed., New York, N.Y., USA, 2005, pp. 953–958.
The results obtained present the opportunity to
6. J.G. Webster, “Radiation Thermometry,” Medical Instrumentation,
move one step closer to a “no man on the floor” Application and Design, 3rd Ed., New York, N.Y., USA, 1998,
operation and increased control over the EAF melt- pp. 67–71.
ing process. 7. Heraeus Electro-Nite, “Principle of Fiber Optic Technology,” FiberLab™
Instruction and Operating Manual, Version 3.07, Houthalen, Belgium,
p. 10. F
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the SDI Butler opera- Conference Proceedings.
tors and helpers on EAF Battery 2, the SDI Butler
maintenance team, as well as Conrad Fischer, Nicole
Did You Know?
Shape Corp. Wins Swedish Steel Prize 2019

The winner of the 20th international Swedish Steel Prize is Shape Corp. from the United States. The prize is awarded for the
groundbreaking use of martensitic steel in a 3D-formed tube for automotive roof rail applications.
“With great skill, Shape Corp. has shown the way forward and has succeeded in efficiently utilizing a modern material with the
highest possible strength level. This shows a major opportunity in challenging other lightweight materials with a steel solution
that allows for circular material flows,” says Eva Petursson, chair of the Swedish Steel Prize jury and head of SSAB’s research
and innovation.
Shape Corp.’s cost-effective and robust manufacturing process for 3D-shaped tubes made it possible to utilize the cold form-
ing martensitic steel Docol® 1700M, from SSAB, for a unique lightweight solution for A-pillar and roof rail tubes, with a minimal
profile size. The components will soon be implemented in a number of Ford vehicles, including the 2020 Ford Explorer and 2020
Ford Escape.
Thanks to 3D forming, instead of hydroforming, Shape Corp. has succeeded in creating smaller profiles than traditional solu-
tions, allowing for better driver visibility, more interior space as well as better packaging of airbags.
The 3D-formed A-pillars also have an improved strength to weight ratio of over 50%, which has led to an overall mass reduction
of 2.8 to 4.5 kg per vehicle.
I
Shape Corp.’s highly innovative technology and use of steel has been proven viable within the global automotive industry and
represents a major leap forward in both car safety and automotive design.
The Swedish Steel Prize, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2019, recognizes good engineering, cooperation and steel
innovations that lead to a better and more sustainable world. In conjunction with the Swedish Steel Prize 2019, SSAB will make
a SEK 100,000 donation to UNICEF in support of their efforts to provide quality education and learning opportunities to children
and adolescents worldwide.
The other finalists, Austin Engineering from Australia, Kampag from Brazil and Roofit.solar from Estonia, were runners-up for
I
the Swedish Steel Prize 2019.

BY SAM KUSIC
AN INTERVIEW WITH
John
Ferriola
After 28 years with the company, Nucor Corp. chief executive officer (CEO) John J. Ferriola retired at the end of
December. An electrical engineer by education, Ferriola began his steel career in 1974 at Bethlehem Steel Corp. He
joined Nucor in 1991 as manager of maintenance and engineering at its Jewett, Texas, bar mill. In 2002, he was promoted
to executive vice president, and five years later was named chief operating officer of steelmaking operations. In January
2011, Ferriola was appointed Nucor’s president and chief operating officer, and took over as CEO in 2013. As chief
executive, Ferriola was a leading voice in Washington, D.C., for the U.S. steel industry and led one of the largest capital
expansions in his company’s history.
Ferriola also is a longtime AIST member and is a recipient of one of the association’s highest honors, the Steelmaker
of the Year Award. He recently spoke to Iron & Steel Technology magazine about his career and his plans in retirement.
What drove your decision to retire? personal development professionals. And over the
I’m a big believer in succession planning, and when course of a couple of years, we recognized that we
you start thinking about succession planning for had three exceptional candidates. At the end of the
the CEO position, you need to develop a robust, day, we selected one of those as the next CEO — Leon
thoughtful and well-executed plan. We did that about Topalian.
seven years ago, when I became CEO. I’ve been able to work with him and mentor him.
We put together a program of development that He’s ready, and he’s surrounded by a team that is
involved formal educational training, development really strong. And based on that, it just felt like was
at universities around the country and work with the right time.
113
Like yourself, Leon is a longtime Nucor manager
and executive. So it’s probably not a coincidence
that the next CEO was an internal candidate, is it?
Leon has 23 years with the company. He has worked
for Nucor in at least three divisions, seven states and
on two continents.
We have a culture of promoting from within. And
there’s a reason for that — you can’t lead a company
that depends so strongly on its culture if you haven’t
lived that culture. It’s very hard to come in and learn a
culture. So future leaders at Nucor will be people who
have lived in the culture.
After having lived and led the Nucor culture, what

would you say you are most proud of?
I look back on my career, and I think of three things
that I feel really proud of. Number one would be
— and it’s the one I’m most proud of — continuing
the drumbeat of safety. I have an expression that I
use — it has become kind of a mantra for me and for
our company — and that is, “There is nothing more
important than safety. Absolutely nothing.”
Whenever I walk into one of our mills and I see that
stenciled on the wall or made into a sign that’s been
hung up, I’m really proud of that.
I want every one of our 27,000 teammates to know
What is the third thing?
that there is nothing more important than safety and
The third thing is the digitalization visualization
absolutely nothing, nothing, was more important than
of our company. As you get bigger and bigger, the
their safety to me, to Nucor, and certainly to their
amount of information that you have to assimilate
family members at home.
and convert into useful data becomes greater and
I’m proud of the fact that safety has improved
greater.
significantly during my time as a leader at Nucor.
We began an initiative about four years ago
What else would you include in your list? to digitalize so that we can much more easily
I’m also proud of the fact that we successfully understand the key metrics that drive our business
refocused our commercial operations. and our performance so that we can improve it by
When we started as a company, we had such a understanding it better.
tremendous cost advantage that the only marketing
In your 46 years in the steel industry, what would
we had to do was take orders. We weren’t sales people,
you say was your biggest engineering challenge?
we were order takers. If our order books weren’t filled
Probably the biggest one that I had was when I worked
up, we’d drop the price US$10, and we’d fill up.
in our Jewett, Texas, plant. We needed to replace the
But the market changed, and other companies
entire No. 2 mill, and we only had 28 days to do it.
built in the image and likeness of Nucor entered the
It actually started out as a six-month project, but
market.
business got so good they cut it back to three months.
Against those companies, we don’t have the same
But then business got even better so they cut it back to
tremendous operational advantage. So how do
one month.
you differentiate yourself from somebody who has
The new mill was replacing the old mill within the
duplicated your technology? Well, you recognize that
same footprint in the plant. We demolished a caster,
(there is room to improve commercially) and you find
reheat furnace, 18 rolling stands and the cooling bed.

a way to make yourself excellent in the commercial
And then we put a new one in its place.
aspects.
It required a tremendous amount of coordination.
I
So about six or seven years ago, we began a program

We had, I think, about 750 to 1,000 contractors
we call “Commercial Excellence.” We really focus on
working two shifts per day, one from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.,
understanding our customers’ needs and develop
and the second from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
partnerships with them. We have a phrase we say,
We went section by section. We started at one end
“Powerful partnerships resulting in powerful results.”
and we demolished the caster. And then we had a
And that’s what we’ve done. We’ve changed the way
team go in and rebuild the caster while another team
that we market our product; we’ve reorganized our
I
was demolishing the reheat furnace. And we just

sales team. And it’s been effective.
worked our way down the line.
114
With so many people on-site, how did you even

begin to coordinate an effort like that?
We had a great team of engineers. There were several
young engineers were working with me and we worked
together as a team.
Speaking of engineering, your title says CEO,

but your diploma says electrical engineer. So
which would you hope to be remembered as —
a business leader or an engineer?
Definitely both. I would think that in my early days,
people thought of me more as an engineer. And
certainly in my later career, as an executive vice
president or as a general manager of a plant, as a CEO.
But what I would really want people to remember me
as a mentor.
Throughout my career, I’ve always focused on doing
my very best to help those who were part of my team
develop to the best that they could be. Nothing made
me prouder than when people who worked for me got
promoted.
As CEO, if you were to ask me as part of this
We got it done. We started up on time, on budget, interview, “John, how many people work for you?” My
and on the same day we started up, we had saleable answer would be zero. My job is to work for the 27,000
product. We’re still talking about it today. Nucor teammates, not the other way around.
I
My job is to make sure that they have the resources,

What was the key to completing such a large the education, whatever they need to do their job
project in such a small window? most effectively and to prepare them for the most
We had a lot of great people working on it. Obviously, effective and rewarding career that they can have.
everybody was there, night and day. I slept in my office
for 28 days. I brought in an Army cot. I would sleep a How did you start your own steel career?
few hours every eight hours, because if you didn’t, if (After college) I got a job with Bethlehem Steel
I
you went home for eight hours or 12 hours, you just shipbuilding. I studied a lot of naval architecture.
lost track of what was going on. But right before I started in their shipbuilding
115
division at Sparrows Point, they called me and told
me that they were short of electrical engineers in their
steel mill, and they asked if I’d be willing to transfer
to the steel operation. I hesitated and told them,
“Well, I don’t know anything about steelmaking.” They
said, “We’ll give you a 15% raise.” So I said, “I can
learn about steelmaking.”
They said, “If you would just go and visit the plant,
and if you don’t like it, we won’t force you to take it
and we’ll get you back in shipbuilding.”
I’ve got to tell you, I walked into a steel mill and that
was it.
Many in the industry can relate to that. Why do

you suppose that is?
I tell people that when you walk into a steel mill, you
either love it or hate it. You’re either in it for the rest
of your life, or you’re gone within a matter of days. I
walked in, and I just loved that.
I loved the effects. I loved the massive equipment,
the engineering complexities, the engineering
challenges, watching the hot metal. I was just
fascinated by every aspect of it. Forty-six years later,
here I am.
What can we do as an industry to better share

that excitement? That’s what happened with automotive. We all got
The way we help get people into it is through tired of hearing (market participants) say we’ll never
internships. And I’ll tell you, when we have young be able to produce automotive-grade steels. And we
men and women come in and work during the started doing it. This year we’ll sell about 2 million
summer, they come back. They see that excitement. tons on an annualized basis into automotive.
If you love engineering, whether it be civil, Continuing to improve, finding new ways to make
mechanical or electrical, you need to explore a career steel and improving the quality of steel, that excites
in steelmaking, particularly with a modern company me. I still get excited about that when I see, for
like Nucor. You’ll be tested beyond your imagination example, our new cold mill (in Hickman, Ark.).
and you’ll get to use the skills that you’ve learned in It’s what we call a flexible 6-high cold mill. It is one
college and many more. of only five of its type in the world, and it is the only
one of its type in North America.
What’s something a young person entering this What it does for us is it takes our sheet and rolls
industry could do to boost his or her career? it down to ultralight gauges while still maintaining
I would strongly recommend anyone who gets into the its ultrahigh strength. I could spend eight hours
steel industry become an AIST member early on in watching it run.
their career and remain a member. I didn’t stop being
a member when I became a general manager. AIST is Insofar as spending time is concerned, do you
a great organization for both knowledge transfer and have any particular plans in your retirement?
networking, and I strongly recommend it. The price I always tell people this — I’m not certain about what
of admission is so low and so reasonable for the return I am going to do, but I am certain about what I am
that you get. It’s a bargain. not going to do. What I’m not going to do is get on an
airplane for a while. I’ve had my fill of traveling.
What kept you in the steel business? I’ll look to serve on a couple of boards. I might do
You know what still gets me excited about the steel some consulting work, maybe take on a managing
director role in private equity.
I
business? It’s ever-changing. I think about what the

technology was like and what our products were like And, you know, I have five grandkids all under the
when I started in 1974, and I look at where we are age of five. I could count the days I’ve spent with them
today, and it’s incredible. this year because of my schedule. I want to spend
When we started with the CSP process in 1989 and more time with them.
1990, I remember the team telling me about how At Nucor, it’s a 24/7/365 schedule. It really is. And I
excited they were when they were qualified to make just want a little bit more time to myself. F
I
garbage cans. But our goal was to rise up the value

chain.
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Exposition features more than 500 skyscrapers and historic buildings.
exhibiting companies, allowing you Downtown Cleveland is buzzing with
to learn the latest technology trends, nightlife, restaurants, attractions and
build and strengthen relationships, hotels.
and grow your network.
Registration
Register for the full conference by 31 January 2020 and save US$100!
(only one discount per registrant)
/ Full Conference
Member / US$675
Non-Member / US$875*
/ One-Day Conference
Member / US$500
Non-Member / US$700*
/ Expo Only
Member / Free
Non-Member / US$50
AIST Life Members, AIST Distinguished Member and Fellows, and AIST Tadeusz Sendzimir
Memorial Medal recipients receive complimentary AISTech registration.
*Non-member full conference and one-day registrations include 2020 AIST membership upon
completed membership application at AISTech 2020. Student non-members receive membership
to Material Advantage upon completed membership application at AISTech 2020.
/ Sunday, 3 May 8–9 a.m. 5–6 p.m.
Brimacombe Memorial Lecture AIST Welcome Reception
8 a.m.–3 p.m.
AIST Foundation Golf Classic 9 a.m.–6 p.m. 6–8 p.m.
Exhibit Floor Open Steel to Students Reception
Noon–4 p.m.
Student Plant Tour of Charter Steel 9 a.m.–6 p.m.
– Cleveland AIST Member Services Center / Tuesday, 5 May
Open 7 a.m.
Noon–5 p.m.
Conference Registration 9:30–11:30 a.m. Author/Chair Introductions
Undergraduate Student Project 8–9:45 a.m.
3–5 p.m.
Presentation Contest President’s Award Breakfast
Women in Steel Roundtable
(registration required) 9:30 a.m.–Noon 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m.
Technical Sessions Conference Registration
3–5 p.m.
Young Professionals’ Roundtable 9:30 a.m.–5 p.m. 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
(registration required, ≤30 years of age) Graduate Student Poster Contest Graduate Student Poster Contest
Display Display
5–6 p.m.
Young Professionals’ and Women in 11:30 a.m.–1:45 p.m. 9:30 a.m.–6 p.m.
Steel Joint Reception University-Industry Relations Exhibit Floor Open
(registration required) Roundtable
9:30 a.m.–6 p.m.
Noon–1:30 p.m. AIST Member Services Center
/ Monday, 4 May Technology Committee Meetings Open
7 a.m. 2–5 p.m. 10 a.m.–Noon
Author/Chair Introductions Technical Sessions Technical Sessions
7:30 a.m.–5 p.m.
Conference Registration
Schedule
Visit AISTech.org for additional information and the
most up-to-date schedule of events.
11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m.

Exhibit Hall Lunch
Noon–4 p.m.
AIST Member Services Center
Open
Expo
Hours
Noon–1:30 p.m.
Technology Committee Meetings 2:45 p.m.
Truck Giveaway
2–5 p.m.
Technical Sessions 3:30 p.m.
AIST Prize Drawings / Monday, 4 May
/ Wednesday, 6 May
9 a.m.–6 p.m.
/ Thursday, 7 May
7 a.m. Exhibit Floor Open
Author/Chair Introductions Plant Tours:
5–6 p.m.
7:30 a.m.–2 p.m. 7 a.m.–2 p.m. Welcome Reception
Conference Registration Cleveland-Cliffs Toledo HBI Plant
8 –10 a.m. 7:30 a.m.–1 p.m. / Tuesday, 5 May
Technical Sessions AK Steel – Mansfield Works 9:30 a.m.–6 p.m.
10 a.m.–Noon 8 a.m.–Noon Exhibit Floor Open
Town Hall Forum ArcelorMittal Cleveland
/ Wednesday, 6 May
Noon–2 p.m. 8 a.m.–Noon
Town Hall Lunch Charter Steel – Cleveland Noon–4 p.m.
Exhibit Floor Open
Noon–4 p.m.
Exhibit Floor Open 2:45 p.m.
Truck Giveaway
3:30 p.m.
Prize Drawings
/
J. Keith Brimacombe
Memorial Lecture
4 May / 8 a.m.
he AIST J. Keith Brimacombe Memorial Lecture Award was established in
T
1999 to honor Dr. J. Keith Brimacombe’s outstanding accomplishments in
the area of process metallurgy, his dedication to the steel industry and his
profound effect on people in the industry. The 2020 Brimacombe Memorial
Lecturer is John J. Jonas, professor emeritus, McGill University.
/
President’s Award
Breakfast
5 May / 8 a.m.

Recognizing steel industry excellence, the President’s Award Breakfast
program consists of the presentation of prestigious AIST Board of Directors
Awards, including AIST’s Steelmaker of the Year, followed by a keynote
presentation from Leon Topalian, president and chief executive officer, Nucor
Corp., Charlotte, N.C., USA.
Tickets can be purchased when you register for AISTech. Advance single tickets are US$45, and
a table of 10 is US$400. On-site single tickets are US$50 if seating is still available. Tables of 10
are not available for purchase after 27 April 2020.
Featured
Events
/ Town Hall Forum

6 May / 10 a.m.

The Town Hall Forum provides an insider’s view into today’s business climate
from the people who know: a panel of respected leaders from some of the
steel industry’s best-regarded companies.
The Town Hall Forum is open to all exhibitors, students, full conference registrants and one-day
registrants for Wednesday, 6 May.
/
AISTech Truck
Giveaway
6 May / 2:45 p.m.

It’s an AISTech tradition – someone drives home in a brand-new truck! The
truck winner will be selected on the exposition floor on Wednesday afternoon.
It’s a lively and fun event as the exposition comes to a close. Is this your year?
Full details, rules and regulations will be available soon.
Plant
Tours
/ Cleveland-Cliffs
Toledo HBI Plant
7 May / 7 a.m.
/
AK Steel –
Mansfield Works
7 May / 7:30 a.m.
/ ArcelorMittal
Cleveland
7 May / 8 a.m.
/ Charter Steel –
Cleveland
7 May / 8 a.m.
AIST
Foundation
Golf Classic
/
Barrington Golf Club —
A Jack Nicklaus Signature
Course
3 May / 8 a.m.

The course layout at Barrington Golf Club is one of the best and very friendly to players of all
levels. The greens are not the typical Nicklaus Signature greens, as he didn’t build these greens
with as much angulation as one would normally see with his courses. It’s easy to see why
Barrington’s greens are continually among the best in the area.
/ Schedule / Cost
Breakfast and Check-In 8 a.m. Per Golfer US$350
Shotgun Start (Scramble) 9 a.m. Golf Club Rental US$60
Lunch and Prizes 2 p.m.
/ Become a Sponsor!
The event will attract up to 144 golfers. All companies are asked to consider sponsoring
the event to help raise funds to support the AIST Foundation’s programs, scholarships and
grants for students interested in steel.
Corporate Sponsor US$5,000 Driving Range Sponsor US$1,500

Hospitality Sponsor US$4,000 Contest Tee Sponsor US$1,000
Cart Sponsor US$3,000 Tee Sponsor US$500
Register for the AIST Foundation Golf Classic when you register for AISTech,
or contact Chris McKelvey at cmckelvey@aist.org or 724-814-3076.
Housing
The following is a list of hotels offering special rates
to AISTech attendees. To receive these special
rates you must book through AISTech housing.
/ Hilton Cleveland Downtown

US$215 / 100 Lakeside Ave. E / Connected to the Convention Center
/ Cleveland Marriott Downtown at Key Center

US$209 / 127 Public Sq. / Across the street from Convention Center
/ Westin Cleveland Downtown

US$209 / 777 St. Clair Ave. NE / 1 block from Convention Center
/ Drury Plaza Cleveland

US$199 / 1380 East Sixth St. / 1 block from Convention Center
/ Renaissance Cleveland Hotel

US$209 / 24 Public Sq. / 3 blocks from Convention Center
/ Hyatt Regency Cleveland at the Arcade

US$209 / 420 Superior Ave. / 3 blocks from Convention Center
/ Doubletree Hotel
US$169 / 1111 Lakeside Ave. E / 3 blocks from Convention Center
/ Hampton Inn Cleveland Downtown

US$169 / 1460 E. Ninth St. / 3 blocks from Convention Center
/ Kimpton Schofield Hotel

US$209 / 2000 E. Ninth St. / 4 blocks from Convention Center
/ Holiday Inn Express Cleveland Downtown

US$149 / 629 Euclid Ave. / 4 blocks from Convention Center
/ Aloft Cleveland Downtown

US$179 / 1111 West 10th St. / 7 blocks from Convention Center
129
PRELIMINARY EXHIBITOR LIST
# BEDA Oxygentechnic USA Inc.

Belt Conveyor Guarding
D
Danieli
3M Personal Safety Division Belzona Inc.
Deep South Crane & Rigging
Benetech Inc.
Delong Roll
Berry Metal Co.
A Big Ass Fans
Delta Railroad Construction Inc.
Delta Steel Technologies
ABB Inc. Birmingham Rail & Locomotive
Delta USA Inc.
ABP Induction LLC Blaschak Coal Corp.
Descartes Systems USA LLC
Acciai Speciali Terni Bloom Engineering Co. Inc.
DIAS Infrared Corp.
Ace World Companies BM Spa Con Unico Azionista
Dixon Specialty Groups
Adaptive Data Inc. Boll Filter Corp.
DLZ Industrial LLC
Advanced Gauging Technologies, L.L.C. Bozel North America
Donze
Advanced Industrial Marketing Inc. Brilex Industries Inc.
Dover Hydraulics Inc.
Aeromet Industries Inc. Brokk Inc.
DropsA USA Inc.
Aggreko Burlan Manufacturing LLC
DT Industrials
Aginzo Consulting Group Busch International
Dyna Industrial
AIC North America Corp. Butech Bliss
Air Products and Chemicals Inc.
Airstream Systems Inc.
C E
Ajax TOCCO Magnethermic Corp.
EAFab Corp.
AI-jon Series by C&C Mfg. C.R. Cuscinetti A Rulli S.R.L.
Eaton Corp.
Allied Photochemical Inc. Cage Gear & Machine LLC
Ebner Furnaces Inc.
Allor Manufacturing Inc./ The Caldwell Group
E-Crane Worldwide
Plesh Industries Inc. Carboox Resende Chemical Industry and
Educational Systems Workshops
Alloy Engineering Trade
Edwards Vacuum
Allstrap Steel & Poly Strapping Carl Zeiss Microscopy LLC
Elettrotek Kabel North America Inc.
Systems LLC Carolina Strapping & Buckles Co.
Empco Ltd.
Altra Industrial Motion Inc. Cast-Con Engineering GmbH & Co. KG
Enprotech Industrial Technologies
AMEPA America Inc. Caster Maintenance Co.
EPM Group
American Chemical Technologies Inc. Castrol
ERIEZ
American Industrial Machinery Inc. Cattron North America Inc.
ETA Engineering Inc.
American Roller Bearing Co. Centro-Metalcut
Evertz Hydrotechnik GmbH & Co. KG
AmeriFab Inc. Ceramic Fiber Enterprises Inc.
EZG Manufacturing
AMETEK Land Inc. Cervis Inc.
AMETEK Surface Vision ChemTreat Inc.
AMI Automation
ANDRITZ ASKO Inc.
Chiz Bros.
CHL Systems
F
ANDRITZ Metals Inc. CID Associates Inc. Falk PLI
ANT Automation LLC CIMM Group Co. Ltd. Fedmet
Armstrong Kover Kwick Cincinnati Thermal Spray Fero Labs
ASB Industries Inc. CISDI FibreCast Inc.
ASSA ABLOY Entrance Systems Civil & Environmental Consultants Inc. FilterTech Inc.
Association of Women in the Metal Cleveland Gear Co. Firebridge Inc.
Industries Closed Loop Recycling Fives
Atlantic Track CMI Heavy Industries Flame Technologies Inc.
Atlas Machine & Supply Inc. Comesa Work Rolls Flanders Inc.
Aumund Corp. Conductix-Wampfler Flexlink LLC
AustralTek LLC Connors Industrials Inc. Fluke Process Instruments
Contractors & Industrial Supply Inc. Foerster Instruments Inc.
Control Chief Corp. Force Control Industries Inc.
B
Cooling Tower Depot Inc. Fosbel Inc.

Corewire Ltd. Framag Industrieanlagenbau GmbH
Badische Stahl Engineering GmbH
Corpus Christi Regional Economic Franklin Fibre-Lamitex Corp.
I
Baltimore Aircoil Co.

Development Corp. FrigorTec LP
BECK, Harold & Sons Inc.
Fromm Packaging Systems
Please note: Includes all exhibitors confirmed as of 6 December 2019. For the latest updates, visit AISTech.org.
Denotes AISTech 2020 sponsor
Denotes AISTech 2020 global sponsor
I
Phishing Alert: The official housing company for AISTech 2020 is Passkey. This company will NOT call exhibitors for their hotel
reservations. Please be aware of this in case you receive any request from another company.
130 AISTech 2020
G Iron & Steel Today

Iron Age Footwear
Mair Research S.p.A
Maker Metallurgy Technology Co. Ltd.
G.W. Becker Inc. Irwin Car and Equipment Malmedie Inc.
Gantrex Inc. ISRA VISION Parsytec AG Matthews Marking Systems
Garlock Sealing Technologies Itipack Systems Maxcess International
Geist Associates ITR McKees Rocks Forgings Inc.
GES Graphite IVC Technologies Melter S.A. de C.V.
Gigasense AB Messinger Bearing
Global Gauge Corp. Metallurgical Council of CCPIT
GMB Heavy Industries J Mi-Jack Products Inc.
Gontermann-Peipers GmbH MICRO-EPSILON Messtechnik GmbH &
J.R. Merritt Controls Inc.
Gorman-Rupp Pumps Co. KG
J.T. Thorpe & Son Inc.
Grace Consulting Inc. Middough Inc.
Janus Automation LLC
GrafTech International Midrex Technologies Inc.
JNE Consulting Ltd.
GRAPHALLOY Miether Bearing Products
John Cockerill Industry
Graphite India Ltd. Mill Mechanical
Johnson Industries Ltd.
Guild International Inc. Miller Plastic Products
JVI Vibratory Equipment
MINTEQ International Inc.
Mobil Industrial Lubricants
H K Molyneux Industries Inc.
Hall Industries Inc. Monofrax LLC
Kabu Projects Pvt. Ltd. Monroe Environmental Corp.
Handling Specialty
Kadant Solutions Division Montrose Air Quality Services
HarbisonWalker International
Kalenborn Abresist Corp. Morgan Engineering Systems Inc.
Harsco Corp.
Kaman Fluid Power Motion Industries Inc.
HASTEC group
Kastalon Inc. Motorola Solutions
Hatch Ltd.
KELK MRSI/Titan Bearings
Hauhinco Water Hydraulics
Kelly Tube Systems MTS Sensors
Hausner Hard Chrome Inc.
Kiewit Energy Group
Hebei Zeal Fiberglass Materials Co. Ltd.
KMT Waterjet Systems
HEG Ltd.
Heidenhain Corp.
Kocks Pittsburgh Co. N
Kocsis Brothers Machine Co.
Helwig Carbon Products Inc. NALCO Water, an Ecolab Company
The Koppern Group
Heraeus Electro-Nite Co. LLC National Scale Technology
Kress Corporation
Hickman, Williams & Co. NCCM Co.
Krosaki USA Inc.
The Hilliard Corp. NDC Technologies
KT-Grant Inc.
Hitachi High-Tech Analytical Science Nederman MikroPul
Kubota Materials Canada
Horsburgh & Scott Co. Netarus LLC
Kuhn Special Steel North America Inc.
Hose Master LLC New York Blower Co.
Hubbell Inc. Newark Brush Co. Inc.
Huebner Giessen
Hutchinson Industries Inc.
L Nidec Avtron Automation Corp.
North American Crane
Hy-Pro Filtration Lakos Separators & Filtration Systems Bureau Inc. (NACB Inc.)
HydroAire Inc. Lamiflex Group NSD Corp.
HydroThrift Corp. LAP Laser LLC NSK Americas
Hyster Co. LASERBOND Nuova Carpenteria Odolese SRL
Laser-View Technologies
Lechler Inc.
I Leco Corp. O
Lecia Microsystems
I2r Power OEM International Inc.
Lenox Instrument Co. Inc.
iba America LLC Ohio Magnetics Inc.
Lexicon Inc.
IDC Industries Oil Skimmers Inc.
LiftTech Industrial Services
IKEUCHI USA Inc. Olympus America Inc.
Limab North America Inc.
IMERYS Steelcasting USA Inc. Opta Group LLC
Lincoln Manufacturing
Inductotherm Corp. Optris Infrared Sensing LLC
Logika Technologies Inc.

Industrial Maintenance Welding & Orbital Engineering Inc.
Lone Star Machine Works Inc.
Machining Co. Inc. Osborn
I
Industrial Training International OTC Services

InfoSight
Innerspec Technologies Inc.
M Oxy-Arc International Inc.
Oxylance Inc.
In-Place Machining Co. LLC M. Brashem Inc.
INTECO PTI Mack Manufacturing
Integrated Mill Systems Inc. MacroVision Inc. P
Integrated Power Services (IPS) MAGNA North America
Pannier Corp.
International Technical Magneco/Metrel Inc.
PaR Systems
I
Ceramics LLC (ITC) Magnetech Industrial Services Inc.

Parts Super Center
Intocast AG Magnetek Inc.
Penn Fan Co.
Magnetic Lifting Technologies US
131
Perfection Hydraulics
Perfection Servo
Scantech International Pty Ltd.
Schenck Process
U
Pfeiffer Vacuum Schenk Vision Inspection Systems U-S Safety Trolley
Philadelphia Gear, A Timken Brand Schneider Electric UKCG Group Ltd.
Phoenix Services LLC Schust Engineering Inc. UMECC
Pintsch Bubenzer USA SciAps Unilux
PKG Equipment Inc. Seifert Technologies Inc. Unigen Steel Engineering srl
Plattco Corp. Selas Heat Technology Co. Union Electric Åkers
Plibrico Co. SEMAC LLC United Rotary Brush Corp.
Polytec Inc. SenTek Corp. United States Controls Inc.
Power Electronics International Inc. SES LLC US Lumber
Praxair Inc., A Linde Company SGM Magnetics Corp. USA BORESCOPES
Precision Metals Controls LLC Shapeline AB
Precisioned Components SHINAGAWA
Primetals Technologies Showa Denko Carbon Inc. V
Prisma Integration Corp. SIBRE Siegerland Brakes USA Vahle Inc.
Pro-Tech Co. Inc. SIDEREX Vail Rubber Works Inc.
ProBilling and Funding Service Sidock Group Inc. Vesuvius USA
ProcessBarron Siemens ViewTech Borescopes
Prograde Signal Metal Industries Inc. Viper Imaging
The Progress Group Inc. Signode Industrial Group LLC Vision X Wholesale
Proton Products Slingofer Srl Voith Turbo Inc.
PRUFTECHNIK SlipNOT® Metal Safety Flooring Vollmer America Inc.
PSI Metals North America Inc. SMS group Inc. VUHZ a.s.
Pyrotek Spraying Systems Co. VX-LLC
Steel Times International
Sund Birsta AB
Q SuperBooth W
Superior Engineering
Quad Infotech Inc. W.L. Gore & Associates Inc.
Superior Environmental Solutions
Quaker Houghton Walker Magnetics
Superior Machine Co. of
Qual-Fab Inc. Weber Sensors LLC
South Carolina Inc.
Quality Components Co. Wells Engineering PSC
The Systems Group
West Virginia Development Office
WHEMCO Inc.
R T Whiting Corp.
R.E. Warner & Associates Inc. Whiting Equipment Canada Inc.
T. Bruce Sales Inc. WIKA Mobile Control
R+W America LP
Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corp. Winkle Industries Inc.
Radix Wire Co.
Tallman Technologies Inc. World Water Works Inc.
REA Elektronik Inc.
TAMINI Transformers USA LLC WS Hampshire Inc.
Redecam USA LLC
TASSCO WS Thermal Process Technology Inc.
Refractory Anchors Inc.
Taylor Machine Works Inc.
Regal Beloit America Inc.
Taylor-Winfield Technologies Inc.
Reichard Industries LLC
Renold Torque Transmission Tebulo Industrial Robotics X–Z
Technical Weighing Services Inc.
REXA Xtek/Bradley Lifting
TECO-Westinghouse
Rexnord Industrial Services Yates Cylinders
Tenova
RHI Magnesita ZERUST Corrosion Solutions
ThermalMax Inc.
Rice Lake Weighing Systems Zolo Technologies, A Division of John
Thermbond Refractory Solutions
RIX Corp. Zink Hamworthy Combustion
Thermo Fisher Scientific
RJ Lee Group Inc. Zumbach Electronics Corp. F
Thermocast S.p.A.
Robinson Engineering Co.
Titan Metallurgy
Rockwell Automation
Titan Strapping Systems
Rotation Dynamics Corp. (RotaDyne)
TMEIC
Rotek Inc.
TML Group
Russula Corp.
TMS International LLC

TNA - Toplift North America
S Tokai Carbon GE LLC
I
TR Electronic
S.P. Kinney Engineers Inc. Transformers and Rectifiers (India) Ltd.
Saint-Gobain Performance Ceramics & TransTech Inc.
Refractories Trebnick Systems Inc.
Samuel Nelson Technology Tribco Inc.
Sandling Industrial Services Inc. Triple Steelix
SANGRAF International Triple/S Dynamics Inc.
Sarclad North America Trojan Tire Inc.
I
Sarralle Tube-Mac
Scantech Americas Inc.
132 2020 Exposition Floor Plan (as of 10 December 2019)
1392 1393 1492 1493 1592 1593 1692 1693 1792 1793
NETWORKING
LOUNGE
1291 1390 1391 1490 1590 1591 1690 1691 1790 1791
1389 1488 1489 1588 1589 1688 1788 1789

1187 1287 1386 1387 1486 1487 1586 1587 1686
PHOTO
FEATURE 1285 1384 1385 1484 1584 1685 1784 1785
1183 1383 1482 1483 1582 1583 1682
AISLE 1200
AISLE 1400 sponsored by FLANDERS
AISLE 1600 sponsored by MIDREX

1281 1380 1781
AISLE 1000
AISLE 1100
AISLE 1300 sponsored by PROCESSBARRON
AISLE 1500 sponsored by IRWIN CAR & EQUIPMENT
AISLE 1700 sponsored by AIR PRODUCTS

1378 1379 1478 1479 1578 1579 1678 1679
STEEL’S PREMIER TECHNOLOGY EVENT
1077 1177 1276 1777
1275 1374 1375 1474
1073 1172 1273
ENTRANCE
1071 1170 1171 1270 1271 1370 1371 1470 1471 1571 1671 1771
1367 1466
I
1065 1165 1265 1365 1465 1564 1565 1665 1765
4–7 May Cleveland, Ohio, USA 1363 1462 1
Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland 1261 1360 1560 1561 1761 1
1059 1158 1159 1258 1358 1359 1458 1459 1658 1659 1759
1156 1157 1257 1356 1357 1457 1757 1
1254 1255 1354 1355 1454 1455 1654 1655 1754
1253 1352 1353 1452 1453 1552 1553
Floor Plan Sponsored by 1250 1251 1350 1351 1551 1650 1651 1750 1751
1448 1449 1548
GOLF
InfoSight Corporation
“We BARCODE Difficult Stuff”™
1244 FEATURE 1345 1444 1445 1544 1545 1645 1745
More than 88% of floor space sold.

Reserve your booth space now!
I
For information on reserving exhibit space,

advertising and sponsorship opportunities, contact
sales@aist.org or +1.724.814.3000, ext. 2.
I
133
792 1793 1892 1893 1993 2093 2492 2592 2792 2793 2892 2893 2992
FOOTBALL
790 1791 1890 1891 1990 1991 2090 2091 2190 2191 FEATURE 2391 2491 2591 2690 2691 2790 2890 2891 2990
788 1789 1889 1988 2089 2289 2389 2488 2489 2588 2589 2789 2888
MEMBER
1886 1887 1987 2086 2186 2587 2686 2687 2786 2787 2886 2887 SERVICES
2987
784 1785 1884 1885 1984 2085 2184 2384 2385 2484 2785 2884 2885 2984
1883 1982 1983 2082 2183 2283 2382 2483 2583 2682 2683 2782 2882 2982
AISLE 1800 sponsored by INFOSIGHT
AISLE 2000 sponsored by AMI AUTOMATION
AISLE 2100 sponsored by TAYLOR MACHINE
AISLE 2300 sponsored by EPM GROUP
AISLE 2400 sponsored by W.L. GORE & ASSOCIATES
AISLE 2600 sponsored by ATLAS MACHINE & SUPPLY
AISLE 2700 sponsored by SIEMENS
AISLE 2900 sponsored by SUND BIRSTA INC.
AISLE 3000
1781 1880 2281 2380 2381 2480 2781 2880 2881 2980
AISLE 1700 sponsored by AIR PRODUCTS
AISLE 1900 sponsored by FALK PLI
AISLE 2200 sponsored by AMERIFAB
AISLE 2500 sponsored by EBNER FURNACE
AISLE 2800 sponsored by KIEWIT

1879 1978
1980 2079 2878 2879 2978 2979 3079
1777 1876 1977 2277 2376 2477 2576 2577 2677 2777 2876 2877 2976 3077
2875 2974 2975 3074 3075
2972 2973 3072 3073
1771 1871 1971 2071 2171 2271 2371 2471 2570 2571 2671 2771 2871 2970 2971 3070 3071
3069
2866 2966 2967 3066 3067
1765 1965 2065 2465 2565 2664 2665 2765 2864 2865 2965 3064 3065
1862 2263 2363 2763 2863 2962 2963 3062 3063
1761 1860 2161 2561 2660 2761 2860 2861 2960 2961 3060
1759 1859 1959 2059 2359 2458 2459 2559 2659 2859 2958 2959 3058 3059
1757 1856 2257 2557 2656 2757 2856 2857 2956 2957 3056 3057
754 1955 2054 2154 2455 2554 2655 2854 2955 2954 2955 3054 3055
2153 2353 2452 2752 2952 2953 3052 3053
750 1751 1851 1951 2150 2251 2350 2451 2550 2551 2651 2751 2850 2851 2950 2951 3050 3051
1949 2748 3048 3049
1947 2046 2947 3046 3047
1745 1845 1945 2044 2045 2144 2145 2245 2345 2445 2545 2645 2744 2745 2845 2944 2945 3044 3045
2741 2940 2941 3040 3041
2339 2439 2539 2639 2738 2739 2838 2839 2939 3038 3039
2736 2737 2837 2936 2937 3036 3037

EN
TR
2535 2635 2734 2834 2835 3035

AN
2333 2433 2532 2633 2732 2733 2832 3033

CE
2531 2630 2731 2830 2931 3031
2729 2828 2829 3029

Available Booth Space
2327 2427 2626 2627 2727 2826 2927 3026 3027
Reserved Booth Space 2525 2624 2725 2824 2825 2925 3024 3025
2523 2622 2723 2822 2823 2922 2923 3022 3023

AIST Feature Area
2321 2421 2621 2721 2820 2921 3020 3021
(AIST feature areas generate some level of noise)
2519 2618 2719 2818 2918 2919 3018 3019
Restricted Area for Hanging Signs
2317 2417 2516 2517 2616 2617 2716 2917 2916 2917 3016 3017
Column 2315 2414 2415 2715 2814 2915 2914 2915 3014 3015
2313 2412 2413 2512 2812 2912 2913 3012 3013

Island booths have a height allowance of up
to 16'; surrounding booths may have some 2311 2410 2411 2510 2511 2611 2711 2810 2811 2910 2911 3010 3011
obstruction. 2309 2408 2409 2508 2709 2808
2507 2606 2706 2707 2806 2906

TRUCK FEATURE
I
2505 2604 2605 2704 2705 2804 2805 2904 2915
SHOW OFFICE
2501 2601 2701 2801 2901
I
134 AISTech 2020
SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
A sponsorship is a cost-effective way to reach a new audience at Steel’s Premier Technology Event for 2020.
Be seen. Get noticed. Boost your business today!
In addition to what is listed below, all sponsorships include company logo on a sponsorship sign placed in the
registration area and recognition on the sponsorship page of AISTech.org, in the May Show Issue and in the August post-conference
issue of Iron & Steel Technology.
AVAILABLE SPONSORSHIPS
New sponsorship opportunities coming soon! Visit AISTech.org for updates.
HAND SANITIZER 1 available at US$5,500

Sponsorship includes:
• C ompany-supplied hand sanitizer placed at registration and other locations throughout the conference
(AISTech Show Management must approve hand sanitizer)
DAILY EMAIL SPONSOR 1 available each day at US$1,750 (Sunday–Wednesday)

• Exclusive banner ad (650 x 75 px) included in the email
• Email distribution of approximately 20,000
WELCOME RECEPTION 5 2 remaining at US$3,500

• Company logo or name on signage at the reception
• B&W company logo on the napkins
TOWN HALL FORUM WATER SERVICE 2 available at US$3,500

• Company logo or name on the signage at water location
• B&W company logo on napkins at water stations
• Verbal acknowledgment at the Town Hall Forum
• Option to supply company-logoed cups or water bottles (contact AISTech Show Management for specifications)
PLANT TOURS AND COFFEE 4 available at US$3,000 per tour

AK Steel – Mansfield Works►• ArcelorMittal Cleveland • Charter Steel – Cleveland • Cleveland-Cliffs Toledo HBI Plant
• Company logo or name on signage at the bus departure area
• Coffee station on morning of tour
• One plant tour registration
• Company-supplied logoed cups (optional) (AISTech Show Management must approve cups)
HALL A OVERLOOK WINDOW CLINGS 6 remaining at US$2,750 each

• Company logo, tagline and booth number on a large window cling overlooking the AISTech 2020 Iron & Steel Exposition
Logo and tagline deadline is 20 March 2020
930
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By Amanda L. Blyth
P A T P H I L B I N A N D T H E
Brotherhood
Steel of
J ohn Patrick “Pat” Philbin, AIST’s Manager —

Technology Programs, retired on
31 December 2019. His career in the steel
industry took him around the world. Over his
50 years in steel, he’s seen it all. And as a boy
growing up with three older sisters, he’s certainly
“Tennis,” he said.
Really? I thought.
But the longer I thought about it, the more it made
sense. Pat (or “Monsignor” or “Brother Pat,” if you’re
among the many inclined to know him as such)
heard it all. In his life, he’s toured steel mills in all possesses an undeniable zest for the things that
corners of the world, eaten in some of the most matter most in life — doing things that bring him joy
famous restaurants in the country, he’s been to and being with those he loves.
Wimbledon, he saw The Beatles perform live in 1966
Pat’s network of those he loves expanded greatly once
... so what could possibly be in store for Pat once he’s
he joined AIST as a staff engineer in 2008, but he
retired?
also forged countless friendships in the decades he
I asked Pat this question when we were sitting in spent in Northeastern Ohio’s steelmaking community.
the Miami-Dade County Airport, waiting for our
After graduating high school, he did a short stint at
connecting flight to Panama City back in October.
Republic Steel. He then left for General Electric in
140
Pat is, for me and for many in our

industry, a lot more than a reliable and
dependable point of contact at AIST. The
iron and steel industry is a very special
Warren, Ohio, where he
place to work; it’s better described as a
worked while attending
big human being rather than a complex Youngstown State
machine. It has a heart, which is the University.
furnace — blast furnace, electric arc, Pat rejoined Republic
etc. — and it has its blood, which is the Steel in 1976. He
liquid steel. It has arms and legs, which began as an industrial
engineer and eventually
are the rolling mills, the processing lines,
transferred into BOF
etc. Every time we get close to the parts operations as a technical
of this organism, we feel like we are operating trainee in
taking care of a person, an emotional one. 1978 at the BOF. He
was turn foreman until
And there are people who do it with the
1982 and a senior melter
respect that this huge organism deserves. until 1988. During his
This is what Pat is: a person capable of Republic Steel years, Pat
understanding the feelings of the iron and met his wife, Rebecca,
who was the company’s
steel industry, and it is because of people
first female turn
like Pat that our industry is so good to supervisor.
work in. I have an incommensurable
It was during this time that Pat began to hone some of the
admiration for his expertise, which is skills he’s known best for — being an innovator and leader,
superseded only by the kindness he and encouraging and inspiring others. This was due to the
uses in his personal relationships. I can’t fact that he was in charge of introducing new procedures and
technologies, a hard thing to do at an integrated steel mill in
I
remember a single time in which I asked

the 1970s.
him for help and he said no, and these
“[I was] an outcast in my own department because I had the
are things that one will never forget.
responsibility of introducing new trials and procedures that
weren’t well received, and that were at times sabotaged,” Pat
— Francesco Memoli, explained. “So the resistance to accept change in a process
Tenova world was my biggest challenge, but that forced me to make
I
sure I learned the process better than anybody else.”

141
Not only did he learn the process, he “inspired the by that point), where he was responsible for a crew of
doubters that there was a better way.” 50 employees. In 2006, he became area manager for
the BOF, and a year later area manager, picklers in
“Through all the years, that’s been my goal and
the steel finishing department.
direction in terms of whether I’m leading a crew,
whether I was leading a department, or when I came Pat stayed in the Warren area even when he joined
back at the end of my career and had Technology AIST in 2008, a commute of more than an hour each
Committees that I was responsible for.” way. I asked him why he would want to take on such
a long drive each day, and why he continued to do so
In 1988, Pat became the general turn supervisor in
year after year.
the BOF/LMF (the company was known as WCI Steel
Being friends with Pat has not been easy. It has meant
generally always dining at P.F. Chang’s or California Pizza
Kitchen. He has an internal GPS that allows him to seek
these restaurants out regardless of the city we were in.
He has always carried an extra suitcase for the candy and
chocolate to treat us with. Pat’s phone number on my
caller ID brightens my day until I realize that he is telling
me that he has volunteered me for something … he is
hard to say no to. He is there to pick me up when I am

down, to listen when I am uncertain, to counsel me when
I
I am walking a narrow path, and the first to celebrate both

my personal and professional accomplishments. To sum
it up, he has always been the champion in my corner and,
man, I am blessed to call him my friend.
I
— Harriet Dutka,
SANGRAF International
142
“Because I was happy where I was traveling to,” he

said. “And I was satisfied and content going home
each and every night. I couldn’t imagine a more
progressive and productive work atmosphere.”
Ron Ashburn, AIST’s executive director, described
what it means for AIST to have a long-time steel
industry veteran such as Pat on staff.
“Pat brought with him a strong desire to give
Pat has been the glue that has allowed me to fully something back to the industry when he decided
expand my career horizons within the iron and steel to join the AIST staff. That ‘something’ was the
industry. complete embodiment of energy, passion and
commitment to teach our staff how to provide real
If there was one anecdote I would like to share value to the industry.”
about Pat, it would be the first lunch engagement on “His tireless efforts resulted in strong committee
our first EAF Study Tour to Argentina. We had just leadership, quality curriculum for our training
arrived after a 10-hour flight and we were famished. courses and productive Road Shows to pave the path
for member engagement. Despite serving 50 years in
Our group was corralled by Pat to a local eating
the industry, Pat never lost his youthful commitment
establishment. The local fare was a steady dose of to help others succeed — in this regard, the AIST
meat, meat and more meat. Pat had a gander at the membership and staff have been his beneficiary.”
menu, and decided that the blood sausage had to When asked about Pat’s legacy, his friends throughout
be sampled. When it arrived, it looked like it was still the industry echoed similar sentiments.
I
alive, but we all knuckled down and gave it a try. It “Pat’s expertise in the industry, and his efforts to
was divine. If it hadn’t been for Pat, we would never recruit and educate young men and women, has been
have even given it a thought, but Pat was all about a great positive force,” said Jimmy Barrett, of Allied
Mineral Products. “The steel industry will miss this
expanding our horizons, and that’s exactly what we
legend, and I will miss working with him.”
did for the remainder of our study tour.
Brad Bray of California Steel Industries added, “Pat’s
I
— Stephan Ferenczy, tireless work for AIST will be missed. His presence
at committee meetings always meant that the
TCI Consultants
143
Pat has the uncanny ability to motivate

and encourage members to continually
meeting was going to improve their committees toward the
be professional and benefit of their companies. He knew that
beneficial to attend.” without members returning with benefits,
Pat’s responsibilities at there was no reason for companies to
AIST took him across continue sending their employees.
the United States and
all over the world. In Over the years, working closely with Pat
particular, AIST’s on projects, committees and events, I’ve
International Study Tour
learned three things: he doesn’t like to
program has been an
integral part of Pat’s have his picture taken; he loves to eat
job over the last several at P.F. Chang’s; and if you feed him ice
years. cream, there is nothing that you can’t get
“[The Study Tours] have away with.
been probably the most
enjoyable experience Our friendship grew to something more
not just at my AIST than the steel industry, it became a
career, but my career in brotherhood. As matter of fact, when I

total,” Pat recalled. “Just
call Pat, I say, “Brother Pat,” and many of
I
being able to see different parts of the world, cultures, steel

processes, the friendships — truly global networking at its my associates do the same. We became
finest.” something that will last forever, and it is
Stephan Ferenczy, TCI Consultants, is a regular attendee of mainly due to Brother Pat, or as some of
AIST’s International Study Tours. us like to refer him, “Monsignor.”
“I have accompanied Pat on six separate EAF and Caster Study
I
Tours, and Pat’s company made the technical and professional

—Doug Niksch,
retired, Mi-Jack Products
144
experience more enjoyable and memorable. In fact, I “Pat has always kept our committee meetings light
can’t imagine traveling to new countries without him,” and entertaining with his clever and witty personality.
Ferenczy said. He will truly be missed as a leader and a friend. One
thing I did not know when I joined the MHTC was
Jesse DeSpain of Nucor Steel–Texas weighed in,
the amount of lifetime friendships I would make —
after spending a few days in Panama City, Panama,
Pat certainly is one of them.”
with Pat and the Material Handling Technology
Committee (MHTC).
I have known and worked alongside

Pat for almost 40 years, having first
met him in 1980 when he was with
Republic Steel in Warren, Ohio. I
have been the “Vicar” to Pat’s
“Monsignor” all of these years. There
are many, many memorable stories
— unfortunately most of which aren’t
publishable!
Pat is one of the best human beings

I
that I know: very much the family

man, he is fair, honest, loyal, capable,
dependable and knowledgeable. He has a delightful sense of humor, is very much a prankster and is always great fun to
be around. Pat is also a true friend to anyone in need — not a single selfish bone in him, just a wonderful man all round;
it’s a pity there aren’t more in the world like him. I have been a very lucky person in being able to call Pat my friend.
I
— Stewart Robinson,
Carbide Industries
145
Another AIST program Pat has devoted much Pat Philbin. Bringing people together, helping others
attention and many miles to is the Road Show. Since and finding common ground is something that seems
its inception in 2015, Pat has attended 29 AIST to come naturally to him.
Road Shows across the country. A third-generation
“I think in my time at AIST, my strongest asset was
steelworker, he couldn’t pass up the opportunities to
realizing that I was once a producing committee
visit the mills and talk to people who, as he sees it, are
member. I was able to translate the needs of the
just like him. And that attitude is the embodiment of
I
146
committee members and try to help

— like I had been helped many times
before,” Pat said.
Ferenczy said, “Pat has always been
a leader and an innovator, is always
looking to get out of his comfort
zone, and has always brought people
together so that they can become better
steelmakers after interacting with one
another.”
“Pat is like a brother to me,” Barrett
added. “Pat likes to call me Brother
Jimmy and I call him Brother Pat. Our
friendship was bonded by family values
and the difference between the great
Air Force vs. the Navy. He is so proud of
[his son] Sean’s graduating number two
in his class at the U.S. Naval Academy.”
Stewart Robinson, who has known
Pat since his Republic Steel days, said,
“Our industry will be a sadder place
without him, and I know AIST will be
a very different place to work without
his presence. We will all miss him very

much.”
I
“Pat brought a sense of reality to the

AIST staff,” explained Ashburn. “His
industry tenure has spanned the
complete spectrum — the best of times
and the worst of times. For many of
the younger generation who perhaps
I
have not witnessed the industry

bankruptcies, or the loss of a pension
147
after a lifetime of service, Pat was
always able to bring everything
into proper context, which has
kept us all well grounded. He did
it with crass … I mean class and
grace!”
And the countless friendships he’s
made over the years? Monsignor
simply calls them “Wonderful.”
“You want somebody to pick up
the phone and if they hear it’s you,
they’re happy. That’s the kind of
impact you want to have.” F
In His Own Words

I started my steel career on 2 June 1969. The morning following my high
school graduation, I was scheduled at the Republic Steel Warren Division’s
Coke Battery. My first job was mudding lids after charging the ovens on the
battery floor. My dad wanted me to experience what working for a living was
all about! Both of my grandfathers worked in the steel industry — one for
Republic Steel’s Youngstown Division and the other for Youngstown Sheet &
Tube.
After working 6 months at Republic Steel, I moved on to General Electric’s

Ohio Lamp Division, where I was employed as a production line mechanic
while working my way through Youngstown State University. In 1976, I returned
to work for Republic Steel in their BOF Department. Here I was introduced to
Dr. John Stubbles, Republic Steel Research, and Dr. Stewart Robinson, Carbide
Industries, who served as my mentors. In 1976, I attended my first Iron & Steel
Society (ISS) Cleveland Chapter meeting. I then became part of the Oxygen
Steelmaking Committee of the ISS. My two oldest committee member relationships started with Brother John Wilson,
MINTEQ International, and Brother George Jansen, Carbide Industries. Lifelong friends are what can develop through
involvement with AIST Member Chapters and Technology Committees.
My career with AIST started on 1 February 2008. I could not have imagined in these past almost-12 years the
I
satisfaction with Technology Committee involvement that resulted. Old committee friends and new committee members
have kept me engaged in the role of increasing the awareness for networking with AIST. I’ve been part of an incredible
team at AIST that has made my steel career a success.
Special thanks to Bill Albaugh, who hired me at AIST; Brian Bliss, who guided me while at AIST; Dr. Ron O’Malley, who
I
has traveled with me on seven international Study Tours; and Ron Ashburn, who has encouraged me to make AIST the
best technical steel association worldwide.
By Amanda L. Blyth
149
AIST Visits the Panama Canal

to See Large-Scale Material
Handling Up Close
For AIST’s 30 Technology Committees, an attractive As far as material handling goes, it doesn’t get much
element of participating in meetings is the plant better than this.
tour. Members of AIST’s committees are provided
countless opportunities to visit not only steel Early on the morning of 17 October, 12 delegates
mills around the globe, but auto manufacturers, boarded the Panama Canal Railway for a 90-minute
I
shipbuilding companies, foundries and world-class ride from Panama City to Colón. The group spent
research facilities. the morning touring the Manzanillo International
Terminal (MIT), a transshipment terminal located
But the Material Handling Technology Committee adjacent to the Colón Free Zone.
(MHTC) took it a step further, not only in distance
traveled but in scale. On 16–17 October 2019, the The land on which MIT sits was originally a
MHTC met in tropical Panama City, where it had the U.S. Naval base. Following the Torrijos-Carter
I
opportunity of a lifetime to visit the Panama Canal. Treaties of 1977, the land reverted back to Panama.
150
It was then used as a

storage facility and
distribution center for
vehicles in the 1980s,
and to avoid all the costs
and logistics that came
with moving cars to and
from nearby Cristobal, a
roll-on/roll-off (RORO)
berth was built on-
site. In August 1993,

Stevedoring Services
I
of America (now SSA

Marine) arrived and
began construction and
operation of a container
terminal.
Over the years, SSA

I
Mike Lanigan (center) of Mi-Jack Products Inc. was presented with a plaque of Marine, through MIT,
appreciation for arranging the MHTC’s tour of the Panama Canal. has invested more than
151
Bruce Zimmerman (center) presented a plaque of

appreciation to Jason Thompson (left) and David
Gully (right) of Taylor Machine Works Inc. for the
company’s efforts in organizing the MHTC’s tour of
the Panama Canal.
US$800 million in upgrades to equivalent units (TEUs). On

the original facility, including premises is also a 15,000 m2
new berths, cranes, computer container repair yard.
control systems and continuous
updates. Today MIT is the MIT has 11 post-Panamax and
premier container transshipment eight super post-Panamax cranes
facility on the Atlantic coast for in its operation, and 24 rubber-
ships arriving to and transiting tired gantry (RTG) cranes. More
the Panama Canal. MIT has more than 17.2 million containers move
than 1,200 employees, many through the facility each year.
of whom have been with the

company since day one. It is one New over the last several years
I
of the largest business investments are MIT’s automatic stacking

in the Colón area, providing cranes, which are part of a
jobs and vocational education to larger automation project to
thousands of direct and indirect streamline operational processes
employees. and increase efficiency. These
automated cranes are electric,
The facility occupies more than which allows for reduced CO2
I
500,000 m2 and has a storage emissions. Equipped with lasers

capacity of 37,000 twenty-foot and cameras, they accurately
152
“The Panama Canal

tour was one of
the best I’ve ever
been on.”
— Jesse DeSpain, Nucor Steel–Texas
I
I
153
position trucks and chassis under the crane

and ensure precise landing of containers.
The system automates reservations,
planning and housekeeping; optimizes each
crane’s work list; and features intelligent
“set asides” when moving a container
requires shifting nearby containers.
After a tour of the facility, the group had

the opportunity to ride the four-person
elevator up to the top of a post-Panamax
crane for an amazing view of the expansive
operations.
This, naturally, proved to be the highlight

for the attendees.
“The amount of mobile equipment moving

in the yard, the amount of cranes and crane
lifts to load and unload these ships was
mind-blowing,” said Jesse DeSpain of Nucor
Steel–Texas. “The opportunity to tour the
crane was certainly the overall highlight.”
Will Jones of Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa Inc.

shared this sentiment. “I was amazed at the
amount of cargo that they handle and the
efficiency … It was the best business trip
I’ve ever had.”
Once their feet were on the ground again,

the group headed to the Panama Canal
to visit the Aguas Clara Locks. There
the delegates were able to see a liquefied
natural gas carrier ship pass through the
locks.
The Panama Canal is an 80-km route that

connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans
through the Isthmus of Panama. The
concept for the canal can be traced as far
back as the 1500s as a route between Spain
and Peru. Over the next few centuries,
dignitaries and philosophers all over the
world brought forth ideas and plans for the
canal.
I
The actual construction of the canal began

in the 1880s by the French. However, their
efforts were no match for the regional
conditions. It soon became apparent that
their targets were not being met and the
French abandoned the project in 1889.
I
A second French company was created to

save the project in 1894, but at the same
154
Consisting of artificial lakes

and channels and several sets
of locks, the canal connects
144 maritime routes across
1,700 ports in 160 countries.
ach lock consists of two lanes

E
that raise vessels to the level
of Gatun Lake and then lower
them back to sea level. Water
flows into the locks from nearby
lakes simply by gravity, and the
size of the locks determines the
Bruce Zimmerman and Jesse DeSpain presented MIT with a plaque of appreciation for hosting size of the ships that are able to
the MHTC (left to right): Zimmerman; Manuel Pinzon, vice president of operations; Tom pass through them.
Newman, port administrator; DeSpain; and Pete McGivern, RoRo operations.
A multi-billion-dollar expansion
of the canal took place between
2007 and 2016 with the

construction of two new lock
I
time, interest in the canal brewed in the U.S. The complexes and an access channel that both increases
U.S. subsequently purchased the equipment from the the water supply and improves navigational channels.
French in 1904 and took over the construction efforts.
The AIST group came away with new acquaintances,
Since its original construction was completed in 1914, an unforgettable experience and new ideas to take
more than a million vessels have made the journey back their facilities.
through the canal, a milestone that was reached in
I
2010. The canal has a workforce of about 10,000 and “On most any tour that you get to take with these
operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. committee meetings you can find something you
155
could implement at your facility,”

DeSpain said.
“The Panama Canal tour was one

of the best I’ve ever been on.”
AIST would like to thank Mi-Jack

Products Inc., Taylor Machine
Works Inc. and Washington
Liftruck Inc. for contributing to
and participating in the tour; as
well as Manzanillo International
Terminal for hosting the MHTC.
Special thanks go to Nancy Lee
Smith of Washington Liftruck for
serving as the main organizer of
the event. F
I
156 Industry Roundup
2020 AIST Electric Arc Furnace Roundup

Roundup data is based on information submitted in the third quarter of 2019.
Equipped with
Tap- Avg. Sidewall: Roof:

to-tap heat size refractory, refractory, Shell
No. Start-up Original furnace Furnace time (metric panel, panel, Oxy-fuel diameter
Company and location furnaces year manufacturer type (min.) tons) spray spray burners (m)
Argentina
Aceros Angeletti SA EME
Burzaco, Buenos Aires 1 1990 — 180 9 — — No 2.4
Argentina
Aceros Zapla SA
2 — SMS Siemag — 150 24 — — No 2.9
Palpala, Jujuy
ArcelorMittal Acindar SA 1 2007 Tenova — 60 105 — — Yes 6.8
Provincia de Santa Fe
1 2007 Tenova — 60 105 — — Yes 6.8
Gerdau Sipar
1 2017 Danieli — — 74 — — — —
Provincia de Santa Fe
Tenaris Siderca SAIC 1 (#4) 1995 Tenova — 55 80 — — — 5.3
Campana, Buenos Aires
1 (#5) — SMS Siemag — 45 80 — — Yes 5.8
Votorantim Acerbrag SA
2 1971 Danieli — 120 30 — — No —
Bragado, Buenos Aires
Australia
Liberty OneSteel
Laverton Steel Mill 1 1992 Danieli — 55 83 Panel Spray Yes 5.5
Melbourne, Victoria
Sydney Steel Mill
1 1982 Fuchs — 55 84 Panel Spray Yes 5.5
Sydney, New South Wales
Moly-Cop
1 2000 Danieli — 77 57 Panel Panel Yes 4.9
Newcastle, New South Wales
Brazil
Aperam South America 1 1953 USSC — 240 32 — — No 4.1
Timóteo, Minas Gerais
1 1959 SMS Siemag — 130 29 — — No 4.4
Gerdau
Açonorte 1 — — — 50 25 — — Yes —
Recife, Pernambuco
Aços Finos Piratini

Charqueadas, Rio Grande 1 1973 SMS Siemag — 80 59 — Spray Yes 4.9
do Sul
Cearense
1 1982 SMS Concast — 60 20 — — No 3.9
Maracanaú, Ceará
I
Rio Grandense 1972,

Sapucaia, Rio Grande do Sul 1 Tenova — 75 73 — Spray Yes 5.4
Rev. 1982
Usiba SMS Concast
Simóes Filho, Bahia 1 1997 — 73 21 — — No 3.4
Konus
* = idled
AC = alternating current; AK = aluminum-killed; D = delta; DC = direct current; DE = direct evacuation; DRI = direct reduced iron; E = elbow;
I
EBT = eccentric bottom tapping; EM = electromagnetic; HBI = hot briquetted iron; HSLA = high-strength, low-alloy; LCAK = low-carbon, aluminum-killed;
Interested in becoming a member of the AIST Electric Steelmaking Technology Committee? Contact Anna Voss at avoss@aist.org.
157
Sponsored by SPRAY-COOLED
AIST Roundup data is intended for reference information only. No warranty is implied.
Charge materials
(% of charge) Consumptions
Transformer
max. Electrode Power Oxygen Stated
operating nominal (kWh/ (Nm3/ Natural gas Type of fume capacity Hot heel
capacity diameter Alternative metric metric (Nm3/ collection (’000 metric (% of the
(MVA) (mm) Scrap iron ton) ton) metric ton) system Type(s) of steel produced tons/year) heat size)
2.5 250 — — 530 — — — Low and high alloy, stainless 8 —
4 300 — — — — — — Carbon, low alloy, tool — —
120 600 40 60 480 32 No Baghouse Carbon, low alloy 800 —
120 600 40 60 480 32 No Baghouse Carbon, low alloy 800 —
84 — 100 0 — — — Baghouse — 650 —
60 550 60 40 480 — — Baghouse OCTG — —
90 550 60 40 480 — Yes Baghouse OCTG — —
15 — 100 0 — — — — Wire rod, rebar 75 —
72 550 100 0 420 26 3.2 Baghouse Carbon 660 15
77 600 100 0 407 32 6.5 Baghouse Carbon 750 —
36 500 100 0 415 22.5 5.9 Baghouse Carbon, alloy 333 10
7.5 350 56 44 517 — — Baghouse Stainless 72 —
20 400 56 44 398 — — Baghouse Stainless 138 —
25 400 100 0 — 44 9 Baghouse Rebar — 11
54 500 75 25 410 40 7 Baghouse Tool, stainless, mechanical 280 18

19 350 90 10 475 34 No Baghouse Medium, low carbon 28 0

I
Low, medium, high and

75 500 90 10 440 56 7.8 Baghouse 500 15
microalloyed
26 400 80 20 507 49 No Baghouse Carbon 430 13
LCSK = low-carbon, silicon-killed; MBQ = merchant bar quality; OCTG = oil country tubular goods; PI = pig iron; S = sidewall; SAF = submerged-arc furnace;
I
SBQ = special bar quality; St = stack

Data is supplied by the AIST Electric Steelmaking Technology Committee. Please send updates or corrections to Anna Voss at avoss@aist.org.
Equipped with

Gerdau (cont’d)
Villares 1 1994 Danieli — 102 90 — — No 6.4
Pindamonhangaba, São Paulo
Villares Anhanguera Plant

2 1980 SMS Siemag — 150 82 — — No 6
Mogi das Cruzes, São Paulo
Vallourec & Sumitomo Tubos do
Brasil 1 1976 Tenova — 105 72 — — Yes —
Jeceaba, Minas Gerais
Villares Metals SA 1 2010 Tenova Consteel 65 140 — — Yes 6.7

Sumaré, São Paulo
1 1978 SMS Concast — 130 23 — — No 3.6
Canada
ArcelorMittal Montreal 1978,
Contrecoeur East 1 (#3) Rev. 1985, Siemens VAI — 70 141 Panel Panel Yes 6.7
Contrecoeur, Que. 1994, 2002
1978,
1 (#4) Rev. 1985, Siemens VAI — 70 141 Panel Panel Yes 6.7
1994, 2003
Contrecoeur West
1 1990 SMS Siemag — 85 98 Panel Panel Yes 6.4
Contrecoeur, Que.
ArcelorMittal Dofasco G.P.
1 1996 Fuchs Twin shell — 167 Panel Panel Yes 8.2
Hamilton, Ont.
Atlas Stainless Steels Canadian Vickers
Tracy, Que. 1 1963 — 250 64 — — No 5.5
Birlefco Lindberg
Canadian Steel Foundries Ltd.
Montreal, Que. 1 1912 AMAK Spout 960 45 — — Yes 4
1 1912 Heroult Spout 960 23 — — Yes 3
1 — — Spout 960 5 — — Yes 2.1
ESCO Corp. 1977,

Port Hope, Ont. 1 Tenova — 90 5 — — No 2.4
Rev. 2007
EVRAZ North America 1 2007 Siemens VAI — 130 133 Panel Panel Yes 6.1
Regina, Sask.
1 1981 EMPCO — 132 133 Panel Panel Yes 6.1
Finkl Steel 1940, Rev.

Sorel, Que. 1 Tenova — 230 37 — — No 4.6
2008
I
Gerdau Long Steel North America

1* 1998 EMPCO — 56 38 Spray Spray Yes 4.6
Cambridge, Ont.
Selkirk, Man. 1 1990 SMS Siemag — 60 54 Panel Panel Yes 4.8
Whitby, Ont. 1 2000 Superior EBT 60 122 Panel Panel Yes 6.6
* = idled
I
159
Charge materials
Transformer
76 600 23 77 563 25 No Baghouse Carbon, low alloy 550 16
45 550 90 10 500 39 No Baghouse Carbon, alloy 200 —
38 — 80 20 395 40 7.0 Baghouse Carbon, low alloy 800 —
80 550 60 40 (PI) 410 27 2.0 Baghouse OCTG 6 36
19 350 80 20 420 1 — DE Tool, high speed, low alloy 6 —
130 600 45 55 510 24 No Baghouse Carbon, low alloy, AK, SiK 900 —
130 600 45 55 515 24 No Baghouse Carbon, low alloy, mostly AK 900 —
110 600 94 6 480 — — Baghouse Carbon, alloy 600 —
120 600 100 0 410 40 16.0 Baghouse Carbon, LCAK, HSLA structural 1,350 —
24 500 100 0 520 44 No Baghouse Stainless 130 —
Carbon, low alloy, stainless

12 400 50 50 520 32 7.1 Baghouse 63 —
heat-resistant

12 350 50 50 620 31 6.9 Baghouse 63 —
heat-resistant

12 250 50 50 700 17 3.5 Baghouse 63 —
heat-resistant
3.4 200 — — 520 — — Baghouse Low alloy, stainless 3.8 —
62 600 100 0 400 40 4.5 Baghouse Carbon, low alloy 520 10

Canopy,
13 450 100 0 475 — — Carbon, alloy, stainless 80 —
baghouse
I
120 600 100 0 949 27 3.8 Baghouse Carbon 949 19
I

Equipped with

Ivaco Rolling Mills LP Lectromelt, EBT;

L’Orignal, Ont. 1 2013 50 69 Panel Panel Yes 4.8
Rev. Tenova Consteel
Moly-Cop Group
AltaSteel Ltd. 1 1974 IHI — 91 68 Panel Panel Yes 5.5
Edmonton, Alta.
Valbruna ASW Steel Inc. 1 1988 EMPCO — 110 64 Refractory Spray No 5.8
Welland, Ont.
1 1976 Whiting — 135 64 Refractory Spray No 5.2
Chile
ESCO Elecmetal
1 2007 Whiting — — 8 — — — —
Ñuñoa, Santiago
Gerdau AZA
1 1996 Tenova — 50 58 — Spray Yes —
Colina, Santiago
Proacer 1978,
Til Til, Santiago 1 ABB, Rev. Tenova — 70 15 — — No —
Rev. 2011
Colombia
Gerdau Diaco
1 1985 Tenova — 70 30 — — Yes —
Cali, Valle del Cauca
Tocancipa, Cundinamarca 1 2011 Siemens — — — — — Yes —
Tuta, Boyacá 1 — — — 60 50 — — Yes —
Siderúrgica del Occiente (SIDOC)
2 1975 Tenova — 90 34 — — Yes 3.8
Cali, Valle del Cauca
Siderúrgica Nacional S.A.
(Sidenal) 1 1988 Tenova — 80 40 — — Yes 3.8
Sogamoso, Boyacá
Ternium Acasa
1 — Whiting — 60 32 — — No 3.8
Manizales, Caldas
Votorantim
— — Tenova — — — — — No —
Paz del Rio, Boyacá
Ecuador
Adelca
1 2008 Sidermontage EBT 35 30 Panel Panel Yes 3.5
Quito, Pichincha
Andec
1 2012 Danieli Consteel 50 35 — — Yes 3.9

Guayaquil, Guayas
Novacero
I
1 2012 Tenova Consteel 70 34 — — Yes 3.8

Quito, Pichincha
Germany
Badische Stahlwerke Krupp/Concast,
2 1968 AC; EBT 39 106 Panel Spray Yes 6.3
Kehl Rev. BSE
* = idled
I
161
Charge materials
Transformer
45 450 100 0 — — — Baghouse Carbon, low alloy 500 50
60 500 100 0 425 23 8.6 DE Alloy, SBQ, carbon 360 —
50 500 100 0 470 16 0 Canopy Alloy, stainless tool 200 —
30 500 100 0 490 16 0 Canopy Alloy, stainless tool 120 —
— — — — — — — — Alloy — —
45 500 90 10 390 38 6.0 Baghouse Rebar — —
10 350 100 0 465 5 0 DE Steel balls for grinding — —
20 400 100 0 450 30 4.0 Baghouse Rebar 250 10
— — 100 0 — — — Baghouse Rebar — —
28 500 100 0 420 50 9.0 Baghouse Rebar 400 15
11 400 100 0 420 35 0 Baghouse Carbon, rebar 160 10
40 450 100 0 420 36 0 Baghouse Rebar 350 10
15 400 100 0 — — — Baghouse Rebar 200 10
— — — — — — — Baghouse Rebar — —
— — 100 0 — — — Baghouse Rebar 200 —

12 450 100 0 — — — Baghouse Rebar 250 50

I
14 450 100 0 — — — Baghouse Carbon, rebar 180 10
90 600 100 0 345 37 4.6 Baghouse Wire rod, rebar 1,250 10

I
Equipped with

Italy
Acciaierie Bertoli Safau
Pozzuolo del Friuli (UD)
1 1973 Tagliaferri Danieli AC; spout 60 100 Panel Panel Yes 5.5
1 1997 Danieli DC; EBT 54 100 Panel Panel Yes 5.8
ACP srl Refractory/

Cividate al Piano (BG) 1 2008 Thermomelt Spout 60 70 Panel Yes 4.3
panels
AFV Acciaierie Beltrame S.P.A. Top
Vicenza (VI) 1 2009 Tenova charge; 45 135 — — Yes 7.2
EBT
Acciaieria Arvedi SpA 1 2000 Fuchs EBT 48 116 Panel Panel Yes 6.5
Cremona Operations
Cremona (CR) Consteel;
1 2008 Tenova 51 260 Panel Panel No 8.5
EBT
Feralpi Siderurgica
1 2011 Tenova EBT 40 105 Panel Panel Yes 6.2
Lonato (BS)
NLMK Verona SpA Refractory/
Vallese di Oppeano (VR) 1 1995 Tagliaferri Spout 70 67 Panel Yes 4.4
panels
Pittini Group
Ferriere Nord S.p.A. 1 2013 Danieli AC; EBT 46 130 Panel Panel Yes 6.8
Osoppo (UD)
TenarisDalmine Brick
Dalmine (BG) 1 1976 Tagliaferri/Tenova EBT 42 95 Panel Yes 6.1
refractory
TPP Duferdofin-NUCOR Group
San Zeno Naviglio (BS)
Refractory/
1 2004 Tagliaferri/Sarralle EBT 45 90 Panel Yes 6.3
panels
Mexico
Altos Hornos de México
1 2014 Primetals AC; EBT 50 150 Panels Panels Yes 7.4
Monclova, Coah.
ArcelorMittal Lázaro Cárdenas
4 1988 NKK Spout 77 222 Panels Panels Yes 7.9
Lázaro Cárdenas, Mich.
Atlax S.A.
1 1998 Danieli — 95 70 — — — 5.5

Xalostoc, Tlax.
Deacero S.A. de C.V.
I
1 1998 Danieli — 50 102 — — Yes 5.5

Celaya, Gto.
Saltillo, Coah. 1 1986 Danieli — 55 54 — — Yes 4.5
* = idled
I
163
Charge materials
Transformer
Special steels; tool steels,

quenching and tempering,
85 609 95 5 (PI) 430 24 4.0 Baghouse 600 15
microalloyed, creep resistant,
press forging
5 (HBI)
103 711 85 420 26 4.5 Baghouse — — 35
10 (PI)
Stainless, carbon steel, high-

60 500 90 10 430 25 8.0 DE 283 0–5
medium alloyed
Dust
140 700 100 0 410 32 5.0 Low, medium carbon 1,000 —
collector
155 600 73 27 400 38 8.0 DE Carbon steel, silicon steel 1,100 13
209 700 54 46 400 32 — DE Consteel Carbon steel 2,200 38
123 700 100 0 410 20 2.5 Baghouse Building steel 1,000 0
Dust
70 500 90 10 385 27 8.5 Carbon steel, tool steel 250 11
collector
120 711 100 0 385 38 5.0 Baghouse Rebar steel 1,300 20
Dust
100 600 90 10 340 20 2.6 Carbon steel 900 20
collector
Dust drop
LC, MC, HC
chamber
100 600 100 0 420 32 3.4 750 10
Engineering steel, alloyed steel
Baghouse
for SBQ
140 600 80 20 330 30 4.0 Baghouse Carbon steel 1,200 27
190 700 2 98 (DRI) 586 19 No Baghouse Carbon 950 —

70 550 100 0 430 29 — Baghouse Carbon, low alloy, free cutting 500 —
I
85 600 93 7 330 — — Baghouse Low, medium carbon 1,120 —
55 500 93 7 345 — — Baghouse Carbon 480 —
I
Equipped with

Gerdau
Sid. de Tulticlan S.A. de C.V.
(Sidertul) 1 1985 Whiting — 108 52 — — Yes 4.6
Mexico City, Mex.
Grupo Simec
Aceros DM Danieli,
1 1993 EBT 53 54 Panels Panels Yes 4.6
San Luis Potosí, SLP Rev. Primetals
Aceros San Luis 1 1973 Heroult — 90 20 — — Yes 3.4

San Luis Potosí, SLP
1 1979 Whiting — 70 20 — — Yes 3.4
1 1986 Whiting — 120 33 — — Yes 3.4

Talleres y Aceros S.A. de C.V. AC; shaft;
Ixtaczoquitlán, Ver. 1 2013 Primetals — — Panels Panels — —
EBT
1 1993 Danieli — 63 50 Panels Panels Yes 4.3

TenarisTamsa
1 2012 Tenova EBT 66 160 Panels Panels Yes 7.6
Veracruz, Ver.
Ternium México
Bar/Rod Division 1 1993 Danieli EBT 60 100 Panels Panels Yes 5.8
Apodaca, N.L.
Bar/Rod Division
1 1998 Fuchs DC; shaft 60 132 Panels Panels Yes 7.1
Puebla, Pue.
Flat Products Division
Monterrey, N.L. 1 1998 Danieli DC 42 145 Panels Panels Yes 7.3
1 1995 Fuchs DC 54 145 Panels Panels Yes 7.3
Peru
Corporación Aceros Arequipa
1 2004 Danieli — 45 36 — — Yes —
Pisco, Pisco
Gerdau Siderperu
1 2010 Tenova — 60 32 — — Yes 4.3
Chimbote, Santa
United States
AK Steel Corp.
Butler Works 3* 1969 Swindell-Dressler EBT 230 159 — — Yes 6.7
Butler, Pa.
1 2010 SMS Siemag EBT — 161 Panel Panel Yes —
Mansfield Works 1 (#8) 1963 American Bridge Spout 180 122 Panel Spray Yes 6.1
I
Mansfield, Ohio
1 (#9) 1989 voestalpine Spout 168 122 Panel Spray Yes 6.7
* = idled
I
165
Charge materials
Transformer
28 400 — — 610 — — Baghouse Carbon 200 —
60 500 100 0 410 31 — Baghouse Medium carbon, low alloy 400 —
13 350 100 0 480 20 10.1 Baghouse Medium carbon 121 —
15 350 100 0 480 20 10 Baghouse Medium carbon 150 —
— — — — — — — — — — —
48 500 100 0 400 31 8.3 Baghouse Carbon 310 —
120 600 70 30 390 30 10.2 Baghouse OCTG 800 39
140 650 50 50 (DRI) 570 — — — Low and high carbon 1,330 —
HSLA, silicon, LCAK, low and

208 — 30 70 (DRI) 435 45 — Baghouse 825 44
medium carbon, API grades
Silicon, LCAK, low and

156 700 50 50 (DRI) — — — Baghouse 825 —
medium carbon, API grades
— — 60 40 500 — — — Rebar 320 —
30 450 100 0 389 43 8.9 Baghouse Rebar, MBQ 300 23
Dust
56 600 100 0 451 14–32 3.2 — — —
collector
Carbon, stainless,
170 700 100 0 — — — Baghouse 770 —

silicon steels
28 500 70 30 443 6 — DE Stainless —

I
545
49 600 70 30 443 6 — DE Stainless —
I
Equipped with

American Cast Iron Pipe Co.

Birmingham, Ala. 2 1954 Lectromelt Spout 120 2 — — No 1.7
1 1954 Whiting Spout 120 5 — — No 2.1
1 1954 American Bridge Spout 150 14 — — No 3.3
1 2001 Demag Contiarc 45 64 — — No 9.3

ArcelorMittal
1 1985 American Bridge Spout 86 150 Panel Panel Yes 6.7
Coatesville, Pa.
Indiana Harbor 1970, Lectromelt,
East Chicago, Ind. 1* — 90 105 — — Yes 6.7
Rev. 2001 Rev. Fuchs
Steelton, Pa. 1 1994 NKK-United EBT; DC 60 127 — — No 7
Arkansas Steel Associates
1 1994 Whiting — 50 45 Panel Panel Yes 4.6
Newport, Ark.
ATI Flat Rolled Products
1 2003 Danieli Spout 140 100 Panel Panel — 6.1
Brackenridge Pa.
Big River Steel
— 2017 SMS — — — Spray Spray — —
Osceola, Ark.
Bradken 1 1958 Whiting Spout 150 23 — — No 3.8
Atchison, Kan.
1 1940 Lectromelt Spout 180 6 — — No 2.7
1 1981 Whiting Spout 150 13 — — No 3.4

Carpenter Technology Corp. 1* 1963 American Bridge Spout 210 23 — — No 3.7
Carpenter Latrobe Operations
Latrobe, Pa. J.T. Cullen/
1 1999 Spout 160 32 — — No 4.1
Swindell
Reading, Pa. 4 1955 Swindell-Dressler Spout — 15 — — No 3.4
1 1956 Swindell-Dressler Spout — 15 — — No 3.7
1982,
1 Lectromelt Spout — 38 — — No 4.1
Rev. 1990
Cascade Steel Rolling Mills Inc.
McMinnville, Ore. 1 2005 Fuchs EBT 55 100 Panel Panel Yes 6.4
Charter Manufacturing Co.

I
1 2005 Danieli EBT 60 70 Panel Panel Yes 5.2

Cuyahoga Heights, Ohio
Saukville, Wis. 1 1991 Fuchs EBT; DC 78 91 Panel Panel Yes 5.2
Commercial Metals Company NKK-SE, Rev.
Birmingham, Ala. 1 1994 EBT; DC 50 77 Panel Panel Yes 5.9
Superior Machine
* = idled
I
167
Charge materials
Transformer
Carbon, low alloy, corrosion-

1.2 150 — — 647 — — Baghouse and heat-resistant stainless, — —
12–16% Mn

12–16% Mn

12–16% Mn
70 700 — — — — — Baghouse Ductile iron — —
67 600 100 0 418 35 9.5 Baghouse Carbon, alloy, stainless 798 —
60 600 75 25 509 22 — Baghouse Carbon, resulf., low alloy 454 —
120 750 87 13 441 29 — Baghouse Carbon, alloy 998 —
33 450 — — 489 — — DE, baghouse Carbon 273 —
55 600 100 0 528 — — Baghouse Stainless specialty 360 —
— — — — — — — — — 1,450 —
7.5 350 — — 500 — — Sidedraft Carbon, low alloy 64 —
4 350 — — 563 — — Sidedraft Carbon, low alloy 64 —
13 400 100 0 543 — — DE Tool, alloy 14 —
15 400 100 0 591 — — DE Tool, alloy 37 —
4 350 — — 480 — — Baghouse Alloy, stainless 136 —
Rebar, low-, high-carbon

84 610 99 1 360 36 5 Baghouse 900 13

wire rod
I
75 600 90 10 429 35 4.8 Baghouse SBQ, high carbon 590 19
65 700 90 10 (HBI) 396 35 4.4 DE, baghouse Carbon, alloy 544 —
79 700 100 0 425 38 2.9 Baghouse MBQ, structural, HSLA, alloy 653 —
I
Equipped with

Commercial Metals
1992,
Company (cont’d) 1 BSE EBT 55 100 Panel Panel Yes 5.5
Rev. 2012
Cayce, S.C.
Durant, Okla. 1 2017 Danieli EBT; ECS 55 41 Panel Panel Yes 4.7
Jacksonville, Fla.
1 2006 Danieli EBT 57 90 Panel Panel Yes 6.7
Knoxville, Tenn. EBT;

1 2000 Techint 49 65 Panel Panel No 5.9
Consteel
Mesa, Ariz. EBT;
1 2009 Danieli 55 35 Panel Panel Yes 4.7
Consteel
Sayreville, N.J. EBT;
1 1994 Demag 52 77 Panel Panel Yes 6.4
Consteel
Seguin, Texas
1 2008 Superior Machine EBT 63 109 Panel Panel Yes 6.7
Crucible Materials Corp.

Crucible Special Metals Division 1973,
1 Lectromelt Spout 135 36 — — No 4.6
Syracuse, N.Y. Rev. 1986
Electralloy
Ellwood City, Pa. 1 1968 Lectromelt Spout — 23 Panel Refractory Yes 4
Ellwood National Steel

1 1962 American Bridge Spout 210 41 Panel Panel No 4.6
Irvine, Pa.
Ellwood Quality Steels Co.
1 1985 Concast EBT 50 41 Panel Panel Yes 4.3
New Castle, Pa.
ESCO Corp. 1 1979 Lectromelt Spout 90 7 — Spray No 2.9
Newton, Miss.
1 1971 Swindell-Dressler Spout 90 7 — Spray No 2.9
EVRAZ North America
EVRAZ Rocky Mountain Steel 1 2007 Siemens VAI — 90 127 Panel Panel No 6.7
Pueblo, Colo.
Finkl Steel
1 2011 SMS Siemag — 58 75 Panel Panel Yes 5.8
Chicago, Ill.
Gerdau Long Steel North America Demag,
Cartersville, Ga. 1 1990 Rev. Superior EBT 54 104 Panel Panel No 6.7
Machine
Charlotte, N.C. Fuchs,

1989, EBT;
1 Rev. Superior 46 37 Panel Panel Yes 5
Rev. 2011 Consteel
Machine
I
* = idled
I
169
Charge materials
Transformer
80 550 100 0 395 42 10.9 Baghouse Rebar, MBQ 776 7–11
33 450 100 0 375 33 3.0 Baghouse Rebar 360 50
95 600 95 5 375 35 6.0 DE Carbon 617 27
69 500 100 0 400 33 — Baghouse Carbon 544 35
30 450 100 0 350 31 2.7 Baghouse Rebar 354 0
— 600 100 0 393 34 3.0 Baghouse Carbon 653 53
Baghouse,
Rebar, structural shapes,
80 600 100 0 402 33 6.7 DE and 943 4–8
MBQ, SBQ
canopy
20 350 — — 544 — — DE Tool steel 45 —
Low alloy, tool, stainless,

Wet
13 400 — — 543 — — copper-based alloys, 82 —
scrubber
nickel-based alloys
18 400 100 0 516 — — Sidedraft Carbon to stainless 136 —
42 450 100 0 472 21 4.1 Baghouse Carbon, alloy, tool, stainless 410 —
5 250 — — 480 — — Baghouse Low alloy, manganese 9 —
4.8 250 — — 480 — — Baghouse Low alloy, manganese 9 —
67 600 99 1 463 35 — Baghouse Carbon, alloy 1,100 —
75 350 100 0 446 30 5.8 Baghouse High alloy 573 15
85 600 100 0 464 22 — Baghouse Carbon 925 13

40 500 100 0 370 37 2.9 DE Carbon 468 80

I
I
Equipped with

Gerdau Long Steel North America EMPCO, Rev. Bottom

(cont’d) 1 1975 78 141 Panel Panel Yes 5.8
Siemens VAI tap
Midlothian, Texas
EMPCO,
Bottom
1 1981 Rev. Superior 60 141 Panel Panel Yes 6.7
tap
Machine
Petersburg, Va. Bottom
1 — Fuchs 48 136 Panel Panel Yes 6.7
tap; shaft
St. Paul, Minn. 1 1994 voestalpine EBT; DC 70 86 Panel Panel No 6
Wilton, Iowa
1 1976 Whiting Spout 110 73 Panel Panel Yes 5.1
Gerdau Special Steel North

America 1984,
2 Lectromelt Spout 108 54 Panel Panel Yes 4.6
Fort Smith, Ark. Rev. 1998
Jackson, Mich. 2 1974 Lectromelt Spout 120 41 Panel Panel Yes 4.3
Monroe, Mich. 1 1980 Whiting EBT 95 113 Panel Panel Yes 6.1
GKN Hoeganaes Corp. 1980, Demag,
Gallatin, Tenn. 1 Rev. 1998, Rev. Superior — 65 54 Panel Panel No 4.6
2013 Machine
Harrison Steel Castings Co. 1 1951 Heroult Spout 148 7 — Spray No 2.7
Attica, Ind.
1 1974 Lectromelt Spout 150 18 — Spray No 3.4
1 1992 Lectromelt Spout 150 18 — Spray No 3.4

Haynes International Inc. 1 1948 Lectromelt Spout — 5 Panel Panel No 2.7
Kokomo, Ind.
1 1963 Swindell-Dressler Spout 80 14 Panel Panel No 3.4
Hensley Industries
Dallas, Texas 1 1987 Lectromelt Spout 70 4.5 — Spray No 2.1
1 1989 Universal Spout 70 4.5 — Spray No 2.1
JSW Steel USA Consteel

Mingo Junction, Ohio 1 2003 Tenova — 250 Panel Panel Yes 8.8
EBT
Keokuk Steel Castings
1 1976 Whiting Spout 72 9 — — No 2.7
Keokuk, Iowa
Kobelco Metal Powder
1* 1989 Whiting Spout 110 15 — — Yes 3.7
Seymour, Ind.
Liberty Steel USA Demag,

Liberty Steel Georgetown 1969,
1 Rev. Superior EBT 78 77 Panel Panel No 5.8
Rev. 2008
I
Georgetown, S.C. Machine
Demag,
1969,
1 Rev. Superior EBT 78 77 Panel Panel No 5.8
Rev. 2008
Machine
* = idled
I
171
Charge materials
Transformer
115 600 100 0 440 41 0 Baghouse Structural shapes, rebar, MBQ 753 6
MBQ and SBQ, special carbon

138 600 100 0 418 41 0 Baghouse 1,000 10
and alloy
120 600 100 0 347 38 12.8 Baghouse Structural 965 13
— 700 95 5 — 29 — DE, baghouse Carbon, alloy 502 —
DE, canopy,
31 500 100 0 493 38 0 Carbon, alloy, HSLA 322 12
baghouse
10
40 450 90 439 14 2.5 DE, canopy SBQ, carbon, alloy 550 —
(PI, HBI)
27 450 100 0 521 12 2.2 DE, canopy SBQ, carbon, alloy 300 —
75 600 100 0 — 32 8.0 DE, canopy Carbon, alloy 600 12
Baghouse, Atomized iron, low-alloy steel

45 450 100 0 467 — — 300 —
DE products
2.8 250 — — — — — Baghouse Ni, cobalt-based alloys — —
7.2 350 — — 536 — — Baghouse Ni, cobalt-based alloys 18 —
Carbon, low alloy, stainless,

4 200 100 0 510 — — Baghouse 15 —
heat resistant
Carbon, low alloy, stainless,

4 200 100 0 510 — — Baghouse 15 —
heat resistant
157 — — — — — — — Carbon 1,500 —
5 250 — — 556 — — Baghouse Carbon, stainless 34 —
18 300 — — 484 18 4.7 Baghouse Carbon, low alloy 57 —

65 500 47 53 574 26 0 DE Carbon 454 —

I
62 500 47 53 574 26 0 DE Carbon 454 —
I
Equipped with

Liberty Steel USA (cont’d)

Liberty Steel & Wire Peoria AmeriFab,
1 1998 — 70 163 Panel Panel Yes 6.7
Peoria, Ill. Siemens VAI
Maynard Steel Casting Co. 1 (#4) 1942 Lectromelt Spout 150 5 — — No 2.4
Milwaukee, Wis.
1 (#5) — Whiting Spout 120 5 — — No 2.4
1 (#6) 1962 Lectromelt Spout 120 7 — — No 2.7
1 (#7) 1969 Lectromelt Spout 180 18 — — No 3.4

MetalTek Intl.
Sandusky, Ohio 1 1956 Lectromelt Spout 180 9 Refractory Refractory No 2.7
1966,
1 Lectromelt Spout 180 9 Refractory Refractory No 2.7
Rev. 1993
NLMK Indiana
Portage, Ind. 1 1997 Danieli EBT 60 118 Panel Panel Yes 7
North American Höganäs Lectromelt,

Hollsopple, Pa. Bottom
1 2001 Rev. Fuchs, — 45 Panel Panel Yes 3.8
tap
NKK-SE
North American Stainless 1 2002 SMS Demag Spout 60 140 Panel Panel — —
Ghent, Ky.
1 2007 Siemens VAI Spout — — Panel Panel — —
North Star BlueScope Steel Bottom
Delta, Ohio Fuchs,
tap; twin
shell;
Machine
shaft
Nucor Corp.
Nucor Steel–Arkansas 2 1993 MAN GHH DC 40 148 Spray Spray Yes 7.3
Hickman, Ark.
Nucor Steel Auburn Inc. 1975,

Auburn, N.Y. 1 SMS Demag EBT 48 64 — — Yes 5.3
Rev. 2006
Nucor Steel–Berkeley
2 1996 MAN GHH DC 40 154 Spray Spray Yes 7.6
Huger, S.C.
Nucor Steel Birmingham Inc.
1 1998 Lectromelt Spout 42 47 Panel Panel Yes 4.6
Birmingham, Ala.
Nucor Steel–Decatur LLC NKK-SE (DC),
Trinity, Ala. Rev. SMS Demag.
2 1997 EBT; DC 52 150 Panel Spray Yes 7.3
Rev. Superior
Machine
Nucor Steel Gallatin Tandem

NKK-SE, Rev.
I
Ghent, Ky. 1 1995 shell; EBT; 60 172 Panel Panel Yes 7.9
SMS Siemag
DC
Nucor Steel–Hertford County EBT; DC;
Cofield, N.C. 1 2000 MAN GHH 43 150 Spray Spray Yes 7.3
Consteel
* = idled
I
173
Charge materials
Transformer
115 600 100 0 420 38 6.4 DE, canopy Carbon 744 —
2 250 — — 600 — — Baghouse Carbon, low alloy 6 —
3.5 250 — — 600 — — Baghouse Carbon, low alloy 6 —
Canopy,
3 250 — — 556 — — Carbon, iron, stainless 4 —
baghouse
Canopy,
3.1 250 — — 556 — — Carbon, iron, stainless 4 —
baghouse
120 600 80 20 435 35 8.0 Baghouse Carbon, HSLA 680 12
30 450 100 — — — — — Powder steel 160 10
155 — — — — — — — Stainless 800 —
— — — — — — — — Stainless 800 —
140 600 78 22 372 50 — Shaft Carbon 1,905 40
2 x 81 750 60 40 368 42 4.0 Baghouse Carbon, HSLA 2,450 39
45 450 100 0 427 41 7.0 Baghouse Carbon, low alloy, resulf. 499 21
180 800 65 35 386 41 4.8 DE, baghouse Carbon, structural, galvanized 2,956 47
45 450 100 0 405 — — Reverse air Carbon 454 3
2 x 75 750 65 35 360 40 5.0 Baghouse Carbon 2,268 27

2 x 75 750 60 40 442 32 2.9 Baghouse Carbon 1,452 —
88 750 95 5 (PI) 385 48 4.1 Baghouse Plate 1,542 48
I
Equipped with

Nucor Corp. (cont’d)

Nucor Steel–Indiana 2 1989 Brown-Boveri EBT 46 118 Spray Spray Yes 6.7
Crawfordsville, Ind.
Nucor Steel Jackson Inc.

1 2009 Tenova EBT 48 53 Panel Panel Yes 5.1
Jackson, Miss.
Nucor Steel Kankakee Inc.
1 1998 Danieli EBT 42 73 — Spray — 5.8
Bourbonnais, Ill.
Nucor Steel Kingman LLC
Kingman, Ariz. 1* 1996 Fuchs DC; shaft 55 91 Panel Panel Yes 7.3
Nucor Steel Longview LLC 1973,

Longview, Texas 1 (D) Lectromelt Spout 180 23 Panel Panel No 4
Rev. 2007
1973,
1 (E) Lectromelt Spout 180 23 Panel Panel No 4
Rev. 2008
Nucor Steel Marion Inc.
1 1998 EMCI Spout 45 48 Panel Spray Yes 4.7
Marion, Ohio
Nucor Steel Memphis Inc.
1 2008 Danieli EBT 44 94 Spray Spray Yes 6.7
Memphis, Tenn.
Nucor Steel–Nebraska EBT; DC;
Norfolk, Neb. 1 1997 MAN GHH 45 95 Panel Panel Yes 6.3
twin shell
Nucor Steel Seattle Inc.
1 1995 Fuchs EBT 53 100 Panel Panel Yes 6.6
Seattle, Wash.
Nucor Steel–South Carolina EBT; DC;
Darlington, S.C. 1 1993 MAN GHH 60 109 Spray Spray No 7.3
Consteel
Nucor Steel–Texas
1 2005 SMS Concast EBT 30 91 Spray Spray Yes 6.7
Jewett, Texas
Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa Inc. DC; twin
Tuscaloosa, Ala. 1 1996 MAN GHH 42 122 Panel Spray Yes 7.1
shell
Nucor Steel–Utah American Bridge,
Plymouth, Utah 2 1981 Spout 45 51 Spray Spray Yes 4.6
Rev. Fuchs
Nucor-Yamato Steel Co. Demag,
Blytheville, Ark. 1988,
1 Rev. Superior EBT 37 109 Spray Spray Yes 6.7
Rev. 2015
Machine
Optimus Steel LLC Krupp,
Beaumont, Texas 1 1976 Rev. Superior — 120 113 Panel Panel Yes 6.7
Machine
Outokumpu Stainless
1 2011 Siemens VAI Spout — — Panel Panel — —
Calvert, Ala.
I
Republic Steel Swindell-

Canton, Ohio 1 1995 Dressler/ — 110 200 Panel Panel Yes 7.9
Tenova/Danieli
1* 1952 American Bridge — 290 91 — — No 6.1
* = idled
I
175
Charge materials
Transformer
2 x 90 600 83 17 408 38 3.8 Baghouse Carbon, HSLA 2,304 46
48 450 100 0 476 35 6.6 Baghouse Carbon, alloy 454 17
73 550 100 0 454 29 0 Baghouse Carbon 794 8
DE, canopy,
80 700 100 0 330 79 15.9 LCSK 454 —
baghouse
Carbon, HSLA, specialty, alloy,

9.5 350 100 0 489 — — Baghouse —
tool
110
Carbon, HSLA, specialty, alloy,
6.3 350 100 0 489 — — Baghouse —
tool
45 450 100 0 530 32 0 Baghouse Carbon, low alloy 345 4
120 600 100 0 380 45 6.4 Baghouse Carbon, alloy, SBQ 891 40
Carbon, alloy, HSLA, resulf.,

90 700 98 2 442 32 6.4 DE, baghouse 1,134 38
SBQ, AK
92 550 100 0 413 35 9.5 Baghouse Carbon 855 5
2 x 33.7 700 100 0 352 38 — Baghouse Structural, SBQ 907 6
Reverse air
96 700 72 28 409 42 7.4 Plate, HSLA, PVQ 1,200 15
baghouse
110 600 90 10 396 45 6.3 Baghouse Carbon 2,632 17
66 600 — — 409 37 8.0 DE Carbon wire rod 630 20

— — — — — — — Baghouse Stainless 1,000 —

I
110 600 100 0 424 36 6.0 Baghouse Carbon, alloy, SBQ 820 —
20 500 100 0 615 — — Baghouse Carbon, alloy, stainless 272 —
I
Equipped with

Republic Steel (cont’d)

1* 2013 SMS Concast EBT — 136 Panel Panel — —
Lorain, Ohio
SSAB Americas
1 2001 Fuchs Twin shell 48 159 Panel Panel Yes 7.6
Axis, Ala.
Montpelier, Iowa DC; twin
1 1997 Demag 55 141 Panel Panel Yes 7.3
shell
Standard Steel LLC 1* 1962 Lectromelt Spout — 35 — — No 4.3
Burnham, Pa.
1* 1965 American Bridge Spout — 35 — — No 4.4
1 2003 Tenova Spout — 65 Panel Panel No 5.2

Steel Dynamics Inc.
Engineered Bar Products
Division 1 1998 Demag EBT 75 91 Panel Panel Yes 6.1
Pittsboro, Ind.
Flat Roll Group Fuchs,

Butler, Ind. EBT; twin
shell
Machine
Fuchs,
EBT; twin
shell
Machine
Flat Roll Group
Columbus, Miss. 2 2007 SMS Demag EBT; DC 44 158 Spray Spray Yes 7.6
Roanoke Bar Division EBT; EM

Roanoke, Va. 1 1996 Danieli 60 90 Panel Panel Yes 5.5
stirring
Steel of West Virginia Inc. 1979,
Huntington, W.Va. 2 Lectromelt Spout 150 59 Panel Refractory No 4.6
Rev. 1998
Steel Ventures Inc. 1981,
Wurtland, KY 2* Lectromelt Spout 60 47 Panel Panel Yes 4.6
Rev. 1996
Structural and Rail Division
Columbia City, Ind. 2 2002 Demag EBT 48 109 Spray Panel Yes 6.7
Sterling Steel Co. LLC

Sterling, Ill. 1* 1971 Lectromelt Spout 195 336 — — No 9.8
1 (#8) 2000 Fuchs — 100 331 — — Yes 9.8

TimkenSteel Corp.
Faircrest Plant 1 1985 Krupp — 70 171 Panel Panel Yes 7.3
Canton, Ohio
Harrison Plant 1 1971 Swindell-Dressler — 110 122 Panel Spray No 6.7

I
Canton, Ohio
1 1976 Swindell-Dressler — 110 122 Panel Spray No 6.7
* = idled
I
177
Charge materials
Transformer
— — 100 0 — — — — OCTG, SBQ 907 —
140 600 100 0 358 41 5.2 DE Carbon 1,270 —
140 750 92 8 (PI) 407 40 95 Baghouse Carbon 1,134 —
10 400 — — 556 — — Sidedraft Carbon, alloy 54 —
15 400 — — — — — Sidedraft Carbon, alloy, stainless 39 —
30 450 — — — — — Sidedraft Carbon, alloy 116 —
80 600 100 0 440 19 7.1 DE, baghouse SBQ, carbon, alloy 725 —
Carbon, HSLA, galvanized,

120 600 91 9 424 50 9.5 Baghouse 6
galvannealed
2,900
Carbon, HSLA, galvanized,
120 600 91 9 350 50 9.5 Baghouse 6
galvannealed
Carbon, alloy, galvanized,

160 750 80 20 392 27 8.1 Baghouse 3,100 —
galvannealed
56 550 100 0 360 40.6 10.6 Baghouse Carbon 590 10
25 450 95 5 465 26 11.5 DE Carbon, alloy 272 —
Reverse air
120 600 95 5 413 38 9.5 Structural, rail 2,000 —
baghouse
Wet
175 700 100 0 529 — — scrubber, Carbon 608 —
baghouse
188 700 100 0 430 41 7.2 Baghouse Carbon 1,090 —
120 650 100 0 385 36 3.1 DE Carbon, alloy 805 30

54 600 100 0 542 — — Sidedraft Carbon, alloy, stainless —

I
1,111
40 600 100 0 542 — — Sidedraft Carbon, alloy, stainless —
I
Equipped with

TMK IPSCO Krupp,
Koppel, Pa. 1 1984 EBT 72 77 Panel Panel Yes 5.8
Rev. Demag
Union Electric Steel Corp. 1966,

Carnegie, Pa. 1 Lectromelt Spout — 54 Refractory Refractory No 4.4
Rev. 1999
Universal Stainless & Alloy American Bridge,

Products Rev. APT
Bridgeville, Pa. 1 1961 Spout 150 45 Panel Panel No 4.6
Technologies,
SMS Siemag
Valbruna Slater Stainless Inc. 1 1942 Lectromelt Spout 165 15 — — No 3.4

Fort Wayne, Ind.
Vallourec Star LP Fuchs,

Youngstown, Ohio 1 1999 Rev. Superior EBT 52 92 Panel Panel Yes 6.1
Machine
Vinton Steel LLC 1 2003 Fuchs — 100 32 — — Yes 3.7
El Paso, Texas
1 1967 Lectromelt Spout 120 32 — — Yes 3.7
WHEMCO
Lehigh Specialty Melting 1 1971 Lectromelt Spout — 34 — — No 4
Latrobe, Pa.
Uruguay
Gerdau Laisa
Montevideo 1 2006 Tenova — 60 20 — — Y 3.5
* = idled
I
I
179
Charge materials
Transformer
67 600 100 0 486 29 8.0 DE, baghouse Carbon, alloy 450 —
13 400 100 0 589 — — Sidedraft Alloy, tool — 0
30 450 — — 544 — — Baghouse Stainless, tool 95 0
5 350 90 10 510 — — Baghouse Stainless, alloy, tool, Ni-based 18 —
18 350 90 10 600 — — Baghouse Stainless, alloy, tool, Ni-based 68 —
70 600 92 8 (PI) 434 27 5.6 Baghouse Carbon, alloy, OCTG 725 —
20 350 100 0 459 28 4.2 Baghouse Rebar, rounds, grinding balls —

272
20 350 100 0 492 28 4.2 Baghouse Rebar, rounds, grinding balls —
20 400 — — — — — Sidedraft Carbon, alloy 54 —
12 350 100 0 446 38 10.5 Baghouse Rebar 85 14
I
AIST’s nine Technology Change in Management for AIST’s Programs Department

Divisions are comprised of 30
volunteer-based Technology
Committees populated by After 50 years in the steel industry, Succeeding Pat as Manager —
AIST members with similar Pat Philbin hung up his hard hat Technology Programs is Anna Voss.
technical interests. These on 31 December 2019 and entered Anna joined AIST in March 2017.
committees sponsor forums retirement. Pat joined AIST in 2008 Prior to AIST, Anna was a melt/cast
to facilitate discussion relative
as a Staff Engineer and most recently metallurgist at Nucor Steel–Decatur
to the technical development,
production, processing and
served as Manager — Technology Pro- LLC, having been involved in the
application of iron and steel. grams. See page 138–147 for AIST’s operations of the electric arc furnace,
farewell to Pat. ladle metallurgy furnace, continuous
Committee enrollment is caster and the hot mill.
free and open to any
AIST member.
To join one or
Recent Technology Committee Meetings
more committees,
Cokemaking Technology Committee (CMTC)
visit AIST.org
or contact
Anna Voss, manager — Meeting Details: its AISTech 2021 Call for Papers
technology programs 24–25 October 2019, Hamilton, language, seeking to condense and
avoss@aist.org Ont., Canada restructure it.
For the CMTC’s 2020 Josef Kapitan
Meeting Highlights: Award, the committee agreed to form
Shiju Thomas, CMTC chair, gave a small subcommittee to select the
a few opening remarks and a market best paper.
update, discussing the state of metal- The CMTC then reviewed its Indus-
lurgical coal mining, as well as invest- try Roundups for the March 2020
ment projects. issue of Iron & Steel Technology.
Solomon Nyathi, papers chair, For the Coke Battery Roundup, Jodi
reviewed the CMTC’s technical ses- Kesik discussed the questionnaire
“AIST Technology Committees sion development
provide a huge benefit and if for AISTech 2020.
you are not part of one related He reported that so
to your field, you should be. far 13 abstracts had
The networking is fantastic and
been accepted and
allows you to share knowledge
and problem-solve with like- discussed the poten-
minded individuals. I have also tial session layout.
been fortunate enough to tour The possibility of a
many unique plants as a member joint session with the
of a committee to see how other
Ironmaking Technol-
people make steel or to see
something totally different that I ogy Committee was
would have never thought to see.” discussed. The group
spoke about the need
to encourage more
member participa-
tion and attracting
I
more presentations
to fill cokemaking
sessions.
The instructions
for papers chair and
Calum Learn session chair were
Universal Stainless & Alloy reviewed.
I
Products Jody Kesik (left) received a plaque of appreciation from

The CMTC decid- Shiju Thomas (right) for hosting the CMTC’s tour of
ed that it will review ArcelorMittal Dofasco G.P.
181
currently being used to solicit data, Presentations:

and introduced a new set of questions • “Pushing Amp Generation, Anal-
that are process-specific and cover ysis and Notification,” by Mike
quality data. Lovell, ArcelorMittal Dofasco
Richard Randolf gave a summa- G.P.
ry of the 2019 ISIJ North American • “Use of Standards for Coke
Cokemaking Study Tour, which took and Coal,” by Ted Todoschuk, Technology Divisions and
place 18–23 August 2019. ArcelorMittal Dofasco G.P. Technology Committees
The CMTC then discussed the 2020 Safety & Environment
Japan Cokemaking Study Tour, which The CMTC toured ArcelorMittal • Safety & Health
is scheduled for 23–29 September Dofasco G.P.’s coke plant. • Environmental
2020. The committee plans to visit Cokemaking & Ironmaking
JFE Steel’s East Works in Chiba and Next meeting • Cokemaking
• Ironmaking
its West Works Kurashiki in Mizushi- 6 February 2020, Coraopolis, Pa., • Direct Reduced Iron
ma; Mitsubishi Kasei in Sakaide; and USA, during the Eastern States Blast
Steelmaking
Nippon Steel’s facilities in Aichi and Furnace and Coke Oven Association • Electric Steelmaking
Ibaraki. Conference • Oxygen Steelmaking
• Specialty Alloy & Foundry
Refining & Casting

Continuous Casting Technology Committee (CCTC) • Ladle & Secondary Refining
• Continuous Casting
Meeting Details: The 2020 Continuous Casting Rolling & Processing
23 October 2019, Memphis, Tenn., South Korea Study Tour will take • Hot Sheet Rolling
• Cold Sheet Rolling
USA place 22–27 March. • Galvanizing
• Tinplate Mill Products
Meeting Highlights: Presentations: • Plate Rolling
• Long Products
The CCTC began its meeting by • “O xygen Lance Sharing With • Pipe & Tube
reviewing the 2019 Steel Industry Safety,” by Scott Martin, Nucor • Rolls
Fatalities report, followed by a round- Steel–Arkansas. Metallurgy
table discussion. • “C aster Job Risk Assessment at • Metallurgy — Steelmaking &
Ken Morales, papers chair, led Nucor Steel Gallatin,” by Andrea Casting
• Metallurgy — Processing,
the discussion on the committee’s Aller, Nucor Steel Gallatin. Products & Applications
AISTech 2020 session development. • “X-Pact Width Control,” by Nick
The CCTC has scheduled seven ses- Romeo, SMS group. Energy, Control & Digitalization
• Energy & Utilities
sions. Volunteers for session chairs • “Nucor Tuscaloosa Manipulator,” • Electrical Applications
were solicited. The committee then by Dan Green, Nucor Steel Tus- • Digitalization Applications
reviewed the instructions for papers caloosa Inc. Plant Services & Reliability
chair and session chair. • “A rcelorMittal Burns Harbor • Project & Construction
The winner of the 2020 Continu- Caster Safety Overview,” by Management
• Maintenance & Reliability
ous Casting Best Paper Award was Rudolf Moravec, ArcelorMittal • Lubrication & Hydraulics
selected. This award will be presented R&D. • Refractory Systems
during AISTech 2020 in Cleveland, Material Movement &
Ohio, USA. Attendees had a choice to tour Transportation
The CCTC then reviewed the Con- either Nucor Steel–Arkansas or Nucor • Material Handling
• Cranes
tinuous Caster Roundup, which was Steel Memphis Inc. after the meeting.
• Transportation & Logistics
published in the July 2019 issue of Iron Upon conclusion of the tour, a panel
& Steel Technology. discussion and reception were held.
I
The next Continuous Casting — A

Practical Training Seminar will be Next Meeting:
held in October 2020 near Galla- Joint meeting with the Pipe & Tube
tin, Ky., USA, with tours of Nucor Technology Committee, 11–12 Feb-
Steel Gallatin and North American ruary 2020, Mobile, Ala., USA, with
Stainless. tours of SSAB Alabama and Berg Pipe
I
Mobile
Direct Reduced Iron Technology Committee (DRITC)
Meeting Details:
23 October 2019, Leoben,
Austria
Meeting Highlights:
The DRITC held its first
meeting with the Internation-
al Iron Metallics Association
(IIMA). The group decided
that the AIST European Steel 1
Forum would be a good place
to engage both the AIST and
IIMA audience on the topic of
DRI and related technologies.
Representatives from AIST
and IIMA each provided an
overview of their organization.
Presentation Topics:
• R aw materials discussion,
including an update on
supply of DR-grade iron 2
ore and pellets, by Chris
Barrington, IIMA.
• Value-in-use impact of 1. The DRITC and the IIMA met during the European Steel Forum. 2. Attendees from the
DRITC/IIMA meeting enjoyed dinner during the European Steel Forum. Back row (left to
using BF-grade pellets
right): Markus Abel, Magnus Tottie, Mania Kazemi, Becky Hites, Anna Voss, Zane Voss
for DRI production, by and Jose Noldin; Front row (left to right): Chris Ravenscroft, Vincent Chevrier and Jeremy
Jeremy Jones, CIX Inc. Jones.
• A n overview of maritime
regulation as it affects
iron and steelmaking raw materials, by Chris Ashton Hertrich gave an overview of Energiron, fol-
Barrington. lowed by an update on Midrex by Vincent Chevrier.
• IIMA’s HBI-C-Flex project: Dealing with the regu- The group discussed AIST’s Scrap Supplements and
latory impact of low-density hot briquetted iron Alternative Ironmaking 8 seminar, which will take place
(HBI), by Christian Boehm, Primetals Technolo- in March 2020. Discussion then focused on a DRI-HBI
gies Austria GmbH. Practical Training Seminar for 2021.
• O verview of the International Council on Mining Future collaboration between the DRITC and IIMA
and Metals and its material stewardship facility, by was also discussed.
John Atherton, IIMA.
• Chemical regulation and issues affecting iron and Next Meetings:
iron oxide, including REACH (Registration, Evalu- DRITC — 2 March 2020, Orlando, Fla., USA, before
ation and Authorization of Chemicals), by Chris the Scrap Supplements and Alternative Ironmaking 8
Barrington. IIMA — April 2020, Warsaw, Poland
• HBI and DRI in both integrated and EAF steelmak- DRITC/IIMA joint meeting — 22 September 2020,
ing, focusing on their value in use, by Jeremy Jones. Cleveland, Ohio, USA
• Innovation in DRI/HBI technology and operations.
I
Electrical Applications Technology Committee (EATC)
Meeting Details: Meeting Highlights:

15–16 October 2019, Tuscaloosa, Ala., USA Poojit Lingam reviewed the EATC’s abstracts for
AISTech 2020. The session structure was established,
I
with the possibility of a joint session with the Digitaliza-

tion Applications Technology Committee.
183
Ramesh Khajjayam presented Randy Skagen, vice president and general manager of Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa Inc. and AIST past
president, with a plaque of appreciation for hosting the EATC’s tour (left to right): Poojit Lingam, EATC vice chair Tim Burttram,
Chris Brubeck, Skagen, Khajjayam, Justin Knight, Greg Gutmann and Tyamo Okosun.
The roles of papers chair and session chair were The EATC reviewed the 2019 AIST Steel Industry
reviewed, along with key dates for submitting papers for Fatalities report and trends.
the AISTech 2020 Conference Proceedings.
The committee was tasked with reviewing and possibly Presentations:
modifying the EATC’s Call for Papers text for AISTech Nucor Technical Academy,” by Justin Knight,
• “
2021 to include digital applications. Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa Inc.
Ramesh Khajjayam gave an update on the ongoing • “Young Professionals Development — A Case Study,”
cooperative effort between the Institute of Electrical and by Tim Burttram, Big River Steel.
Electronics Engineers, METC and the EATC. The goal is • “
Innovation and Education: The Benefits of Col-
to have a standard in the next 12 months. laboration Between Academia and Industry,” by
Poojit Lingam then led the discussion concerning Tyamo Okosun, Purdue University Northwest.
planning for the 2020 Farrington Award. The best paper
from the EATC sessions at AISTech 2019 was chosen as Next Meeting:
the 2020 Farrington Award winner. The award will be Joint meeting with the Digitalization Applications
presented during AISTech 2020 in Cleveland. Technology Committee, 20 February 2020, Dallas, Texas,
USA
Energy & Utilities Technology Committee (EUTC)

Meeting Details: Volunteers were taken for session chairs for AISTech
7 October 2019, Oak Ridge, Tenn., USA 2020.
A suggestion was made to present the Energy Achieve-
I
Meeting Highlights: ment Award at a Member Chapter meeting. With this,

Attendees were in Oak Ridge for the Energy and Utili- more of the recipients’ teammates can be part of the
ties — Industry Insights and Fundamentals Workshop. event, whereas it is currently presented at AISTech.
A recap of the course appears on pages 52–53 of this The EUTC is hoping to hold the next Thermal confer-
issue. ence in November 2020.
The EUTC discussed having a membership chair posi-
I
tion, which may be useful to increase membership and Next Meeting:

attendance. TBD
Environmental Technology Committee (ETC)
Meeting Details: giant presses turning raw coils of steel into the vehicle’s
15–16 October 2019, Indianapolis, Ind., USA metal structure. The panels were then welded together
by more than 1,670 robots in the body assembly area. Fol-
Meeting Highlights: lowing the paint shop, participants were able to see asso-
The first day of the meeting consisted of a number of ciates bring the vehicles to life as they assembled more
presentations followed by an open discussion. than 5,000 parts into and onto each vehicle. Finally, tour
attendees were able to see the tester line, which proves
Presentations: Subaru’s commitment to quality and safety.
• “
Recent Sustainability Developments in the Iron The facility is able to achieve its zero-waste goal
and Steel Industry,” by Janice Bolen and Alisha through various methods such as recycling, composting,
Giglio, Hatch. and requesting suppliers to ship parts in reusable con-
• “Emissions Monitoring Systems for the Steel Indus- tainers, to name a few.
try,” by Donny Klotz, M&C Tech Group North The ETC’s business meeting was held following the
America Inc. tour.
• “Energy Savings in EAF Environmental Systems by The committee’s next Technology Training Confer-
means of Pressure Drop Reduction of the Whole ence will focus on air and will be held in fall 2020. It was
APC and of the Water-Cooled Ducts,” by Marco suggested to invite the speakers from the ESS M&R 4
Peter Cudicio, Danieli. conference. NEFCO, a fertilizer plant in Detroit, Mich.,
• “Strategic Planning Considerations for Energy Effi- USA, was suggested as a potential plant tour. Speakers
ciency Upgrades of Fan Systems: Do You Go With could be invited from Ford or General Motors, to discuss
Retrofit or New?” by Vern Martin, FLOWCARE how they measure and regulate air emissions.
Engineering Inc. The ETC reviewed its AISTech 2020 technical session
development, which includes 19 papers. Papers chair
The attendees had a fruitful discussion after the Janice Bolen gave an overview of the papers and possible
presentations. sessions.
The second day started with a visit to the Subaru
Zero Waste Plant. The tour highlighted the stamping Next Meeting:
processes, where the attendees were able to observe 25–26 February 2020, Woburn, Mass., USA
I
I
Kyle Edwards (right) presented a plaque of appreciation to Char Rogers (left) for hosting the ETC’s tour of the Subaru Zero
Waste Plant.
185
Ladle & Secondary Refining Technology Committee (LSRTC)
Meeting Details: The 2020 Continuous Casting South Korea Study Tour
17 October 2019, San Antonio, Texas, USA was discussed. This International Study Tour will take
place 22–27 March.
Meeting Highlights:
The LSRTC reviewed its AISTech 2020 session devel- Presentations:
opment, for which there are 14 abstracts that will be • “Refractory Shapes and Recycling,” by Dave Ehrhart,
organized into four sessions. Two will be joint sessions RHI Magnesita.
with the Metallurgy — Steelmaking & Casting Technol- • “Refractory Laser Measurement and Refractory
ogy Committee and one will be a joint session with the Lift Assistance Technologies,” by Corey Forster,
Digitalization Applications Technology Committee. HarbisonWalker International.
The committee reviewed the instructions for papers
chair and session chair. Next Meeting:
The LSRTC reviewed the status of the 2019 Second- Week of 17 February 2020, Charleston, S.C., USA, with
ary Steelmaking Refractories — A Practical Training a tour of Showa Denko Carbon Inc.
Seminar.
Maintenance & Reliability Technology Committee (MRTC) and Lubrication & Hydraulics Technology
Committee (LHTC) Joint Meeting
Meeting Details: A request will be sent to CMC Steel Texas to serve as

4–6 November 2019, Mobile, Ala., USA plant host.
Mrinal Mahapatro provided an update from the previ-
Meeting Highlights: ous day’s Lubrication Engineers Manual working session.
A working session for the latest revision of the Lubrica-
tion Engineers Manual was held on Monday,
4 November. Key members updated the
group on revisions. Eleven chapters have
been completed, with seven requiring addi-
tional work. The revisions are expected to be
complete by February 2020.
The MRTC and LHTC held a joint busi-
ness meeting on Tuesday, 5 November.
The group reviewed AIST’s 2019 Steel
Industry Fatalities report, which led into a
lively safety discussion.
Bijay Prakash, MRTC papers chair, and
John Accurso, LHTC papers chair, discussed
AISTech 2020 technical session development
for the two committees.
Ken Flowers then discussed plans for the
MRTC’s 2020 awards, including the Carol
Yates Award and the Reliability Achievement
Award (RAA).
Jeff Kusnier led a discussion on the 2020

Maintenance Conference. It was decided
to hold the conference on 15–17 Septem-
I
ber 2020 in San Antonio, Texas, USA. An

agenda was started and populated with a
preliminary list of guest speakers to be invit-
ed to the conference. There will be more
emphasis on hydraulics for the LHTC side.
MRTC will focus on RAA participants, tal-
I
Mrinal Mahapatro (left), LHTC chair, and Ken Flowers (right), MRTC chair,
ent issues, digital transformation, condition displayed a plaque of appreciation for the MRTC and LHTC’s tour of
monitoring and maintenance best practices. AM/NS Calvert LLC.
Tom Wojtkowski gave an update on the Digital Trans- The group toured AM/NS Calvert LLC on 6 Novem-
formation Steering Committee’s progress and direction ber. The committees wish to thank AM/NS Calvert for a
to date. very informative tour of their hot mill.
Presentations: Next Meeting:

• “New Developments in Hydraulic Systems,” by Brad February 2020 at the 2020 RAA Gold winner’s site
Jensen, Alloy Technology Solutions.
• “Powerful New Augmented Reality (AR) Tools for
Maintenance, Training, Inspection, etc.,” by Eric
Almquist, Star Tool and Die Works.
Material Handling Technology Committee (MHTC)
Meeting Details:
16–17 October 2019, Panama City, Panama
Meeting Highlights:
The MHTC reviewed the 2019 Steel Industry
Fatalities report, followed by a safety roundtable
discussion.
The group then discussed its AISTech 2020 ses-
sion development. It has a joint session with the
Transportation & Logistics Technology Commit-
tee (TLTC), and will look at a joint session with
both the Safety & Health Technology Committee
(SHTC) and the TLTC. The three committees
held a joint session at AISTech 2019, which was
very successful. The roles of papers chair and
During his presentation, Ken Timmings of KTSDI spoke about the
session chair were reviewed. importance of STEM education.
The MHTC plans to host a training seminar
with the TLTC and SHTC, possibly in fall 2021.
Presentations: • Jason Thompson of Taylor Machine Works Inc. dis-

• K en Timmings of KTSDI and Tim Klugesherz of cussed an online guide for tire and rim safety.
Mobil Elektronik GmbH (M.E.) discussed port and • Bruce Zimmerman of Nucor Steel–Indiana provid-
steel applications for KTSDI utilizing M.E. compo- ed a presentation on material handling, rail, truck-
nents. A particular emphasis was placed on STEM ing and general safety at the Crawfordsville site.
education events/programs reaching elementary
school students. The following day, the group had the opportunity to
• W ill Jones of Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa Inc. discussed tour the Panama Canal. A full recap of the experience
forklift and material handling training at Nucor appears on pages 148–155 of this issue.
that involves using a Go-Pro camera. Nucor contin-
ues to enhance safety and training with new tech- Next Meeting:
nology and video training. 4–5 February 2020, Mobile, Ala., USA, with a tour of
the Port of Mobile Authority
Metallurgy — Processing, Products & Applications Technology Committee (MPPATC)

I
Meeting Details: addition to one jointly with the Metallurgy — Steelmak-

1 October 2019, Portland, Ore., USA, during MS&T19 ing & Casting Technology Committee.
The committee discussed AIST’s upcoming training
Meeting Highlights: seminars. The MPPATC is organizing the International
The MPPATC reviewed its AISTech technical ses- Conference on Advances in Metallurgy of Long and
I
sion development. At the time of the meeting, a total Forged Products, to be held 12–16 July 2020 in Vail,
of 27 papers had been submitted for the committee in Colo., USA.
187
1 2
3 4
Justin Raines and Konstantin Redkin presented the MPPATC’s Technology Committee Awards during MS&T19 in Portland, Ore.,
USA. 1. Jerry Silver Award (left to right): Raines, April Pitts-Baggett and Redkin. 2. Gilbert Speich Award (left to right): Redkin,
Dengqi Bai and Raines. 3. Richard Fruehan Award (left to right): Raines, Ronald O’Malley and Redkin. 4. Wolfgang Bleck deliv-
ered the Adolf Martens Memorial Lecture.
The Austenite Formation and Decomposition Confer- The AIST representative for MS&T20 is Chirag
ence (AF&D) will be held in Sweden in 2021. AIST’s Mahimkar from Big River Steel, with Daniel Baker from
representatives to the scientific committee are Matthias General Motors serving in this role for MS&T21. Baker
Militzer and Kester Clarke. Due to the timing of the solicited ideas for symposia for MS&T21.
ESTAD conference, which will be held 14–18 June 2021, The 2019 MPPATC award winners were announced by
I
it was suggested to postpone AF&D to July or August. Justin Raines:

Ron O’Malley, AIST’s president, discussed the paper
indexing at AIST. Digital object identifier (DOI) index- • Adolf Martens Memorial Steel Lecture: “The Fas-
ing was implemented for the AISTech 2019 Conference cinating Variety of New Manganese Alloyed Steels,”
Proceedings. The DOI number enables academia to by Wolfgang Bleck, IEHK Steel Institute of RWTH
receive credit for published student papers. O’Malley Aachen University.
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also discussed the strategy for peer review at AIST. • Gilbert Speich Award: “Effect of M/A Constitu-
ent on the Mechanical Properties of Low-Carbon
Microalloyed Steels,” by Dengqi Bai, Eric Lynch, • R ichard Fruehan Award: “Effect of Phase Solidifica-
Chase Rawlinson, Rick Bodnar and Steven tion Sequence in Stainless Steel on Grain Refining
Thompson. Efficiency,” by Dustin Arvola, Ronald O’Malley,
•
Jerry Silver Award: “Inclusion Evolution Com- Simon Lekakh and Laura Bartlett.
parison of Aluminum-Killed Silicon-Bearing and
Silicon-Restricted Grades,” by April Pitts-Baggett Next Meeting:
and Laurentiu Nastac. Joint meeting with Plate Rolling Technology Commit-
tee, 3–4 March 2020, location TBD
Metallurgy — Steelmaking & Casting Technology Committee (MSCTC) and Computer Applications
Technology Committee (CATC) Joint Meeting
Meeting Details: developed and has six members. The goal is to coordi-
9–11 October 2019, Livermore, Calif., USA nate with AIST staff to grow YP attendance and involve-
ment. Currently the YP Steering Committee is working
CATC Highlights: on a strategy for video testimonials on YouTube, the
The CATC reviewed its AISTech technical session YP spotlight in Iron & Steel Technology, university Road
development. At the time of the meeting, a total of 72 Shows, etc.
papers had been submitted for the committee. This
is more papers than can fit into the five sessions at MSCTC Highlights:
AISTech, so the committee discussed possible joint ses- Thinium Natarajan reviewed the MSCTC’s AISTech
sions. A small group of committee members will follow 2020 technical session development. He went over the
up on the session development. Seven members volun- session structure and reviewed the roles of papers chair
teered to be session chairs in addition to the Digital and session chair. Volunteers for session chairs were
Transformation Core Team members. taken.
The Digital Transformation Forum for the Steel Possible joint sessions were discussed, with the goal of
Industry will be held 16–18 March 2020 at the Omni attracting more attendees, specifically with the Metal-
William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh, Pa., USA. At the lurgy — Processing, Products & Applications Technol-
time of the meeting, there were more than 40 abstracts ogy Committee and the Continuous Casting Technology
submitted. The Digital Transformation Core Team is Committee. Discussion then focused on the Kent D. Pea-
evaluating the papers and is working on finalizing the slee Memorial Session. As in previous years, this session
technical program. will focus on steel cleanliness and inclusion evolution
The CATC’s Young Professionals (YP) chair, David with presentations and a panel discussion.
Kober, touched on some of the highlights of AIST’s
YP programming. A YP Steering Committee has been
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Pallava Kaushik (left) and Yufeng Wang (right) presented a plaque of appreciation to Wayne Miller (center) for hosting the
MSCTC’s and CATC’s tour of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
189
The MSCTC and the CATC met at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and watched presentations focused on high-
energy x-ray diffraction, data visualization, integrated computational materials engineering, high-performance computing, and
artificial intelligence and machine learning.
There was discussion of the AIST Road Show, and a 3. Advanced Manufacturing (AM) Lab: Collaborative
suggestion was made to consider it for universities that lab space with industry for additive and advanced
have a metallurgy program. manufacturing.
The group briefly discussed AIST’s Young Profes- 4. H igh-Performance Computing Facility: Video
sional Program and reviewed the list of upcoming AIST and discussion of leadership high-performance
Technology Training courses. computing at LLNL, including Sierra, the second-
A request was made to add safety to the meeting agen- fastest machine in the world.
da, to be discussed at the beginning of the meeting. The
MSCTC then reviewed the AIST Steel Industry Fatalities The second day, the CATC and MSCTC members had
statistics and had a good discussion on the ongoing work a joint meeting with presentations.
from each plant/area/lab.
The group discussed AIST Transactions. The MSCTC MSCTC Presentations:
supports the expansion of peer-reviewed publication • “Classification of Non-Metallic Inclusions by Com-
opportunities. Several strategies were discussed for puter Vision and Machine Learning Methods,” by
increasing submissions to AIST Transactions. Bryan Webler, Carnegie Mellon University.
The committee discussed planning for its Technology • “Micro-CT and Inclusion Analysis Research at Mis-
Committee Awards. souri S&T,” by Ron O’Malley and Simon Lekakh,
Missouri University of Science and Technology.
The next day, both committees met at Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) for presenta- CATC Presentations:
tions and tours. The presentations focused on topics • “
Accelerating New Product Grade Development
such as high-energy x-ray diffraction, data visualization, Using Machine Learning,” by Bryan Williams of
integrated computational materials engineering, high- Gerdau and Alp Kucukelbir of Fero Labs.
performance computing, and artificial intelligence and • “Data Visualization and Data Technology, Big
machine learning. Data and High-Performance Computational Soft-
The attendees were then divided into four groups and ware (Industry 4.0),” by Jacqueline Peintinger of
went on two of the following four tours: QuinLogic.
• “Data Visualization and Data Technology Manage-
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1.
A dvanced Metallurgical Diagnostics: Plasma ment,” by Shao Mei Tan of OSIsoft LLC.
focused ion beam, environmental scanning elec-
tron microscope, small angle x-ray scattering and Next Meetings:
FEI Titan transmission electron microscope. CATC: 20–21 February 2020, Dallas, Texas, USA, with
2. Non-Destructive Characterization Institute: X-ray a tour of IBM
tomography and discussion of the LLNL Non- MSCTC: 18–19 February 2020, Austin, Texas, USA,
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Destructive Characterization Institute. with a tour of EOS

Refractory Systems Technology Committee (RSTC)
Meeting Details: Jimmy Barrett gave an update on the Secondary

5–6 November 2019 in Niagara Falls, N.Y., USA Steelmaking Refractories seminar, which was held 14–17
October 2019.
Meeting Highlights:
Rakesh Dhaka, RSTC chair, gave an overview of some Presentations:
industry data and news. The change in global crude • “Regional Influences in Aluminosilicate Refractory
steel production from 2018 to 2019 is 4.9% higher. This Raw Material Selection,” by Scot Graddick, Imerys
increase is mostly contributed by China and India. Per- Refractories, Abrasives and Construction.
haps the most unexpected news was United States Steel • “Composite Bricks: A ‘Cool-Shell Technology’ for
Corporation’s 49.9% ownership stake in Big River Steel. the Cement Industry,” by Kyle Kingsbury, Duferco
Membership and attendance were reviewed. Overall, Steel Inc.
the RSTC membership has increased over the years and • “Burner Technologies for Heating Steelmaking
the attendance has been stable. Ladles,” by Russ Chapman, Firebridge Inc.
The committee reviewed its AISTech 2020 technical • “I ntroduction to Washington Mills,” by Matt
session development. At the time of the meeting, 11 Creedon, Washington Mills.
papers had been submitted for the RSTC. Papers chair
Matt Chabes gave an overview of the papers and read The next day, the RSTC visited the Washington Mills
aloud the abstracts. Currently two sessions are planned. plant. Tours of this facility highlight mullite production,
He then asked for volunteers for session chairs and where the attendees were able to observe the EAF pro-
received seven volunteers. cess, screening and rotary kiln, and finished products.
The winner of the Refractory Systems Best Paper
Award was announced. A team of eight RSTC members Next Meeting:
evaluated the papers for the award. The award will be 11–12 February 2020, Mesa, Ariz., USA, with a tour of
presented during AISTech 2020. CMC Steel Arizona
A Japan Refractory Systems Study Tour was discussed,
to be held possibly in fall 2020. The committee is hop-
ing to visit Krosaki Japan, Shinagawa Refractories, TYK
Japan, NDK, JFE Steel Corp. and Nippon Steel.
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Rakesh Dhaka (right) presented a plaque of appreciation to Dan Argona (middle) and Matt Creedon (left) of Washington Mills for
hosting the RSTC’s tour.
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191
Transportation & Logistics Technology Committee (TLTC)
Meeting Details:
15–16 October 2019, Andrews, S.C., USA
Meeting Highlights:
The TLTC reviewed the current status of its AISTech
2020 session development. As of the time of the meet-
ing, the committee had selected 11 abstracts. The TLTC
plans to condense them to one session of six papers.
There was some discussion on having another joint
session with the Safety & Health Technology Committee
(SHTC). Volunteers for session chairs were taken, and
the roles of papers chair and session chair were reviewed.
Larry Guinn, education chair, discussed the plans for
a joint conference with the MHTC and SHTC, which is
proposed for fall 2021. The group discussed the confer-
ence and the importance of planning in advance.
Each attendee gave a presentation on the current hap-
penings at their plants. Many of the presentations con-
centrated on safety protocols, as well as new technologies
that are being used at the plants.
Next Meeting:
Annual meeting with the Association of American
Railroads, 18–19 March 2020, Indianapolis, Ind., USAF
Kevin Ray, TLTC chair, presented a tour plaque to Kenny

Rogers of SafeRack for hosting the committee’s tour in
October (from left, going up the stairs): Ray, Rogers, Allan
Welch, Joseph Cutchin, Bob Celenze, Dan Reinholtz, Joey
Frederick and Larry Guinn.
Did You Know?
Steel Piles From SSAB Help Port of Gdańsk to Jump Up on the Podium
A new combi wall at the Port of Gdańsk, Poland, begun in February 2019, will result in a new wharf by 2020 that will be 1,220 m
(4,000 feet) long. The most important part of the wharf, the steel piles, came from SSAB.
“[The steel piles] are crucial for the future stability of the quay. The high quality of the components translates directly to a safer
work environment. An important feature is that they are delivered with interlocks,” says Tomasz Rybarczyk, group sites manager
with Keller Polska Sp. z o.o., the subcontractor responsible for soil improvement and building the combi wall.
“We decided on a rather unusual solution — steel piles from SSAB and sheet piles from another supplier,” says Bartosz Michalski,
a construction manager with Budimex, the general contractor. “All the 437 piles were shipped from SSAB’s Oulainen Works in
Finland directly to the wharf in six tranches, which made it easier for us to precisely follow the schedule.”
When Keller completes its part of the project, Budimex will continue with steel and concrete work, followed by the installation
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of cranes and other harbor equipment.

At the same time, the canal will be dredged and deepened from current 3 to 5 m (10 to 16 feet) to 11.5 m (38 feet), which will
enable cargo ships as long as 250 m (820 feet) to enter the harbor.
The new quay will be operational in 2020 and will enable further development of the Port of Gdańsk.
“We are currently number four on the Baltic Sea, with 49.1 million metric tons of cargo in 2018, an advance from number six
only two years ago,” says Agata Kupracz, a press spokesperson for the Port of Gdańsk. “And with this new wharf and the next
ones we hope to grow in rank and jump up on the podium.”
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2020 AIST North and South American DRI Roundup

AIST Roundup data is based on information submitted in the third quarter of 2019.
Typical
product Typical
Start-up Rated capacity Product CO2 metallization, product Product
Company and location year Module MTPA Technology type removal % carbon, % use
Argentina
Acindar Industria Argentina de
Aceros 1978 1 0.60 Midrex CDRI No 95.0 2.5 Captive
Villa Constitucion, Santa Fe
Tenaris Siderca
Siderca Seamless Tubes Mill 1976 1 0.61 Midrex CDRI No 95.0 2.4 Captive
Campana, Buenos Aires
Brazil
Gerdau
Usiba 1991 1* 0.30 HYL III CDRI Yes 91.3 2.8 Captive
Salvador, Bahia
Canada
ArcelorMittal Montreal 1973 I 0.40 Midrex CDRI No 95.0 2.5 Captive
Contrecoeur, Que.
1977 II 0.60 Midrex CDRI No 95.0 2.5 Captive
Mexico
ArcelorMittal Lázaro Cárdenas 1997 I 1.20 Midrex CDRI No 95.0 2.5 Captive
Lázaro Cárdenas, Mich.
1988 II A 0.50 HYL III CDRI Yes 95.0 2.6 Captive
1988 II B 0.50 HYL III CDRI Yes 95.0 2.6 Captive
1991 III A 0.50 HYL III CDRI Yes 95.0 2.6 Captive
1991 III B 0.50 HYL III CDRI Yes 95.0 2.6 Captive
Ternium Mexico S.A. de C.V.
1995 2P5 0.93 HYL III CDRI Yes 94.2 3.0 Captive
Puebla, Pue.
Monterrey, N.L. 1983 3M5 0.78 NYL-ZR CDRI Yes 94.5 3.8 Captive
1998 4M 0.95 HYL-ZR HDRI Yes 94.8 3.8 Captive
Trinidad and Tobago

ArcelorMittal Point Lisas 1980 I* 0.42 Midrex CDRI No — — Captive
Point Lisas
(idle) 1982 II* 0.42 Midrex CDRI No — — Captive
1999 III* 1.36 Midrex CDRI No — — Merchant

Nu-Iron Unlimited
2006 1 1.60 Midrex CDRI No 96.5 2.6 Merchant

Point Lisas
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*idle
CDRI = cold direct reduced iron; HBI = hot briquetted iron; HDRI = hot direct reduced iron
Interested in becoming a member of the AIST DRI Technology Committee? Contact Anna Voss at avoss@aist.org.
I
193
Sponsored by
AIST Roundup data is intended for reference information only. No warranty is implied.
Typical
product Typical
Start-up Rated capacity Product CO2 metallization, product Product
Company and location year Module MTPA Technology type removal % carbon, % use
United States
Nucor Steel Louisiana LLC HYL/
Convent, La. 2013 1 2.50 ENERGIRON- CDRI Yes 96.0 3.8 Merchant
ZR
voestalpine Texas LLC
2016 1 2.00 Midrex HBI No — — Merchant
Portland, Texas
Venezuela
Bricar-Briquetas del Caroni
1990 1* 0.83 Midrex HBI No — — Merchant
Puerto Ordaz, Bolivar
Briquetas del Orinoco 2000 1* 0.55 Finmet HBI Yes — — Merchant
2000 2* 0.55 Finmet HBI Yes — — Merchant

Briquetera de Venezuela 2000 1* 0.75 HYL III HBI Yes — — Merchant
(BriqVen)
Puerto Ordaz, Bolivar 2000 2* 0.75 HYL III HBI Yes — — Merchant
Complejo Siderurgico de
Guayana (Comsigua) 1998 1* 1.30 Midrex HBI No — — Merchant
CVG Ferrominera Orinoco (FMO)
1990 1* 1.00 Midrex HBI No — — Merchant
Siderúrgica del Orinoco (Sidor) 1977 I* 0.35 Midrex CDRI No — — Captive
1979 II A* 0.40 Midrex CDRI No — — Captive
1979 II B* 0.40 Midrex CDRI No — — Captive
1979 II C* 0.40 Midrex CDRI No — — Captive
— — — HYL CDRI — — — —
— — — HYL CDRI — — — —
— — — HYL CDRI — — — —
— — — HYL CDRI — — — —
*idle
CDRI = cold direct reduced iron; HBI = hot briquetted iron; HDRI = hot direct reduced iron
Interested in becoming a member of the AIST DRI Technology Committee? Contact Anna Voss at avoss@aist.org.
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THANK YOU
for your support, time and energy to help grow the
WORLD’S LARGEST STEEL NETWORK!
PROFESSIONAL
AIST MEMBERS
AIST has officially surpassed our largest number of professional members
IN THE ORGANIZATION’S HISTORY.
The record was previously set by our predecessor,

the Association for Iron & Steel Engineers (AISE),
NEARLY 40 YEARS AGO.
NOT A MEMBER YET?

See what you are missing at AIST.org.
FEBRUARY 2020 DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION FORUM FOR THE
STEEL INDUSTRY
MODERN ELECTRIC FURNACE STEELMAKING 16–18 March
A PRACTICAL TRAINING SEMINAR Omni William Penn Hotel, Pittsburgh, Pa., USA
3–7 February
The Nines, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Portland, Portland, Ore., USA
JUNE 2020
LONG PRODUCTS ROLLING
A PRACTICAL TRAINING SEMINAR 27TH AIST CRANE SYMPOSIUM
11–13 February 7–9 June
Omni Jacksonville Hotel, Jacksonville, Fla., USA Omni William Penn Hotel, Pittsburgh, Pa., USA
MARCH 2020 JULY 2020

COLD ROLLING FUNDAMENTALS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ADVANCES IN
A PRACTICAL TRAINING SEMINAR METALLURGY OF LONG AND FORGED PRODUCTS
1–5 March
12–15 July
Francis Marion Hotel, Charleston, S.C., USA Vail Marriott Mountain Resort, Vail, Colo., USA
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SCRAP SUPPLEMENTS AND ALTERNATIVE IRONMAKING 8

2–4 March
Wyndham Lake Buena Vista, Orlando, Fla., USA
THE MAKING, SHAPING AND TREATING OF STEEL: 101

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10–11 March
Hilton Richmond Downtown, Richmond, Va., USA
196
PLANT TOUR: CASCADE STEEL ROLLING MILLS INC.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM REGISTRATION INCLUDES

This course covers safety, the basics of electrical and mechanical Welcome reception Monday, breakfast Tuesday–Friday, lunch
features of electric arc furnaces, refractories, and the role of raw Tuesday–Thursday, reception Wednesday, plant tour with bus
materials. The program will explore the fundamentals of electric transportation, and a course workbook or flash drive including
furnace steelmaking technology, the use of energy inputs, the presentations.
steelmaking process, electrodes and environmental concerns for
electric steelmaking. Attendees will also have the opportunity to
learn how their operation compares to industry benchmarks, and to
hear about the latest developing technologies. The midpoint of the HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS
conference includes a plant tour followed by an expert roundtable A block of rooms has been reserved at The Nines, A Luxury
and reception with an open forum to discuss questions and Collection Hotel, Portland. Please call the hotel at +1.888.627.7208
challenges. by 13 January 2020 to secure the AIST discount rate of US$199 per
night for single/double occupancy.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Electric steelmaking attendees who wish to gain a fundamental ORGANIZED BY
understanding of the electrical, thermomechanical and technical AIST’s Electric Steelmaking Technology Committee.
aspects of modern electric furnace steelmaking. EAF furnace
operators, maintenance personnel, upstream/downstream
personnel, metallurgists and suppliers would benefit from this
comprehensive seminar. Electric steelmaking attendees include
meltshop employees, foundry workers, process engineers, new
employees and suppliers.
AIST MEMBERS AIST NON-MEMBERS

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US$1,295 US$1,540
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Visit AIST.org/byoyp for more information

Technology Training 197
MODERN ELECTRIC FURNACE STEELMAKING

A Practical Training Seminar
MONDAY, 3 FEBRUARY WEDNESDAY, 5 FEBRUARY THURSDAY, 6 FEBRUARY

- Welcome Reception (5 p.m.) Morning Sessions (8 a.m.) Morning Sessions (8 a.m.)
- Part I: EAF Designs and Operations - Importance of Scrap Residual

TUESDAY, 4 FEBRUARY Jeremy Jones, CIX Inc. Controls
Part I of this presentation covers the Dennis Rodal, ELG Haniel Metals Corp.
Morning Sessions (8 a.m.) historical developments in EAF design in the Scrap is the key raw material in EAF
last 25 years. steelmaking, and controlling residuals is
- Safety Presentation — The Day We essential to making quality steel.
Will Remember - Part II: EAF Technologies —
Ricky Rollins, Ricky Rollins Safety The Path to EAF Optimization - L adle Metallurgy Furnace — LMF
Speeches LLC Jeremy Jones, CIX Inc. Helmut Oltmann, Nucor Steel–Berkeley
Ricky Rollins will tell the story of how he Part II deals with methods aimed at EAF
almost lost his life on a steel mill start-up optimization. - E AF Maintenance Requirements
25 years ago and how that accident would Stephan Ferenczy, TCI Consultants
have affected his family. He will also tell - EAF Operations Typical electrical, mechanical and water-
four more stories from the perspective of Mark Trapp, CIX Inc. cooled equipment maintenance requirements
friend, father, husband, brother, co-worker, will be discussed. Root-cause failure analysis
supervisor and department manager of Afternoon Sessions (12:30 p.m.) techniques and practical solutions will be
things that have affected his circle. presented.
- Plant Tour of Cascade Steel Rolling
- Chemistry of EAF Steelmaking Mills Inc. Afternoon Sessions (1 p.m.)
Larry Heaslip, Interflow Techserv Inc.
The fundamentals of EAF steelmaking - Reception and Roundtable - E AF Industry Perspective —
chemistry are presented in a way that will Discussion Past and Future
be informative to attendees having little Moderator: Raymond Monroe, Steel Founders’ Society of
background knowledge as well to those who Sam Matson, Commercial Metals Company America
are completely new to the topic. Panelists:
Eugene Pretorius, Nucor Corp. - Environmental Operations for the
Afternoon Sessions (1 p.m.) Jeremy Jones, CIX Inc. EAF
Harriet Dutka, SANGRAF International Sam Matson, Commercial Metals Company
- Chemical and Electrical Energy Stephan Ferenczy, TCI Consultants This presentation will review the main
Inputs and EAF Performance gaseous emissions, which part of the
Sam Matson, Commercial Metals Company Adjourn (5:30 p.m.) steelmaking process is likely to generate, and
The presentation will cover the timing and potential ideas for how to reduce them. Also
relationship between the electrical energy included will be an overview of air pollution
input and chemical energy input. Tracking control equipment operation.
energy inputs and losses will be discussed,

as well as their relationships to the timing - Ore-Based Metallics in the EAF
and magnitudes of the energy inputs. Zane Voss, CIX Inc.
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The use of ore-based metallics brings many

Adjourn (4:45 p.m.) advantages to the EAF operator. However,
these materials need to be well understood
in order to use them properly and obtain the
most benefit.
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Adjourn (4:45 p.m.)

198
MODERN ELECTRIC FURNACE STEELMAKING

A Practical Training Seminar (cont’d)
- Gas/Carbon Injection Systems - Graphite Electrode Manufacture

FRIDAY, 7 FEBRUARY Mike Grant, Air Liquide Global Management and Use
Services GmbH Theo Kurela, Graftech International Ltd.
Morning Sessions (8 a.m.) This lecture will contain a practical (with This presentation will review the graphite
some theory) description and strategy of electrode manufacturing process, proper
- The Basics of Arc Furnace the use of oxygen and gaseous fuels in the field assembly/usage as well as suggested
Regulation System electric arc furnace. The importance and corrective actions when optimum
Reinzi Santiago, Tenova Core strategy of use of carbon injection will also performance is not being achieved.
be presented. A strong emphasis on the safe
use of oxygen will be made. Conference Adjourn (Noon)
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200
PLANT TOUR: CMC STEEL FLORIDA

This seminar will give an introduction to the process, equipment and Breakfast and lunch Tuesday–Thursday; reception Tuesday; plant
ancillaries utilized to produce long products; the primary focus is tour with bus transportation; and a course workbook or flash drive
on the process and equipment customarily found within the rolling including presentations.
mill building, i.e., reheat furnace, rolling mill and finishing end. The
seminar will contain both theoretical presentations and real-world
case studies from long products producers in North America.
The presenters represent a cross-section of industry experts in
HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS
A block of rooms has been reserved at the Omni Jacksonville
equipment, process, operations and maintenance. The seminar aims
Hotel. Please call the hotel at +1.800.843.6664 by 20 January 2020
to expand an attendee’s knowledge of the complete process and
to secure the AIST discount rate of US$149 per night for single
how safety, quality, yield and facility utilization can be affected at
occupancy.
each step.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND ORGANIZED BY

Personnel involved in the production or promotion of long products, AIST’s Long Products Technology Committee.
i.e., mill managers, rollers, roll shop, floor operators, maintenance,
sales, downstream processors and other support personnel who
wish to gain a better understanding of the long products production
process and final end products.

US$945 US$1,190
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TUESDAY, 11 FEBRUARY - Question-and-Answer Session - Question-and-Answer Session
Morning Sessions (8 a.m.) - Reception Adjourn (5 p.m.)
- Introduction Adjourn (6 p.m.)

Kevin Barbee, Danieli Corp. THURSDAY, 13 FEBRUARY
- Welcome and Overview of CMC WEDNESDAY, 12 FEBRUARY Morning Sessions (8 a.m.)
Steel Florida
Ty Hall, CMC Steel Florida Morning Sessions (8 a.m.) - Torque and the Rolling Stand
Kevin Barbee, Danieli Corp.
- Changing the Mindset for a Safer - Plant Tour of CMC Steel Florida This segment provides a comprehensive
Environment description of the mechanical components
Joe Jacobin and Derek Voight, Nucor Afternoon Sessions (1 p.m.) of a rolling mill stand, how they function
Steel–Berkeley and how they handle the stress of rolling.
The journey to changing the safety mindset - Reheat Furnace Basics An in-depth investigation of both the
in the steel industry involves a few basic Keenan Cokain, Bloom Engineering Co. Inc. driveline and the mill stand will include how
steps. Included will be discussion and Learn about the many different types the components work together, common
examples on how to create movement of reheat furnaces and why they are failure modes, preventive and predictive
toward changing the safety mindset. used. In addition, heating strategies will maintenance strategies, early indicators
be discussed to maximize efficiency, of functional failures, and product quality
- Rod/Bar Products and Applications production and product quality while problems that can stem from driveline wear.
Bob Cryderman, Colorado School of Mines minimizing yield loss.
This presentation provides a summary of - Work Rolls
bar and rod applications in finished parts, - Descaling and Spray Issues in Hot Bill Posey, SinterMet LLC
as well as how the parts are used in service. Rolling The presentation will focus on rolls
Key processes utilized to convert hot-rolled Lesli Peterson, Spraying Systems Co. in contact during the hot rolling of
product into finished parts are described, Topics include nozzle theory, nozzle long products. Various materials and
including straightening, inspection, selection, and placement and nozzle applications will be discussed.
cold finishing, forging, in-process heat maintenance as it relates to descale
treatment, machining and final heat practices in hot rolling. - Motors, Drive and Speed Control
treatments. Fermin de la Maza, Russula Corp.
- Technology of Merchant Bar Mills
- Rolling Mill Metallurgy Mario Fabro, SMS group Inc. Afternoon Sessions (1 p.m.)
Jonathan Straetker, Nucor Steel–Nebraska Steel shapes such as angles, channels and
Discussion will focus on topics relating to flats, commonly known as merchant bars, - Cutting Technologies
steel and hot working processes. are used in a variety of industries, such as George Burnet, Braun Machine
light commercial construction, industrial Technologies LLC; Peter Haas, Haas Saw &
Afternoon Sessions (1 p.m.) fabrication and various manufacturing Supply; and Mario Fabro, SMS group Inc.
processes. The forming of these shapes This training module will cover three
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- Pass Design and Rolling Theory in a rolling mill presents some challenges types of cutting: abrasive cutting, saw
Joseph Kennedy, Quad Engineering Inc. not present when rolling simple rounds, cutting and shear cutting. It will analyze
Pass design terminology, basic rolling such as complex pass sequence, guiding, various saw cutting methods used by
principles and examples of their application cooling, straightening and packaging. This long products rolling mills. Included in
and how an operator can use rolling theory presentation will cover most of them and the discussion will be a detailed review
to improve decisions made in the mill. the effective solutions in modern merchant of safety issues, cost calculations,
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bar rolling. comparison of saw cutting machines and

202

saw blade designs, maintenance and use - Predictive Maintenance Tools and - Question-and-Answer Session
of saw blades, troubleshooting guidelines, Strategies for Long Products
and cutting parameters. Information will Dan Phillips, Regal Beloit America Inc. Conference Adjourn (5 p.m.)
also be provided on saw blade tracking, Proactive maintenance programs have
performance analysis, wear life comparison, been shown to be 77% less than the
creating benchmarks for improvement, and cost of a reactive program. Beginning
planned saw blade changes to prevent mill with a foundation in reliability-centered
downtime due to cutting issues. maintenance, the methods for achieving
these financial results will be presented
- Surface Defect Detection with a focus on monitoring critical asset
Marco Appio, Danieli Centro Maskin SpA health. Advanced technologies well suited
for low and varying speeds, intermittent
loading, process variability, etc., are
often necessary as opposed to traditional
techniques to ensure that the equipment
function is maintained. Proper selection and
implementation of those technologies with
real-world examples will be included.
Brimacombe Continuous Casting Course,

Billets, Blooms and Slabs
www.brimacombecourse.org
This course is designed for people who

are concerned with controlling and
April 20–24, 2020
improving the quality and production rate Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
of continuously cast steel shapes. This
Sponsored by
group includes operating personnel, The Brimacombe Continuous Casting Society
quality control and research personnel,
management personnel and individuals Topics to be covered include chemical interactions,
in support industries associated with steel cleanness, transfer operations, fluid flow,
continuous casting. tundish metallurgy, mould design/behaviour, spray
systems, heat extraction, solidification, segregation,
Course Directors: crack formation and new technology such as strip/
I.V. Samarasekera, Bennett Jones LLP thin slab casting. The course offers a practical
E.S. Szekeres, Casting Consultants, Inc. understanding of the continuous casting process
and quality, based on fundamental principles, and

Instructors: addresses problems commonly experienced in
I.V. Samarasekera, Bennett Jones LLP
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production. Personnel newly-assigned to strand

E.S. Szekeres, Casting Consultants, Inc. casting find this Course very beneficial.
R.J. O’Malley, Missouri Univ. of Science Tech.
B.G. Thomas, Colorado School of Mines Course Coordinator: Mary Jansepar
e-mail: info@brimacombecourse.org
Early registration encouraged. Limited enrollment of 150.
For further information, please phone (604) 822-2676 or fax (604) 822-3619
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or email: info@brimacombecourse.org
Transforming Ideas into
Reality for Over 50 years
SUPERIOR
MACHINE
Superior Machine Company of SC, Inc. www.smco.net (843)468-9200

204
PLANT TOUR: NUCOR STEEL–BERKELEY

This seminar provides a comprehensive overview of cold rolling. Breakfast and lunch Monday–Thursday, reception Sunday and
The course covers fundamentals, equipment, rolling theory, Tuesday, plant tour with bus transportation, and a course workbook
control, threading, rolls, lubrication, measurement, safety and or flash drive including presentations.
new technology. Attendees will leave this course with a better
understanding of the basic metallurgy involved, the different
types of products and product attributes, the types of mills used
and equipment involved with the mills, the theory of rolling,
A block of rooms has been reserved at the Francis Marion Hotel.
latest technologies involved in cold rolling, safety aspects, rolling
Please call the hotel at +1.843.722.0600 or +1.877.756.2121 by
solutions, production measures, and much more. Panel discussions
7 February 2020 to secure the AIST discount rate of US$199 per
will provide an opportunity to discuss issues and engage in problem
night for single/double occupancy.
solving.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND ORGANIZED BY

Anyone who would like to expand his/her knowledge and AIST’s Cold Sheet Rolling Technology Committee.
understanding of cold mills and cold rolling should attend. This
includes electrical, mechanical, lubrication and metallurgical
engineers; maintenance personnel; operators; and those
responsible for quality assurance. Equipment manufacturers and
service suppliers will also benefit from this course.

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US$1,195 US$1,295 US$1,440 US$1,540

by 20 January 2020 after 20 January 2020 by 20 January 2020 after 20 January 2020
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COLD ROLLING FUNDAMENTALS

SUNDAY, 1 MARCH Afternoon Sessions (1 p.m.) scrap diameter. Emphasis will be made
on understanding the basics of the mill
- Registration - Entry Mill Equipment loading during cold rolling, using finite
Frank Beddings, Primetals Technologies element analysis of the 4-high roll stack.
- Welcome Reception (6 p.m.) USA LLC The cold work roll’s material requirements
Introduction to cold rolling entry end will be discussed based on modern damage
equipment and its function. tolerance criteria. Microstructure evolution
MONDAY, 2 MARCH in the roll ingots and depth of hardening
- Mill Exit Equipment will be covered by explaining manufacturing
Morning Sessions (8 a.m.) Brian Smith, ANDRITZ Herr-Voss thermomechanical routes.
Stamco Inc.
- Introductions and Opening Remarks This presentation focuses on creating - Roll Shop Practices: What Do Roll
a finished coil in perfect quality for the Shops Do for Your Mill?
- Overview subsequent processes. Included in the Mike Jones, Nucor Steel–Berkeley
John Speer, Colorado School of Mines discussion are exit mill table design,
General overview of products, metallurgy measurement and control instruments, - Cold Mill Defects and Quality
and processing from steelmaking to creating a proper tension, high-speed Liz Hunter, Nucor Steel–Berkeley
finishing, including product properties, end coiling under attention of strip quality, coil Overview of incoming and outgoing
users and applications. handling and strip quality devices, and defects for cold rolling. This will include
economic fume exhaust systems. descriptions of defects and root causes and
- Cold Rolling Fundamentals suggest corrective actions for said defects.
John Speer, Colorado School of Mines - Reversing Mill Modernization
Deformation and metallurgical properties, Charles Belekis, Nucor Steel–Berkeley - Safety 2020
iron-carbon phase diagram, grain size, This paper documents Nucor Steel– Scott Hatchell, Nucor Steel–Berkeley
stress-strain relationship, work hardening, Berkeley’s reversing mill modernization This presentation discusses teammate
effects of annealing, effect of percent project. It will highlight the electrical, engagement, risk evaluation and taking care
reduction on R and N values, and effect of mechanical and automation improvements of the industrial athlete.
composition on properties. of the mill.
Afternoon Sessions (1 p.m.)
- Rolling Mill Designs - Hot Band Characteristics That
Mark Zipf, SMS group Inc. Influence Cold Rolling - Plant Tour of Nucor
This presentation provides an introduction John Manko, Outokumpu Stainless USA LLC Steel–Berkeley
into contemporary rolling mill designs, with
a special emphasis on how evolving material - Roundtable Discussion - Return From Plant Tour
and process requirements directed their
specific developments. Working outward Adjourn (5 p.m.) - Reception
from the roll bite, key parameters and
“rules of thumb” are identified, in both the Adjourn (6:30 p.m.)

longitudinal and transverse directions, to TUESDAY, 3 MARCH
illustrate how the force-loaded conditions/
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reactions dictate certain mill selection and Morning Sessions (8 a.m.)

sizing philosophies. This leads to a review
of the various vertically oriented roll stack - Rolls Manufacturing and Materials
and structurally supported roll cluster Requirements
arrangements, along with their associated Konstantin Redkin, WHEMCO
roll gap and shape actuation strategies. This portion of the course will focus on
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understanding the rolls’ service life cycle

- Line Arrangements from manufacturing steps to the final
206
COLD ROLLING FUNDAMENTALS

when/where to use them, including their - Considerations for Cold Rolling of

WEDNESDAY, 4 MARCH adaptations for variations in the rolling AHSS
conditions. A study of critical couplings/ Leland Robinson, Primetals Technologies
Morning Sessions (8 a.m.) interactions between AGC activities, USA LLC
strip tensions, roll bite friction/rolling Presentation on the requirements and
- Cold Rolling Lubrication speed and shape control activities is considerations for cold rolling of advanced
Fundamentals followed by an expansion to tandem mill high-strength steels.
William Hartley and Brad Wellensiek, Quaker configurations and constrained actuation/
Houghton sensing arrangements. An examination - The Importance of Mill Alignment
This presentation will focus on cold rolling of AGC performance characterization and
lubricant fundamentals. It will include specification will wrap up the session. Afternoon Sessions (1 p.m.)
information on key components of rolling
oils and how lubrication is important in the - Automatic Flatness Control (AFC) - Rolling Mill Chatter Basics
cold rolling process. Shape/Flatness Bob Miller, IVC Technologies
Mark Zipf, SMS group Inc. This presentation provides an overview
- Cold Rolling Theory This presentation gives an introduction of chatter that occurs in rolling mills in
Mark Zipf, SMS group Inc. into the overall shape/flatness control its various forms, including first octave,
This presentation is an examination of problem, including specific definitions of third octave, fifth octave, as well as grinder
what’s going on in the roll bite and how profile, shape and flatness. An overview of chatter. Areas covered will be how and
the cold reduction/rolling process works. the distortion phenomena and its sources/ where chatter can show up, some of the
Analytic details of the force-loaded formation is given, including an analysis associated effects on equipment and
interaction and deformation behavior of of the force-loaded transverse roll stack product, as well as measures that can be
the work rolls and material are discussed, deflection characteristics, thermal reactions taken to minimize or mitigate the issue.
along the longitudinal plane, including and available corrective shape actuators.
methods of modeling and characterizing This is followed with a study of the shape - Work Roll Chroming and EDT: What
the rolling process conditions and actuator influence functions. Included Is It and Why Does It Work?
dynamics. The discussion provides is an examination of how to measure Craig Noble, Chrome Deposit Corp.
insight into the practical use of and how shape/flatness and the strategies used in A brief introduction of chrome plating and
to apply this theoretical understanding, contemporary systems. The discussion electro discharge texturing of work rolls.
including: process design and off-line will also focus on the primary components, How does it work and why is it needed?
simulation, what-if scenarios, performance architecture, and theory of operation of
and production prediction, multi-stage automatic shape/flatness measurement - Motors and Drives Upgrades
reduction/annealing planning, pass and control systems. At the close will Thomas Richards, TMEIC
scheduling and setup modeling, mill/ be an examination of shape/flatness Overview of motors and drives as applied to
equipment sizing and selection, operational control performance characterization and cold rolling.
assistance, and guidance in problem specification.
resolution. - Air Blow-Off Systems
Adjourn (5 p.m.) Kelly Sparks, SILVENT North America Inc.
Afternoon Sessions (1 p.m.)
- Hydraulic Systems Troubleshooting
THURSDAY, 5 MARCH
- Automatic Gauge Control (AGC)

Mark Zipf, SMS group Inc. - Roundtable Discussion
Morning Sessions (8 a.m.)
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This presentation is an investigation of

the thickness control problem, including Conference Adjourn (5 p.m.)
available sensors, actuators, control - Rolling Solution System and
dynamics, perturbation sensitivities Maintenance
and algorithms. Details of the basic William Hartley and Brad Wellensiek, Quaker
automatic gauge control (AGC) modes (in Houghton
an ideal, fully instrumented, single-stand An examination of the roll coolant system
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configuration) are discussed, as well as and its various components.

their performance characteristics and
208

This is the eighth in a series of symposia covering scrap substitutes Welcome reception on Monday evening, breakfast and lunch
and alternative ironmaking, which originated with a highly Tuesday and Wednesday, a reception on Tuesday evening, and a
successful meeting in Myrtle Beach, S.C., USA, in 1993. This seminar workbook or flash drive.
meeting was initiated by the Advanced Technology Committee,
which belonged to the Process Technology Division of the Iron &
Steel Society (an AIST predecessor). This symposium, which is
international in scope and participation, is associated with a high
A block of rooms has been reserved at the Wyndham Lake
level of activity in research, process and project development,
Buena Vista Disney Springs Resort Area. Please call the hotel at
plant construction, and start-up of direct reduction and alternative
+1.800.624.4109 by 8 February 2020 to secure the AIST discount
ironmaking processes. This symposium will focus on the following
rate of US$159 per night for single/double occupancy plus US$10
areas: successful projects/processes, the challenges of struggling
resort fee.
processes and those still under development including new
approaches, and use of products.
ORGANIZED BY
WHO SHOULD ATTEND AIST’s Direct Reduced Iron Technology Committee.
Those engaged in the production, sale, and use of direct reduced
iron, pig iron and scrap; managers and engineers from electric
furnace and blast furnace–based steel companies; suppliers of iron
ore, coal and natural gas; and steel company, engineering company,
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Jan van der Stel, Tata Research IJmuiden; Joe Poveromo, RMI
academic and research institute personnel engaged in ironmaking Global Consulting; Angelo Manenti, Metal Consulting LLC; Romain
process development. Frieden, Vulcanus Consulting; Thomas Battle, consultant; José
Noldin, Lhoist/ABM; Frank Griscom, International Iron Metallics
Association; Koji Saito, Nippon Steel Corp.; and Chris Ravenscroft,
Berry Metal Co.
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US$845 US$945 US$1,090 US$1,190
I
Event Sponsors
SCRAP SUPPLEMENTS AND ALTERNATIVE IRONMAKING 8
MONDAY, 2 MARCH the developed regions of the world. The on-line scrap analysis are described and
steel scrap and OBM markets have become the costs compared to the value of the
- Registration intertwined and careful analysis is required upgraded products.
to develop an effective metallics strategy
- Reception (5 p.m.) for the steel plant. Many parameters are - Future Developments of the HIsmelt
dynamic, and it becomes very important to Technology
be able to conduct metallics market analysis Neil Goodman, Smelt Tech Consulting
TUESDAY, 3 MARCH in a timely manner so that the purchaser can With the successful operation of the first
derive the best value and take advantage commercial-scale HIsmelt plant in China
Morning Sessions (8 a.m.) of discontinuities in the market. The most and more than 1,000,000 metric tons of hot
effective method for evaluation of metallics metal produced to date, Molong and other
- Overview of Direct Reduction and is value-in-use (VIU), which determines companies are planning to use the HIsmelt
Alternative Ironmaking Processes the specific value that different metallics technology to monetize previously unusable
and Products bring to a specific steelmaking operation. resources such as steel plant wastes,
Joseph Poveromo, Raw Materials & This paper will identify some of the factors contaminated ores, tailings and vanadium
Ironmaking Global Consulting that are currently impacting the market for titanium magnetites.
This symposium covers the development steelmaking metallics.
and application of alternative (to the blast - Energiron — Autoreducing
furnace) ironmaking processes where the - Not Only the Iron Content: Briquettes
objectives include: How Scrap Cleaning and Ore
• Hot metal processes to feed oxygen Beneficiation Affect the Value of - One Billion Tons of MIDREX® DRI
converters or electric arc furnaces. Scrap and DRI and Counting
• Direct reduction processes to feed Rutger Gyllenram, Kobolde & Partners AB Vincent Chevrier, Midrex Technologies Inc.
EAFs or to produce DRI/HBI to feed blast Today’s focus on greenhouse gas abatement Two significant achievements took place in
furnaces, oxygen converters, etc. and efficient resource use has further 2018: the accumulated total production of
• Direct reduction or hot metal processes increased the interest in the production direct reduced iron (DRI) by the MIDREX®
to process waste oxides from either EAF of high-quality steel with minimum use of process surpassed 1 billion tons, and
mini-mills or fully integrated plants. additives and energy. In this endeavor, the the annual production of DRI exceeded
Accordingly, this introductory lecture knowledge of raw material properties is of 100 million tons. Alternative iron units
will present an overview of these direct vital importance. Pricing of raw materials is like DRI and hot briquetted iron (HBI)
reduction and alternative ironmaking often based on iron content and assumed are manufactured products with well-
processes and the products they produce. yield. However, a more thorough analysis defined, consistent chemical and physical
would consider various factors such as characteristics. They are commonly
- Developing Metallics Strategies for energy use, slag former use, refractory used in an EAF to produce high-quality
the Future wear, tramp element control and capital steel products that could not be made
Jeremy Jones, Continuous Improvement costs. In a situation of a CO2 tax, this consistently with scrap alone. Blast
Experts (CIX Inc.) should be included in the evaluation. furnaces can benefit from HBI to increase
In the past 20 years, steelmaking metallics Important factors are also the properties productivity and lower coke consumption,
have become global in nature. More and quantities of dust and slag. Estimating thus lowering CO2 emissions. As the world’s
recently, the trade of merchant HBI and even the value in use of a material indicating need for metallics increases, DRI/HBI are
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DRI has also become global. However, the the value of a material requires advanced well poised to reach new milestones.
scrap landscape has been changing over the models and calculation skills but helps
past 20 years as well. Gradually, residual the steelmaker to decide what materials to - Finesmelt — New DRI Technology
quantities in steel scrap have been rising. choose, how to improve the supply chain Highlights
Reuse of this scrap requires greater use and make decisions about internal scrap Dmitry Solomin, Severstal IIBG
of ore-based materials (OBMs) to dilute cleaning and refining, as well as on-line Finesmelt can be classified as a direct
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and offset the rising residual levels. This scrap analysis. In this paper, the processes reduction process that converts iron ore
has led to increased demand for OBMs in to upgrade raw materials with integrated fines and non-coking coal to metallic iron
210
SCRAP SUPPLEMENTS AND ALTERNATIVE IRONMAKING 8 (cont’d)
in the solid state, producing a DRI product at about 900°C and was completed after - Flash Ironmaking Technology —
without the need for agglomeration. 1 hour of exposure at 1,150°C. The carbon Scalable Direct Reduction of Iron-
gasification reaction was activated when Oxide Using Hydrogen for North
Afternoon Sessions (1 p.m.) the Fe3O 4 in TTM, wüstite and Fe coexist at America
the fractional reduction of 0.21, indicating Chris Ravenscroft, Berry Metal Co.
- Computational Fluid Dynamics that the Fe-catalyzed nature of Fe was Flash Ironmaking is new direct reduction
Modeling of Direct Reduced Iron confirmed for the carbon gasification. The process that uses hydrogen to reduce
Reforming Process activation energy for the reduction in TTM iron oxide concentrates (or fines) into a
to wüstite was evaluated to be 196.8 kJ/mol, highly metalized DRI product. The process
- NRRI’s Fixed Bed Dynamic DRI and the reduction stage is believed to be consists of indirect induction heating of
Process Simulator limited by carbon gasification. The present iron ore in a falling particle curtain, where
Brett Spigarelli, Natural Resources Research investigation confirmed that the changeover the ore is heated to 1,325°C and reduced
Institute in reaction mechanism might be carried out to metallic iron in 2–10 seconds. The
Shifts to higher-efficiency electric arc from carbon gasification to the reduction process has been designed to promote
furnaces have increased demand for a new in wüstite to Fe by CO with increasing the increased energy productivity and reduce
generation of taconite pellets suitable for fractional reduction. environmental emissions such as CO2
making direct reduced iron, but much of emissions. As a scalable DRI process
Minnesota’s taconite industry still produces - Reception that does not require pelletizing, there
pellets for older blast furnaces. Because are clear commercial advantages for EAF
bench-scale R&D efforts into upgrading Adjourn (6 p.m.) steelmakers, especially in North America.
Minnesota’s taconite producers have limited
applicability at the commercial scale, NRRI - Stiff Extrusion — A Complement to
has launched a project aimed at developing WEDNESDAY, 4 MARCH Sinter
a new metallurgical test method called the Mac Steele, J.C. Steele & Sons Inc.
Fixed-Bed Dynamic DRI Process Simulator Morning Sessions (8 a.m.) The sintering of high-value residuals
that will help bridge this gap and enable the has taken place for many years. This
transition to modern pellet production. - Commercialization of the E-Iron™ presentation looks at stuff extrusion as
Nugget Process a complementary process to the sinter
- Carbon in Direct Reduced Iron: John Simmons, Carbontec Energy Corp. strands by analyzing material streams and
Melting Behavior and Strength A new process has been developed to determining which process is best.
convert unpelletized iron ore concentrates
- Enhancing the Use of DRI in Electric or iron-bearing steel mill waste into pig - A Case Study for Waste Stream
Steelmaking iron–grade iron nuggets using clean, Management and Landfill
low-cost, renewable biomass as the Reclamation
- Simulation and Visualization reductant in the place of coal or coke. A
for Electric Arc Furnace and successful pilot plant program produced - From Waste Steel to Material: Agile
Alternatives high-quality iron nuggets utilizing three Production Enabled by Additive
different iron ore concentrates and three Manufacturing
- Investigation on Carbothermic types of biomass. Subsequent tests using Jianyu Liang, Worcester Polytechnic
Reduction of Titanomagnetite Iron steel mill waste as the feedstock also Institute
Ores in Terms of Thermogravimetry produced high-quality iron nuggets. This This presentation will discuss a study
and Quadruple Mass Spectometry paper will present the results of a project conducted by the U.S. Army Research
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Sung-Mo Jung, Pohang University of that verified the technology, with an 85% Laboratory and Natick Soldier Research
Science and Technology reduction in carbon dioxide when compared from April 2014 to May 2015. The
The carbothermic reduction of to the blast furnace; and will detail a new breakdown of metal waste recipe that
titanomagnetite (TTM) was investigated 300,000-metric-tons-per-year production simulates wastes generated from the force
from a kinetic viewpoint in the temperature line to be built in Burns Harbor, Ind., which provider expeditionary 150- and 600-PAX
range of 1,000–1,150°C employing will convert iron-bearing steel mill waste camps is 60% ferrous, 36% aluminum
thermogravimetric analysis and quadruple into pig iron–grade iron nuggets. and 4% other metals. The project aims to
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mass spectrometry. The experiment showed develop an agile manufacturing process that
that the reduction of titanomagnetite started allows for reuse of ferrous scrap to produce
parts or repairs to ensure the warfighter’s long-term operation, pure oxygen is a - Hydrogen Plasma Smelting
in-field readiness. This effort will reduce the necessity, not a luxury or cost escalator, in Reduction of Iron Ore — Are We
military’s logistical tail by investigating the order to address environmental challenges on the Verge of Future Green Steel
feasibility of a field-capable and on-demand in coal-based steel mills. Production?
manufacturing process, thereby potentially Michael Zarl, University of Leoben
enabling the reuse of waste iron. - COURSE50: Innovative Ironmaking The steel industry contributes around 6% of
Process Project Using Hydrogen the worldwide anthropogenic emissions of
Afternoon Sessions (1 p.m.) Yutaka Ujisawa, Nippon Steel Corp. CO2. Therefore, it is clear that new methods
Since 2008, four Japanese blast furnace of steel production need to be investigated.
- HIsarna — A-Low Carbon steelmakers and one engineering company One promising technology is hydrogen
Steelmaking Technology have been working on an innovative plasma smelting reduction (HPSR), which
Development at Tata Steel: Various ironmaking process project named not only produces steel without the usage
Roads to CO2 Reduction COURSE50. The main research activities of fossil fuels but also is a one-step process
Jan van derStel, Tata Steel Europe of the project consist of two parts: the from iron ore toward steel. In this study,
The HIsarna process produces hot metal development of hydrogen utilization the current state of development of the
directly from fine iron ore and coal in a technology for iron ore reduction using HPSR process will be shown. Also the
single furnace and eliminates the need for coke oven gas that contains a large amount basic concept and the thermodynamics
coking and ore agglomeration. In addition of hydrogen; and the development of CO2 and kinetics will be briefly explained.
to the operational aspects, research with capture technology from blast furnace gas Furthermore, some detailed information
the objective to achieve a substantial CO2 by unused wasted heat within steel works. about the field of upscaling research in
emission reduction continued. The coal By using these technologies, the project connection to the arc geometry of the
used in the HIsarna process was partially aims to cut CO2 emissions from steel works plasma will be presented.
replaced with renewable charcoal and by 30%.
the iron ore was partly replaced with - VSB Charcoal-Based Blast Furnace
recycled steel scrap. Both steps resulted - The Future of Primary Operations Operation With High Productivity
in substantial CO2 emission reductions. in Steelmaking in the Light of CO2 and Low Reducing Agent Ration
It is the intention to install such a plant Emission Reduction
at the HIsarna pilot plant in IJmuiden. - Electrolytic Production of
The engineering study is in progress and - New Developments and Emissions-Free Iron
preparations are made in the plant’s offgas Technological Trends for Gas-Based Guillaume Lambotte, Boston Metal
system. DRI Technology: Hydrogen Use and Molten oxide electrolysis (MOE) has a long
Pig Iron Production Using DRI history of laboratory-scale development for
- Re-Evaluation of Oxygenated Angelo Manenti, Metal Consulting LLC the primary production of iron and steel.
Coal–Based Ironmaking Process New developments and technological Recent innovations have brought MOE to an
Considering Environmental trends for gas-based DRI technology industrial scale. Boston Metal is currently
Challenges in the Steel Industry are flourishing in Europe and North operating a 10,000 amp MOE system at
SangHo Yi, POSCO America. This presentation will review its production facility outside of Boston
This study reviews the utilization of pure European projects currently utilizing a and will be commissioning a 25,000 amp
oxygen in the ironmaking process as a way hydrogen-based gas reactor to replace system in early 2020. The MOE process
to not only improve the process efficiency the blast furnace/cokemaking route, is being used today for the production of
but also to lead innovative reductions of which dramatically reduces/eliminates ferroalloys, in particular ferrovanadium and
harmful emissions. The FINEX® ironmaking CO2 emissions for a more sustainable and ferroniobium, and Boston Metal plans to
process, which has been operated on a environmentally friendly steel production commission a pilot plant for iron production
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commercial scale for more than 10 years, process. Turning to trends in North America, in the mid-2020s. This presentation will
has proved that using pure oxygen instead discussion will focus on process routes review the technical development of MOE,
of air gives significant benefits in this and current plans to use the gas-based DRI discuss the techno-economics of iron
perspective. Introducing less nitrogen module to produce pig iron. production with MOE, and present Boston
in the offgas lowers NOx emission and Metal’s commercialization timeline for the
enables FINEX tail gas after CO2 removal MOE technology.
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to be injected to coke oven battery as CCU

(carbon capture and utilization). Throughout Conference Adjourn (5:30 p.m.)
212
PLANT TOUR: GERDAU LONG STEEL NORTH AMERICA PETERSBURG MILL

The modern production of steel has evolved over many centuries, Tuesday and Wednesday breakfast and lunch; Tuesday reception;
with many technological improvements during the last 25 years. plant tour with bus transportation; choice of The Making, Shaping,
The making, shaping and treating of steel are critical to product and Treating of Steel ® CD-ROMs, which include one of the following
design, application, cost and performance. It is essential that volumes from the 11th edition: Ironmaking, Steelmaking/Refining,
employees involved in producing iron and steel, operating rolling Casting, Flat Products and Long Products; and a course workbook
mills, supplying equipment and materials to the steel industry, or flash drive including presentations.
designing products, engineering, sales, and construction have
an understanding of what steel is, how it is produced, and the
effects of making, shaping and treatment on the final performance
of steel products. This course provides essential knowledge to HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS
those who do not have a technical background in metallurgical A block of rooms has been reserved at the Hilton Richmond
engineering, rolling or quality-added downstream processing but Downtown. Please call the hotel at +1.804.344.4300 by 16 February
have a need to understand more about the technical aspects of steel 2020 to secure the AIST discount rate of US$147 per night for
manufacturing, properties and applications. single/double occupancy.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND INSTRUCTORS

Iron and steel industry production workers and supervisors, Frank Fonner, director of quality and metallurgical engineering,
equipment and materials suppliers to the steel industry, steel NLMK USA, Farrell, Pa., USA
marketing and sales personnel, machine shop personnel, quality
Bryan Webler, assistant professor, Materials Science and
control technicians and supervisors, and component designers and
Engineering Department, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh,
engineers.
Pa., USA

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US$845 US$945 US$1,090 US$1,190

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THE MAKING, SHAPING AND TREATING OF STEEL: 101
TUESDAY, 10 MARCH as ultralow-carbon and stainless steels. Afternoon Sessions (1 p.m.)

Inclusion formation, modification and
Morning Sessions (8 a.m.) removal will be discussed. - Hot Rolling — Reheat, Hot Rolling,
Incoming and Hot-Rolled Defects
- Overview of the Making, Shaping Afternoon Sessions (Noon) This section will provide an introduction
and Treating of Steel and History of to the theory of rolling and the effects
the Industry - Plant Tour of Gerdau Long Steel of deformation processing on product
The first session provides an overview of North America Petersburg Mill quality and properties. The importance of
the technologies used to produce steel the reheating process and how it affects
today and the evolution of world steel - Reception subsequent rolling and quality will be
production. The general chemistry of discussed. Billets and blooms will also be
steel is introduced to help illuminate the Adjourn (6 p.m.) reviewed.
principles of iron- and steelmaking. This
session ends with a brief history of metals - Steel — Types, Mechanical
production and an introduction to early WEDNESDAY, 11 MARCH Properties, Tests and Consistency
iron- and steelmaking processes. Characteristics, applications and
Morning Sessions (8 a.m.) mechanical properties of steel alloys
- Ironmaking and Steelmaking and grades will be explored. The effects
This session explains the techniques used to - Solidification Fundamentals and of different alloying elements on steel
produce iron and steel from raw materials, Batch Casting manufacturing and final properties will be
including ores and recycled materials. The importance of solidification on final explained. An introduction of the methods of
Processes reviewed include the blast product quality will be discussed. The testing the properties of steel — including
furnace, direct reduction, ferrous scrap effects of tundish and mold metallurgy on tensile, toughness and fatigue testing — will
production, basic oxygen steelmaking and product quality will be explained, along lead into discussions of the importance of
electric furnace steelmaking. Important gas, with casting defect causes and methods of melting, casting, rolling and forming on the
slag and metal reactions will be explained, prevention. final mechanical properties. The importance
as well as the impacts of the processes on of selecting alloys and processing routes for
energy and the environment. The effects of - Continuous Casting of Steel specific engineering applications to achieve
the different processing techniques will be The history and evolution of continuous desired properties will be explained.
explained, and future iron- and steelmaking casting processes from billets, blooms, and
developments will be explored. slabs to near-net-shape processes for thin - Downstream Processing —
slabs, strip, beam blanks and wire will be Cold Rolling, Annealing and Coating
- Secondary Metallurgy reviewed. Steel finishing techniques, including heat
Basic, acid, and neutral slags and treating and coating, will be reviewed. Basic
refractories will be introduced, along with - Introduction — Hot-Rolled steel heat treatment concepts of quenching,
reasons for using each. The interaction As-Rolled End Products and tempering, case hardening and in-process
of refractories and slags with metal Product Applications annealing will be introduced, along with the
will be explored, including methods of The various end products of steel effects they have on steel microstructure
reducing refractory wear and quality manufacturing will be introduced. The and properties. Surface coating techniques,
improvements. The use of ladle metallurgy requirements and methods to produce these including galvanizing and other coatings,
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treatment and furnaces will be explained. products will be reviewed. will be discussed.
The principles behind other secondary
steelmaking techniques will be explained, Conference Adjourn (5 p.m.)
including degassers and argon oxygen
decarburization steelmaking for the
production of high-quality steels such
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Digital Transformation is a critical component for steel companies’ Reception Monday and Tuesday, breakfast and lunch Tuesday
future success. It is a broad concept with the potential to influence and Wednesday, continuous breaks, and online link including
all aspects of the steelmaking process. Following the success of last presentations.
year’s Digital Transformation Forum focusing on an overview of and
insight into different components of Industry 4.0, this year’s Digital
Transformation Forum dives into the specific topics of machine
learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI). Machine learning
A block of rooms has been reserved at the Omni William Penn Hotel.
and artificial intelligence technology is the heart of nearly every
Please call the hotel at +1.800.843-6664 by 24 February 2020 to
application of Industry 4.0. The 2020 Digital Transformation Forum
secure the AIST discount rate of US$149 per night for single/double
covers ML/AI applications and use cases from liquid steel (iron- and
occupancy.
steelmaking), upstream (casting and hot rolling) and downstream
process, to final product. In addition, the Digital Transformation
Forum will discuss the essential roles humans are playing in a
successful Digital Transformation journey. Strategies and methods ORGANIZED BY
to efficiently manage the cultural change and human involvement AIST’s Electrical Applications/Sensors Subcommittee and
are also explored through the high-quality presentations and panel Digitalization Applications Technology Committees.
discussion sessions.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Decision-makers and those with a technical background who
are interested in learning more about how to make their areas
smarter by utilizing digital transformation methods through system
integration and ML algorithm deployment.

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US$945 US$1,045 US$1,190 US$1,290

by 3 February 2020 after 3 February 2020 by 3 February 2020 after 3 February 2020
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Event Sponsors
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION FORUM FOR THE STEEL INDUSTRY
MONDAY, 16 MARCH - Application of Machine Learning for producers. Efficient crane operations in
Defective Coil Prediction the steel industry are critical to achieving
- Registration production goals, but due to safety
- Solving Product Quality and Asset concerns, aging infrastructure and control
- Welcome Reception (5 p.m.) Reliability Challenges Through the system constraints, they may not be
Application of AI achieving everything they are capable of.
But there is innovative new technology now
TUESDAY, 17 MARCH - Supplementing Operator Knowledge available that enables crane operations to
With Machine Learning to Eliminate run completely autonomously, providing
Morning Sessions (8 a.m.) CGL Strip Weld Failures greater efficiency, accuracy, productivity
and quality in the handling of coils and
- Opening Remarks - Using AI Tools in the Steel Industry slabs. They can also be integrated into the
Ron Ashburn, Association for Iron & Steel Edgardo La Bruna, Janus Automation LLC supply chain within a plant by the use of a
Technology In recent years the growth of AI in many warehouse management system, allowing
industries including social media, financial yards to run fully unmanned and completely
- Keynote: ArcelorMittal Global sector and consumer sector has made automated, from steelmaking plant to
Approach to Digitalization available software tools and algorithms shipping.
Carlos Alba, ArcelorMittal for the industrial sector to improve some
ArcelorMittal’s vision on digitalization aspects of decision-making that before were - Integrated Production Management
is a fully digitalized enterprise where reserved only to humans. This presentation and Quality in the Age of
everything is connected. This includes will review various actual applications of Industry 4.0
manufacturing (and mining), procurement, AI in the steel industry, including areas
commercial, supply chain, logistics, such as logistics optimization, preventive - Pre-Panel Presentation:
finance, strategy and product development. maintenance and automatic event detection, Digitalization and the Double-Edged
Digital core technologies such as with specific discussions on the actual Sword: Transparency
artificial intelligence or mathematical benefits of using such tools.
optimization are systematically merged - Producer Panel Discussion
with ArcelorMittal’s value chain. This Afternoon Sessions (1 p.m.)
presentation introduces the ArcelorMittal - Reception
global approach to digitalization, mixing - Digitalization Through Smart
in-house developments with strategic Robotics, Machine Vision and Adjourn (6:15 p.m.)
partnerships both with giants and startups Advanced Automation
and will showcase specific success stories Gianluca Maccani, BMGroupUSA
in several fields where digitalization led to This presentation provides an outlook on WEDNESDAY, 18 MARCH
additional value not captured in the past the currently available technologies that
with older technology and algorithms. The combine smart robotics, machine vision, Morning Sessions (8 a.m.)
specific success stories are linked to both artificial neural networks and advanced
digital manufacturing and digital business industrial automation to achieve plant - Keynote: Merging Domain Know-
as procurement or supply chain, among digitalization that improves operator safety, How With Machine Learning and
others. ArcelorMittal’s scientific approach traceability, quality and productivity all over Artificial Intelligence
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and knowledge interfaces on artificial the mill.

intelligence, manufacturing processes, - How AI Is Increasing Production
metallurgy, applications, etc., and have led - Integrated Autonomous Crane Quality in Steel Manufacturing
to the greatest added value for customers System Humera Malik, Canvass Analytics
and for the group. Mo Ahmed, Schneider Electric This presentation will outline a case study
This presentation will review the application of how a major North American steel
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of fully autonomous cranes at multiple producer is using AI-powered industrial

sites of one of the largest global steel analytics to improve yield, reduce costs and
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DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION FORUM FOR THE STEEL INDUSTRY (cont’d)
production delays, and improve reliability. world of customers and suppliers as well as the ladle process, from the BOF/EAF to the
The discussion will look at the journey with our communities. caster. The ability to understand, quantify
the manufacturer took from transforming and appropriately respond to the variables
its manual quality control processes by - Machine Learning Model that affect steel casting temperature is
implementing AI industrial analytics. Development for BOF Process crucial for achieving consistent casting
AI-powered industrial analytics is helping Optimization With Respect to quality and maximizing productivity.
the producer to identify and control the Dephosphorization Deviations from the optimum steel casting
parameters that impact quality and help the Kinnor Chattopadhyay, University of Toronto temperature can require adjustment to the
operations teams to control their production Ensuring high quality of steel by removing casting speed, which reduces productivity
processes by implementing near-real-time phosphorus in the basic oxygen furnace and potentially impacts product quality.
adjustments required to improve production (BOF) is essential, and otherwise may Finding quantifiable relationships between
and batch consistency. As a result of lead to cold shortness. This work the casting temperature and various
using industrial analytics to gain real-time aims to understand the mechanism of factors enables more precise response-
visibility into production quality and control dephosphorization through endpoint ability, so that the steel temperature can
the quality control processes, the company P-content in BOF steelmaking using state- be optimally adjusted by the time the ladle
improved production while reducing of-the-art machine learning techniques. reaches the casting stage of the production
production costs and opening new markets Instead of predicting the final values of process. A digital tool to generate such
by producing higher-grade products. So l_p, this study focuses on classification to quantified relationships will thus potentiate
much so, the manufacturer now applies AI different categories of l_p based on slag improved casting temperature control.
to its day-to-day operations across their chemistries and tapping temperatures. This Methodology and results will be presented,
steelmaking, hot strip mill and cold mill classification signifies different degrees covering approaches to data collection and
areas. to which phosphorus is removed in the processing, deep learning network creation,
BOF. Data collected from approximately and implementation.
- Successful AI Applications in 16,000 heats from two steel plants on slag
Ironmaking and Steelmaking chemistries and tapping temperatures - Industry 4.0 Activities at Burns
Processes were assigned to four categories of l_p Harbor Hot Strip Mill — Use of
based on unsupervised K-means clustering Advanced Analytics Techniques
- Digital Transformation in Tenova: method. An efficient decision tree-based to Identify and Improve Process
A Journey twin support vector machines (TWSVM) Abnormalities
Giovanni Bavestrelli, Tenova S.p.A. algorithm was implemented for the Rajat Bathla, ArcelorMittal USA
This presentation describes Tenova’s purpose of classification of l_p categories. ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor has successfully
journey in digital transformation, which Model validation was carried out with applied Industry 4.0 concepts and machine
started several years back, and describes a five-fold cross-validation technique. learning techniques to solve processing
the initial steps, the pilot projects, the Highest accuracy (≥97%) was observed and quality issues at its hot strip mill.
results obtained so far, the road ahead for GMM-TWSVM model, implying that The presentation demonstrates the low-
and the lessons learned. A special focus by manipulating the slag chemistries investment solutions developed in-house
is on applications of artificial intelligence, appropriately using the structure of the to solve real issues in the hot mill by
the use of machine learning for process model, a greater degree of P-partition can leveraging the resident expertise in the
optimization, the development of a cloud be achieved in the BOF. process and data analytics. The goal was
platform in support of applications of to leverage the ongoing development in
predictive maintenance and condition Afternoon Sessions (1 p.m.) Industry 4.0 in solving complex issues in the
monitoring, as well as the use of hot strip mill and providing a real benefit to
- Smart Ladle: AI-Based Tool for
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augmented reality for remote assistance, the operation. The present work showcases
documentation and training. Of no less Optimizing Casting Temperature the smarts that were put into the live hot
importance are the projects to address and Chenn Zhou, Purdue University Northwest rolling process at Burns Harbor hot mill
foster the necessary changes in company The goal of this project is to develop a deep and how it has helped to make incremental
culture, in the way we work together, learning tool that provides an accurate improvements in the head end shape of a
communicate and interact with the outside understanding and quantification of coil. In the current work we will also cover
contributors to steel casting temperature in how feature extraction was applied on a
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morgoil pressure sensor time series data - Accelerating Product Chemistry - Pre-Panel Presentation: Digital
and how this information was later utilized Refinement Using Machine Learning Transformation: Why Projects Fail,
into various machine learning models such Jena Kreuzer and Bryan Williams, Gerdau Potential Best Practices and a Road
as Artificial Neural Net, Classification and Utilizing machine learning and historical Map for Success
Regression Tree, and Random Forest. In production data to automatically model the
the end the presenter will demonstrate relationship between process parameters - Vendor Panel Discussion
how abnormal changes in the process (e.g., chemistry, rolling mill temperatures,
were detected with the use of an anomaly product size) and mechanical results. Conference Adjourn (5:15 p.m.)
detection technique on the time series This tool is used for rapid predictions
extracted features. of mechanical properties, simulation of
process changes’ effects on mechanical
properties, and optimization of alloys for
certain grades.
Sponsoring Societies:
Leading Safety into the Future
SAVE THE DATE

The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society
Co-Sponsoring Societies:
JUNE 21-24, 2020
Philadelphia Marriott Downtown
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to learn and

I
network with a broad cross-section of subject

matter experts and thought leaders on best
practices in safety management. Safety Congress 2020 is made
possible with generous support
from the United Engineering
Foundation.
safetycongress.org
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218 Technology Training
CONFERENCE RECAPS
CONTINUOUS CASTING — A PRACTICAL TRAINING SEMINAR
Conference Details: Steel–Arkansas (slab) for the attendee to select one of
21–24 October 2019, Memphis, Tenn., USA these tour sites. Following the tour was a panel discus-
sion with the following panelists: Ian Deeks, Nucor
No. of Attendees: 94 Steel–Arkansas; Rick Besich, ArcelorMittal Indiana
Harbor; Brian Thomas, Colorado School of Mines;
Conference Highlights: and Scott Brown, Steel Dynamics Inc. – Structural and
The first day provided a group of experienced pre- Rail Division. Jeff Brower, Primetals Technologies USA
senters. From a casting historical perspective along with LLC, served as panel moderator. A reception followed
today’s casting machine design, they touched upon this panel discussion to conclude the second day of the
solidification and reoxidation processes involved with seminar.
casting. The first day’s coverage wrapped up with caster The final day started with billet and bloom caster
breakouts and prevention followed by quality defects and maintenance issues, caster hydraulics, and caster second-
their causes. ary cooling and water treatment. The final presentation
The second day started with mold design and materi- involved caster bearings and their types, failure modes,
als along with copper maintenance and coating tech- and preventive measures.
nologies. Caster rolls and overlay technologies were then Next year’s Continuous Casting — A Practical Train-
discussed before lunch. ing Seminar will be held in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, with
The seminar offered two different casting operation tours of TimkenSteel Corp. and ArcelorMittal Cleveland.
tours with Nucor Steel Memphis Inc. (shape) and Nucor
Rudolf Moravec (right) presented Ian Deeks (left) with a plaque of appreciation for hosting the attendees’ tour of Nucor Steel–
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Arkansas.
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MANAGING TECHNOLOGY — ARCELORMITTAL DOFASCO G.P.

Conference Details: presentation shared how their galvanizing project repur-
5–7 November 2019, Hamilton, Ont., Canada posed an existing mill building and constructed what is
now the tallest APC tower in North America.
No. of Attendees: 64 ArcelorMittal Dofasco showcased five Industry 4.0
projects in the afternoon. From Safety, Reliability, Qual-
Conference Highlights: ity, Steelmaking and Operations, ArcelorMittal Dofasco
The conference kicked off Tuesday, 5 November, uses digitalization and technology to improve opera-
with a presentation by Roger Tang-Poy, vice president tions and create efficiencies across all areas.
— technology, covering ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s vision Attendees and members of the Project & Construction
and strong commitment to health and safety. He also Management Technology Committee enjoyed a tour of
reviewed the structure of their technology organization ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s No. 4 and 6 Galvanizing Lines
and highlighted their World Class Continuous Improve- and Central Shipping on the morning of Thursday,
ment Program and Strategic Playbook. 7 November. F
Michael Dudzic wrapped up the afternoon with
highlights of how ArcelorMittal Dofasco has been trans-
forming technology through digitalization,
emphasizing that solutions are specific and
each site needs to finding what works for your
particular mill when it comes to digitalization
and seeing what the future may hold between
producers and customers.
The next day’s presentations included an
overview of ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s 8-stage
Capital Investment Project Methodology by
Cameron Mitchell, a review of the Hot Strip
Mill Modernization project by David Colbert
and George Atlija, highlights from the Steel-
making Improvement Project by Stephanie
Holko, and an overview of the No. 4 and
6 Galvanizing Lines by Kevin Wig. Wig’s
1 2
1. Cameron Mitchell gave an overview of ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s Capital Investment Project Methodology. 2. Joydeep Sengupta
spoke about digitalization at ArcelorMittal Dofasco. 3. The attendees toured ArcelorMittal Dofasco at the conclusion of the
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seminar. AIST’s Shannon Kiley (left) presented ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s Shannon Clark (right) with a plaque of appreciation.
220
RELIABILITY
ACHIEVEMENT
AWARD
CALL FOR ENTRIES
Sponsored by AIST’s Maintenance &

Reliability Technology Committee
HISTORY AND PURPOSE

The Maintenance & Reliability Technology Committee established the AIST Reliability Achievement Award to recognize iron-
and steel-producing companies for reliability improvements and achievements that can be demonstrated as unique or first in
the industry. The AIST Reliability Achievement Award recognizes those organizations and the individuals within them that have
developed, applied, and proved a new practice, policy or procedure that significantly improves iron- and steelmaking reliability.
The award will be given on three levels — gold, silver and bronze. Only iron and steel producers can receive these awards.
Reliability improvements or achievements must be documented using some acceptable form of measurement. Award finalists
will be invited to present papers on their achievements at the annual AIST Maintenance Conference.
ENTRY PROCESS
Steel-producing companies and suppliers to the industry are invited to submit an entry in accordance with the format established. Entries do not require
substantial documentation to support the net results, but the effects must be verifiable. Entries can be submitted at AIST.org by clicking on Technology
Committees then Committee Awards & Recognition. For more information, contact Shannon Kiley at skiley@aist.org.
QUALIFICATIONS
To be considered for an award, the reliability improvement or achievement should be unique or be a first in the industry. It may result from “outside the
box” thinking. Effects must be verifiable in terms of improved product quality, customer satisfaction, production throughput, cost per ton produced,
worker productivity, or other measurable result that has positively influenced profitability, image, customer satisfaction or similar factors important to
a company’s competitive standing. The achievement should be worthy of consideration by others inside or outside the iron and steel industry interested
in attaining a similar outcome.
When considering the award, the selection committee will want to know and be able to verify:*
• The practice, policy or procedure. • Results achieved to date.

• Metrics used to determine the positive outcome. • Whether it has potential for broad-based application throughout the
• Why and how the improvement was implemented. industry.
• Enablers used to ensure its success.
DEADLINE FOR ALL ENTRIES IS 31 MAY 2020.

I IRON & STEEL TECHNOLOGY I AIST.ORG
*Audit expenses for travel outside North America may be incurred and would be the responsibility of the applicant company, not to exceed US$2,500.
AIST CONGRATULATES THE 2020 WINNERS

GOLD SILVER BRONZE
Steel Dynamics Inc. – Flat CALIFORNIA STEEL INDUSTRIES, INC. California Steel Industries ArcelorMittal
Roll Group Columbus Division Coil Cooling Pond Gantry Crane Indiana Harbor
Pyrometer Use — Ladle Pre-Heat Hoist Upgrade Descale System
JAN 2020
Upgrade
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AIST Membership Recognition

AIST takes this opportunity to recognize our members for their years of loyalty and ongoing
commitment to the iron and steel industry. Each year, AIST publishes a roster of individuals
reaching significant anniversaries of membership, beginning with 10 years and continuing with
each successive five-year anniversary.
Most Tenured Member

George R. St. Pierre, 67 Years
50+ Consecutive Years of Membership

Jagdish C. Agarwal John W. Dresh Sr. Louis W. Lherbier Mark S. Rodney
L. James Anderson James L. Emery Claude H.P. Lupis Norman F. Rodowicz
Kelso S. Baker Bernard J. Fedak Leon A. Luyckx Gerald J. Roe
Shank R. Balajee Elmer G. Foley Joseph N. Lynch Walter D. Sadowski
John A. Beatrice John R. Gibson Raymond M. Mader Eugene A. Salvadore
Richard B. Bertolo Carl E. Glaser Lawrence G. Maloney S.D. Sanders
William H. Betts Henry G. Goehring John C. McFadden Jr. Nobuo Sano
Kenneth E. Blazek Thomas C. Graham Sr. Alexander McLean Klaus J. Schwerdtfeger
David T. Blazevic Roderick I. L. Guthrie Walter D. Meloy Samuel H. Seem
Gary L. Bowman James F. Hamilton Keith H. Moredock Herbert D. Sellers Sr.
John R. Buta John G. Harhai John L. Mulesa Sudhir K. Sharma
John C. Campbell Narwani Harman John M. Negomir James C. Simmons
Richard J. Choulet James S. Harper William J. Nelson David B. Simpson
C. Larry Coe Roger Heaton Gordon R. Oliver Surjit Singh
John P. Connolly John D. Heffernan Prafulla C. Panigrahy Charles E. Slater
Edward C. Cool Harry O. Hefter K.G. Pedersen Ralph M. Smailer
Denis L. Creazzi Wallace L. Hick Jr. Robert D. Pehlke Russell Solomon III
Robert Creese George A. Jedenoff Ronald J. Petroski Sigurd M. Sorensen
Charles Criss John E. Jetkiewicz Howard M. Pielet George R. St. Pierre
Roy L. Cross Behram M. Kapadia Raymond L. Polick Joseph L. Stein
James F. Cunningham Calvin A. Keeney K. William Rapp Russell E. Swanson
Stanley P. Darbut Daniel W. Lavis Richard L. Reddy Brooks E. Weingart
William E. Dauksch Robert G.H. Lee Albert H. Riebel Jr. David A. Withrow
Paul J. Diffenbach Edward C. Levy Jr. Michel Rigaud Michael Wyte

Thomas F. Dohnal Timothy Lewis Norman A. Robins
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50 Consecutive Years of Membership

Toshihiko Emi William R. Materna Nagoor P. Prabhu Michael D. Sullivan
C. Thomas Esterly Raymond J. McGlynn Jr. Leroy Stebbing Joel L. Sundholm
Lars J. Hansen Stephen Palko Emil S. Suley Millet L. Wei
Lawrence Janowski

William K. Brown William L. Hartrick Leonard G. Nelson Robert W. Steiger
Jerry S. Bunnell Daniel F. Havel Richard L. Nester John E. Thomas
Joseph V. Cadile James A. Heine Martin J. Powers John C. Vaught
Richard A. Calvert Dale E. Heinz William H. Rackoff Frank A. Vonesh Jr.
Andrew Elksnitis Andreas Lederer Anton Schedl Christian Wojciechowski
George A. Fraser Stewart K. Mehlman Edmund N. Schuster William F. Wolfe
Gerardo L. Giraldo Jeffrey C. Myers Stan J. Sobota J. Michael Zaia

Rodney A. Apple Charles T. Hansotte Basil D. Mercuri David J. Sosinsky
Ian A. Cameron Gene A. Iannazzo George Mischenko Greg V. Stanic
Henry Chumienski D.J. Joyce Jr. Bimalendu N. Darrell E. Sturgill
Bruce Constantine Joseph Kennedy Mukhopadhyay Richard C. Sweitzer
Kevin F. DeVanney Robert C. Kuhn Thomas L. Mulholland James F. Torok
Chester C. Edmunds Joseph A. Lahita William B. Orr Hardarshan S. Valia
Jack Garzella C. Steven LaPray Andrew G. Procopio Ron Webber
Vladimir B. Ginzburg Michael S. Levick Tracy T. Rudolph Lawrence E. Williams III
Theodore A. Greshel Mark A. Marcucci Gregory F. Schneider

Thomas P. Battle Don R. Dean Walter J. Kusnier Trevor Shellhammer
James P. Biernat Rodney M. Eick Mark J. McGinley Panagiotis G. Sismanis
Raymond W. Boronyak Donald R. Fosnacht David J. Pacella James E. Snowden Jr.
Thomas V. Bovalina Eduardo G. Gonzalez Jeffery T. Pastorius Arden V. Tarum
James W. Boyd George H. Jansen Nik Ray Brian G. Thomas
Thomas B. Burkett Frank L. Kemeny George W. Reuning III Daniel L. Tuck
Jose Luis Castillo B. Brian M. Kinsman David G.C. Robertson Jeffrey W. Weyant
Charles W. Connors Jr. George Krauss Ian Sadler Thomas J. Whalen
George E. Davis Theodore J. Kurela Richard A. Schochet Brian Wolman

Mark Atkinson Joseph Dzierzawski Michael W. Glowa Otto L. Hiris

Josse Bachmayer Andrew J. Ellis Scott A. Gorman Michael D. Hutson
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Paul M. Behnke William J. Eyer IV Joseph R. Graner John T. Jasko

Robert P. Bixby Bruce M. Fennis John R. Grebenc Frank C. Karns
Nicholas Cassens Jr. Peter Fernie Michael J. Hanley Glenn M. Kramer
Graham C. Cooper John A. Forsythe Daniel P. Heraty Charles S. Krcmaric
Timothy A. Depretis Robert C. Garver Marvin L. Hetrick Sunil Kumar
Greg M. Duggan W. Martin Gintert William C. Hills Mark D. Loeffelholz
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James R. Monroe Jr. N. Stephen Pappas Joseph C. Sabatini Charles J. Tabone

Tsuyoshi Nakamura Dale W. Pine Donald R. Sadoway Gerald K. Vellente
Edward R. Natali Bradley R. Rek Dimce B. Sapkar Thomas E. Wank
Brian D. Nelson Charles H. Roberts John G. Shivers S. Evan Weiner
George M. Noeth Frank T. Roberts Asish K. Sinha James M. Wilson
William J. Pampiks James E. Rode Michael J. Slattery Ronald B. Yuss
Marc J. Panaia Hugo P. Rooney Christopher B. Straw

Aristotle G. Aivaliotis David F. Ellerbrock Raymond Leasure Jr. Jon Roman
Walter K. Antos Keith A. Engleka Ralph K. Leidy Terry L. Russo
Dan H. Barker Euan J. Evenson James J. Leis Julian Sanchez
Randal R. Beardsley Colin J. Feather Roger L. Maddalena Joseph R. Schulp
Debanshu Bhattacharya Thomas A. Freese Janusz Majta Donald P. Schwab
Gary R. Broad Michael J. Fukon C.T. Marcum Hardy A. Siegmund
Stephen M. Bunch Douglas A. Godwin Joseph R. McDermid Randy C. Skagen
Dean E. Burke Ken L. Griffin Stephen C. Montague Thomas S. Solak
Timothy J. Burttram Steven S. Hansen Wim Moonen B. Thad Solomon
Bob Charczuk Larry M. Harris James H. Nassif Karl-Heinz Spitzer
Lesley H. Chown Mitsuo Hashimoto Scott W. Nowakowski Michael J. Strelbisky
Carlos Eduardo Cicutti Eugen A. Ianos Joseph M. Nowosad Neal T. Sullivan
Stephen A. Civanich Jr. Frank J. Jroski Jr. Jim D. Oldford Raymond P. Tedford Sr.
A. Scott Clark Kolin L. Keller Ranjit Panigrahi Chadley S. Trent
Michael F. Coffey Kevin P. Kovanda Michael S. Panzeri Louis S. Valentas
James P. Conrad Peter C. Krause Frank R. Papay Joseph R. Vehec
Lawrence W. Czermanski Dan A. Kruse Philip C. Perry Richard J. Wallner
Robert B. Czerniewski Thomas R. Kuhl Jorge O. Petroni Joseph H. Westendorf
Adrian C. Deneys Cass R. Kurzinski Bernard J. Quinn Philip R. Woodward
John R. Dillingham Mark Landy III Michael S. Ramsey Lee Xin
Michael S. Dudzic Peter S. Lanman Dean T. Reidy Qiulin Yu
Richard E. Dugan Oscar Lanzi III Bret R. Rolan

Donald R. Adair Thomas J. Coyne Jr. Jens H. Hebestreit Van W. Medford
Mark Adjei-Sarpong Edward A. Dee David W. Hoge John R. Middleton
Victor E. Vincenzo Dimastromatteo Daniel B. Holzhausen Chip Miller
Alvarez-Anzalone Chad B. Donovan Max E. Justice Chris H. Mitchell
Eusebio Ameneyro Mark G. Esdon Jay P. Kane Peter R. Mould
Gregg R. Andrus Ralf Evertz Steve Kosir Mark G. Murman
Phillip A. Baker Stefan Evertz Nathan E. Kress Ngoc N. Nguyen
Jeffrey G. Blankenship Kenneth A. Fail Daniel E. Krzysztalowicz Paul J. Nolan

Greg W. Bott James C. Faroh John A. Larsen Monty L. Parker Jr.
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Giovanni Casarin Thomas Fetzer Herbert Dennis Link Denis P. Patla

Clifford R. Chatman Gerhard Finstermann Stephen R. Lu Maye Ron C. Peters
Seung Ki Choung Vladimir Fonarev Paul A. Malatestinic William F. Posey
Robert D. Clark Jurgen Wilhelm Frick Peter F. Marcus Jagannathan Rajagopalan
Bernard J. Conner Stephen A. Geswein Dipak Mazumdar Kesavan Rangaswamy
Richard Courtemanche Thomas J. Hauter Cory F. Mecham Lionel Rebouillat
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Timothy M. Redovian Tilo Schulz Steven H. Tester Steven J. Whitman

Michael S. Rhoads Randall G. Smrek Robert M. Thaw Timothy S. Wojtowicz
William C. Roberson John W. Spring Wayne D. Turney Steven E. Wood
Robert A. Robison John A. Stofanak Gerhard D. Volkmann Bruce A. Work
José M. Rodríguez-Ibabe Klaus D. Stohl Cameron R. Wallace James A. Yanosko
John C. Rotroff James H. Stolte James N. Walton Hongbin Yin
Peter K. Sanford Michael J. Swaika Brandon L. Washburn Dejan Zrelec
Gregory J. Scalf Edward A. Swann II Max Werner Jr.

Sunday O. Abraham Christian H. Ericksen Dan J. Keown Dennis Reed
Michael A. Alter Mario Fabro Patrick D. King Walter L. Reese
Wesley A. Amos Paul C. Fleiner Matthew J. Knapik David T. Reynolds
Teiichi Ando Kenneth Fristoe David J. Knapp Sergiy Rogalsky
Steven C. Asseff Gerhard Fuchs Ronald S. Knarr Barbara J. Ross
John M. Augustinovich Jay M. Galbraith David G. Knechtel Christian W. Roth
John P. Baran Stephen T. Gallagher Richard Knight James T. Ryan
Christopher M. Becker Eric Gallo Daniel E. Kocel Paul A. Saffrin
Erika M. Bellhouse Robert T. Gawron Ron S. Kostyo Jr. Gregory J. Schaefer
Al E. Bentz Sean P. Gilhooly Alan D. Kurzinski Carl R. Schwabe
Rice E. Berkshire Jeffrey A. Gliem James F. Landers Navneet Singh
Robert Betts Marten Gornerup Bobby W. Lashley Nelson W. Smith
Ajit Bhanot Gary W. Gottschalk Joseph P. Leffew Glenn Sobzack
Prabhuraj Bhooplapur Steve J. Goulden David A. Lewis Keith A. Sowers
Charles Boguski Daniel R. Green Michael Lopez Douglas G. Stalheim
Janice Bolen Vincent J. Guercio Robert Lukas David E. Stanton
Andrew F. Bramstedt David C. Hamblin Joseph G. Maruskin Jr. Scott R. Story
Brendan G. Brophy Joseph M. Hamnik Jeff V. Mashburn Oscar Marcelo Suarez
Robert N. Brown Simo-Pekka V. Hannula James D. McClaskey Eric M. Taleff
Robert A. Bullock Walter J. Hansel Wayne McCreary Nazmi Y. Toker
Joe P. Burrelli Michael F. Harasym Jason T. McCullough Kevin N. Tomasic
James H. Christman Dale Hart Jeffrey T. McGinty Matthias Tuschhoff
Scott S. Chumbley Gopala Hebert Thomas J. Meacham Donald O. Underwood
Kenneth Stark Coley Randall H. Heisler Jay Milstead Pello Uranga
Patrick E. Connell Edward L. Hendrix James E. Murphy III Donny V. Venable
Sam H. Cooper Thomas W. Hepburn Daniel G. Murray James B. Verner
Jason Craft Christopher Heron Jaroslav Opletal Richard P. Vierod
William A. Cravens Gregory E. Hilmas Mustafa R. Ozgu Mark Volansky
Jeremy A. Cronkhite Michael Hupp Vassilis Ath. Papantoniou Ian J. Ward
Edward O. Daigle Fuzhong Ji Mike Paquette Darryl S. Webber
Thomas Daum Sigurd A. Johansen David W. Parsley Kenneth W. White
John F. DeBlasio William E. Johnson Jr. Lance A. Penick Robert J. White

Fred J. Defiore Paul A. Jordan John H. Perepezko Daniel L. Willman
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Timothy Dobis Thomas W. Junker Lesli E. Peterson Jeffrey S. Withrow

Rebecca J. Dolan Naum M. Kaplan David R. Poirier Christian Wolf
Mark A. Dutler Fred Kaster Paul A. Porter Darrel E. Wynkoop
Kenneth R. Dyer Jeffery E. Keffer Beth A. Powell Mark S. Zemanski
Kamal P. El-Rassi James M. Kelley James F. Raffin Jiajun Zhu
Ryan M. Erdely Jens Kempken Bernard M. Raffner Tod R. Zimmerman
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Glenn W. Aker Derek S. Dengel Roger Hutchinson Cassie Martin Graham
Narender Akubathini Giacomo D. Di Silvestro Michael A. Inns Roger W. Marvel
Kevin N. Allen Toni Dimatteo Charles F. Ireland Tommy L. Massey
Quinlan Amundson Patrick J. Dobrowolski Mahin F. Islam Jonathan J. Maude
Raymond Anstee Estore Donini Brian G. Jackson Thomas McDonough
Roberto N. Antonini William Drake Jeffrey L. Janson James P. McGuire
Robert R. Askew Michael S. Drescher Chad A. Johnson Thomas R. Melichar
Edouard Asselin Daniel Druyor David J. Johnson Lee Merry
John R. Babson Glyn D. Ellis Alfred Jungreithmeier James A. Merzlak
David W. Bailey John L. Emerick Daniel Kanosky Darren E. Miller
Karan Bajwa Brian M. Ennis Matthew B. Kaput Thomas D. Milligan
Wade Baker Eron C. Eno Dennis N. Karas Mark E. Milliron
Nadine Banlin David W. Fanning Damon R. Keck Ryan P. Modglin
Kevin T. Barbee John S. Fecko Ashok K. Kedia Sr. Herman Moggee
Horacidio Leal Barbosa Paolo Filippelli Henry W. Kemp Jr. Brett A. Moore Sr.
Randy L. Barry Charles H. Fink Jr. Justin V. Kersey Greg Moore
Soumendra Basu Allan Flores Karl J. Kessler Matthew M. Morris
Frank L. Baumgardner Jill M. Foster Brendan Killian Michael S. Morris
John H. Bell Vicenc Francisco Soto Sr. Kerry R. Killough Justin L. Morrow
Siddhartha Biswas F. Jeffrey Frelin David Knapp Ralph Napiany
Nicholas Bolla Doug Fry Daniel R. Komar Timothy W. Nave
George A. Boy Dan Fuchs Igor Komarovskiy Kevin A. Neale
Michael S. Brennan Edward P. Gee Mark D. Kotyuk Brian Nelson
Ryan Brewer Ken Geibel Matt Kraeuter Kevin P. Ormanoski
Nelson W. Brown Terry L. Gerber Keith C. Krall Buck Orndorff
Scott Brown David G. Gilles Charles P. Kuntz Jack E. Osborne
Jason M. Burbey Diego S. Gonzalez Ken R. Land David G. Paliscak
Timothy L. Burkett Atchabahian Sr. Seth LaPray Floyd T. Patterson Jr.
Thomas D. Burleigh Daniel K. Goodman James M. Lash Randy D. Patterson
Cary Burnell Adam Grajcar L. Michele Lawrie-Munro Joel Payne
Frank Byus Gary E. Gray Michael E. Leard Cameron L. Perryman
Greg Caggiano Niccolo Griffini Kirk K. Lee Thomas Persson
Chris P. Calvin Hernan Gudino Matthew H. Lee Curtis T. Peterson
Carlos A. Carranza Debasis Guha Harry E. Lenick Scott E. Piech
Curtis E. Chatham Andrew S. Handa Qiujin Li Travis J. Pierce Sr.
Ed Clark Ashraf Hanna Phillip A. Littell Michael G. Pinney Sr.
Robert E. Collins William A. Hasse III Douglas Little Clay R. Piper
Paul H. Conley Darren Hemingway Nathan C. Lora Tracy Porter
Andrew Connolly Scott B. Henderson Scott D. Loudon John F. Quanci
Randall J. Cook James J. Hendrickson John Lowry Dennis E. Quinn
Charles A. Copeland George Hennessey Michael W. Maas Giri Rajendran
Rodrigo Corbari Chris Hinte Mary Jane Mace Gabriele Rampinini Sr.
Jeremy Cotton Gerald F. Hohenbichler Lukasz Madej Ramana G. Reddy
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Brian C. Curtis Brian R. Hollerbush Mrinal Mahapatro Steven R. Resler

Mark H. Czarnecki James J. Hoppe Wayne Maharaj Jose Reyes-Gavilan
Peter Dahlmann Josh R. Horning Kamalesh Mandal Ernesto Rheinboldt
Leslie E. Davis Robert J. Hruskoci Murali Manohar Kim E. Rheingrover
David Daymut Shawn Hudson Velon Marshall Dwight R. Rice
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William L. Rinehart Sr. Michael D. Sikina Atul C. Tiwari Franklin T. Whitaker

Octavio E. Rodriguez Carl B. Sing Francisco L. Torre Blake M. Whitley
Leyva Sr. Mario Sinnaeve Steve Tukonic Albert R. Wilkinson III
Valdomiro Roman Da Silva Allen E. Stauffer Suzanne E. Vaile Leon Winitsky
W. Tom Roschek Jim A. Stefanak Leonard M. Vallone Louis E. Woistman
Bruce M. Rosen Rene Stoltz Ahmad L. Van der William J. Wolfe
Derek Roth Donald I. Stone Breggen Todd A. Woodworth
Tom Saccamozzone Randy S. Stroade Christopher J. Vance Kevin Woody
Scott R. Salisbury Joel Strout Dennis E. Varvel Evan A. Wright
Blake Scanlon John A. Svadba Keith A. Vesely Jing Xu
Jason A. Schulz Walter R. Sylvester Mark R. Veydt Matthew Zajac
Mark F. Seidel Keith A. Taylor Blane Vines Micah E. Zavadil
William C. Seres Paul J. Thibodeau John A. Vitcavage Doug Zuliani F
Philip Shawk Grant A. Thomas Colin J. Welshymer
Randy E. Shelton Sr. Shiju Thomas Warren R. Wenner Jr.
Samuel S. Sheyn Robert Tilley Kurtis S. Wetzel
Go from raw materials to finished steel products

with a click of the mouse!
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A FREE interactive tool that illustrates the steelmaking process from start to finish.
Try it yourself!
Check out the Interactive Steel Manufacturing Process* at AIST.org/Resources
I
Created in collaboration with Purdue University Northwest’s Center for Innovation Through
*
Visualization and Simulation and assistance from the Colorado School of Mines.
227
YOUNG
PROFESSIONALS
Nancy Armstrong, process engineer
What first interested you about the steel industry? school and these have been directly applied working in
I was very unaware of the steel industry in Canada until ironmaking on a daily basis.
after I graduated. My interest in the steel industry start-
ed when I relocated for a different job near Hamilton, Did any AIST programs assist with your career
Ont., where the steel industry is very prominent. I never advancement?
had exposure to the steel industry until this point. When AIST has had many benefits for me already — participat-
I began looking for a different job that met more of my ing in technical committees, networking, learning from
interests, my research into the steel industry motivated those experienced in the industry, and promoting Young
me to apply to work in this dynamic field. Working in Professional development in the industry.
a fast-paced manufacturing environment where I can
directly apply skills I gained from my degree was a huge What advice do you have for students who are curious
selling point. about pursuing something related to the steel industry?
The steel industry will surprise you! There are so many
Describe the coursework and degrees that you have opportunities available for all backgrounds and interests
obtained. Did you participate in any of AIST’s programs or including trades, engineering, finance and technolo-
attend AIST events as a student? gy. There is a surprising amount of digitalization, new
I received my bachelor of engineering degree in chem- technology development and push toward Industry 4.0,
ical engineering from the University of New Brunswick which gives way to not only participating in the changing
and I am currently working toward a master’s of applied of an industry but continuous learning. Hands-on indus-
science in materials engineering at McMaster University. try experience is very rewarding, so I would encourage
As an undergraduate student, I did not know about AIST students to give it a try if they are considering it.
programs or events, so I did not participate in any, but I
would encourage all students to take advantage of these What are your plans for continued involvement in AIST?
fantastic opportunities. I am excited to help evolve AIST’s Young Professional
programs and promote the involvement of the next gen-

What things did you do as a student that enhanced your eration of steelmakers. I have been participating in the
passion or understanding of the steel industry? Women in Steel initiatives and I am currently the papers
I
As a student, I was able to complete several work terms chair for the Ironmaking Technology Committee, where
in different industries where I learned that I wanted to I plan to continue my active involvement. F
be in a manufacturing environment moving forward in
my career. Process and design classes were my favorite in
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AIST offers a ONE-YEAR COMPLIMENTARY MEMBERSHIP TO NEW AIST MEMBERS age 30 and younger.
All Young Professionals also receive a 50% discount on full conference and one-day registration for AISTech.
To become a member today, visit AIST.org/Join or contact Member Services at +1.724.814.3000 or memberservices@aist.org.
228
AIST Life Members

Life Membership with the Association for Iron & Steel Technology is awarded after 35 consecutive
years of membership. AIST recognizes the following individuals for their dedication to and
support of our organization, and welcomes them as our newest Life Members.
Thomas P. Battle, senior consulting engineer, George E. Davis, retired, Oregon Steel Mills,
Kingston Process Metallurgy Inc., Charlotte Beaverton, Ore., USA
N.C., USA Don R. Dean, district manager, Vesuvius USA,
James P. Biernat, chief metallurgist, Nucor Steel Middletown, Ohio, USA
Auburn Inc., Auburn, N.Y., USA Rodney M. Eick, regional sales manager, Tokai
Raymond W. Boronyak, process manager, coke Carbon GE LLC, Charlotte, N.C., USA
and environment, engineering, U. S. Steel – Mon Donald R. Fosnacht, associate director, University
Valley Works, Clairton Plant, Clairton, Pa., USA of Minnesota Duluth Natural Resources Research
Thomas V. Bovalina, president and chief executive Institute, Hermantown, Minn., USA
officer, TENOVA Inc., Coraopolis, Pa., USA Eduardo G. Gonzalez, president, Ferrous Metal
James W. Boyd, president, Cast & Forge Processing Co., Brooklyn, Ohio, USA
Technologies Ltd., Dundas, Ont., Canada George H. Jansen, sales manager, Carbide
Thomas B. Burkett, improvement facilitator, Industries LLC, Prospect, Ky., USA
Gerdau Long Steel North America Cartersville Mill, Frank L. Kemeny, president, Nupro Corp.,
Cartersville, Ga., USA Lewiston, N.Y., USA
Jose Luis Castillo B., production director, Aceros Brian M. Kinsman, blast furnace day support,
San Luis S.A. de C.V., San Luis, SLP, Mexico ArcelorMittal Dofasco G.P., Hamilton, Ont., Canada
Charles W. Connors Jr., president and chief George Krauss, University Emeritus Professor,
executive officer, Magneco/Metrel Inc., Addison, Colorado School of Mines and Metallurgical
Ill., USA Consultant, Lakewood, Colo., USA
Bovalina Boyd Connors Jr. Dean Eick Fosnacht Krauss

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Kurela McGinley Pacella Robertson Sadler Shellhammer Sismanis

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Thomas Tuck Weyant Whalen Wolman
Theodore J. Kurela, director, customer technical Richard A. Schochet, plant engineer, Ellwood
services (Americas), GrafTech International Ltd., Quality Steels, New Castle, Pa., USA
Brooklyn Heights, Ohio, USA Trevor Shellhammer, consultant, Shellhammer
Walter J. Kusnier, senior technical specialist, Consulting, Lehighton, Pa., USA
Heavy Industry, MRSI - Maintenance Reliability Panagiotis G. Sismanis, process development
Solutions Inc., Dexter, Mich., USA director, SIDENOR Steel Industry S.A., Marousi,
Mark J. McGinley, product manager – wheels and Athens, Greece
components, Hall Industries Inc., Ellwood City, James E. Snowden Jr., executive vice president,
Pa., USA Southern Alloy Corp., Sylacauga, Ala., USA
David J. Pacella, vice president of operations, Arden V. Tarum, independent steel consultant,
Dakota Fence Co., Fargo, N.D., USA Portland, Ore., USA
Jeffery T. Pastorius, senior regional sales Brian G. Thomas, professor of mechanical
manager, Showa Denko Carbon Inc., Ridgeville, engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden,
S.C., USA Colo., USA
Nik Ray, president, Delafield Corp., Duarte, Daniel L. Tuck, president, DLT Industries Inc.,
Calif., USA Berea, Ohio, USA
George W. Reuning III, president, Reuning Jeffrey W. Weyant, director, Fedmet-Gastrim
McKim Inc., Saxonburg, Pa., USA division, Fedmet Resources Corp., Bel Air, Md., USA
David G.C. Robertson, professor emeritus, Thomas J. Whalen, manufacturers representative,
Missouri University of Science & Technology, Rolla, J.P. Whalen Co., Bellevue, Wash., USA
Mo., USA Brian Wolman, president, Chalybes Consulting
Ian Sadler, retired, MCC International Inc., Inc., Hampstead, Que., Canada
Noblesville, Ind., USA
The following AIST Life Members achieved this status prior to 2019.
See pages 221–226 for AIST members who celebrated
milestone anniversaries in 2019.
Harvey Abramowitz Dino Azzoni Peter C. Bauerle Albert P. Beucker

Jagdish C. Agarwal Steven A. Bachenheimer Richard S. Baum Thomas H. Bieniosek
Harless James Akers Kelso S. Baker John A. Beatrice James P. Biernat

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L. James Anderson Shank R. Balajee Leonid Beitelman Michael F. Bigowsky

Richard E. Antonelli David E. Baldea David C. Berdusco C. Andrew Black
Rodney A. Apple William P. Barker †* Thomas F. Bernarding James L. Black
Riad I. Asfahani Thomas E. Barnett Richard B. Bertolo Charles D. Blaze
Anthony P. Augius Thomas P. Battle William H. Betts David J. Blazek
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*AIST past president; †ISS past president; ‡ AISE past president

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Kenneth E. Blazek John P. Connolly Andrew Elksnitis John G. Harhai

David T. Blazevic Charles W. Connors Sr. James L. Emery Narwani Harman
James H. Blew Charles W. Connors Jr. William H. Emling James S. Harper
Robert A. Bloom Bruce Constantine David J. Englund Alberto R. Hassan
Robert D. Bokan Michael G. Cook Edward A. Esenwein David K. Hast
Rob Boom Edward C. Cool C. Thomas Esterly Daniel F. Havel
Raymond W. Boronyak Haroldo R. Costa Lima Lawrence F. Fabina Roger Heaton
Thomas V. Bovalina J. Kevin Cotchen Bernard J. Fedak‡ John D. Heffernan
John T. Bowen David R. Cowart Terry G. Fedor Harry O. Hefter
Michael B. Bower Denis L. Creazzi Paul T. Fennema Joseph M. Heiman
Gary L. Bowman Robert Creese Thomas F. Ferrence James A. Heine
James W. Boyd Charles Criss Elmer G. Foley Michael R. Heineman
Douglas L. Bracher Roy L. Cross Richard A. Foster Dale E. Heinz
William K. Brown Thomas J. Croyle Albert F. Fox Jr. Hani Henein
Jerry S. Bunnell James F. Crum George A. Fraser Robert J. Hennessy
Thomas B. Burkett James F. Cunningham Michael E. Fraser Wallace L. Hick Jr.
John R. Buta Thomas A. Danjczek Joseph M. Friedman Michael D. Hickman
Gary A. Butler Stanley P. Darbut Raymond V. Fryan Paul S. Highberger
Giorgio Cabai Pierre H. Dauby Joseph E. Gantz D. Gregory Hill
John M. Cable William E. Dauksch James L. Garner Larry T. Hoffman
Joseph V. Cadile George E. Davis Jack Garzella Luther J. Holton
Richard A. Calvert Renato F. De Tina Richard T. Gass Kenneth J. Homa
Ian A. Cameron Don R. Dean Claude Gentaz Bruce D. Horn
John C. Campbell Daniel C. Deer III John R. Gibson Sara A. Hornby
Sam J. Cantavespre Paul Dellemonache Jr. Vladimir B. Ginzburg John R. Howard
Humberto A. Jay D. Derucki Gerardo L. Giraldo James H. Hoyt
Castillejos E. Suresh P. Parab Desai Carl E. Glaser Douglas A. Hug
Jose Luis Castillo B. Kevin F. Devanney Henry G. Goehring David E. Hunt
Timothy J. Cauchie Raymond A. Devries Eduardo G. Gonzalez H. Duff Hunt
Francis T. Cercone Paul J. Diffenbach Howard D. Goodfellow Jon A. Hussey
Allen H. Chan Daniel R. DiMicco Frank Goyanes H. Richard Hutter
Arthur S. Cheng Thomas F. Dohnal Thomas C. Graham Jr.* Frederick W. Hyle
Richard J. Choulet James W. Domuracki Thomas C. Graham Sr. Gene A. Iannazzo
Henry Chumienski John W. Dresh Sr. Theodore A. Greshel Gordon A. Irons
Thomas H. Cipich Gregory L. Dressel Goran L. Grimfjard Lawrence Janowski
William R. Clark Dana A. Dunholter Nirmal K. Guha George H. Jansen

C. Larry Coe Michael J. Dwelly Roderick I.L. Guthrie Steven G. Jansto
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Harvey R. Cohen Albert J. Dzermejko James F. Hamilton George A. Jedenoff‡

Gianfranco Colagiovanni Chester C. Edmunds P.F. Hammers John E. Jetkiewicz
Louis A. Colatriano Paul H. Egbers Lars J. Hansen David W. Johnson
Thomas J. Conarty Rodney M. Eick Charles T. Hansotte John A. Jordan Sr.
Robert T. Conley
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D.J. Joyce Jr. Robert F. Lockhart Gareth D. Mitchell Drew C. Pavlick

Paul J. Jurczak J. Norman Lockington‡ Keith H. Moredock K.G. Pedersen
Joseph B. Kaar Aldo Longo Ernest G. Mueller Stephen J. Pegg
Behram M. Kapadia Richard S. Lubanovic Bimalendu N. Robert D. Pehlke
James N. Karamanos Claude H.P. Lupis Mukhopadhyay Fred A. Perrotta
Stephen H. Karlson Leon A. Luyckx Joseph A. Mulcahy Eugene M. Petcovic
Carl W. Karrer Joseph N. Lynch John L. Mulesa Craig C. Peterson
Calvin A. Keeney Raymond M. Mader Thomas L. Mulholland Ronald J. Petroski
Frank L. Kemeny Lawrence G. Maloney Charles E. Murphrey Daniel A. Pflaum
Joseph Kennedy Paul W. Manos Jeffrey C. Myers Howard M. Pielet
Brian M. Kinsman Mark A. Marcucci Robert A. Nadolny Michael Pierce
Robert W. Kittridge Robert C. Marinos Donald Naujock Andrew L. Pinskey Jr.
Kenneth J. Kobus Randy D. Marsh John M. Negomir Raymond L. Polick
Frank L. Koch Jr. David Marshall Stephen Nelko Joseph V. Poplawski
Frank T. Koelble Peter M. Martin Leonard G. Nelson† Robert Porter
Karl A. Koenig Roy C. Martin William J. Nelson Joseph J. Poveromo
Richard J. Komanecky Marty L. Martinez Richard L. Nester Martin J. Powers
George Krauss Donald S. Masyada Lorn D. Newton Nagoor P. Prabhu
Carl F. Kowalski William R. Materna H. Lavon Nichols Andrew G. Procopio
Christopher Kristock Mark J. Mattar Michael W. Nichols William Pyne
Mark S. Kubas Roy J. Matway Douglas E. Nolan Joe Rachford
Robert C. Kuhn H. Ronald McCollum Jack A. Nyrup William H. Rackoff
Kenneth R. Kunz David M. McCombe Richard E. O’Hara* Dennis H. Radford
Theodore J. Kurela Wilford G. McCorkle Jr. Robert D. O’Neil Ronald H. Radzilowski
Walter J. Kusnier Patrick J. McDonough Dominic P. Joseph A. Raley
O’Shaughnessy
Michael C. Labanow John C. McFadden Jr. K. Ramalingam
Takashi T. Ohtani
Joseph A. Lahita Mark J. McGinley Madhukar G. Ranade
Mark A. Olean
C. Steven Lapray Raymond J. McGlynn Jr. K. William Rapp
Gordon R. Oliver
Daniel W. Lavis Patrick D. McKeown Sr. Nik Ray
William B. Orr
Theodore J. Leczo Alexander McLean† David E. Reason
Peter D. Oten
Andreas Lederer Leslie C. McLean Richard L. Reddy
R.T. Owens
Robert G.H. Lee Tim D. McMaster George W. Reuning III
David J. Pacella
John W. Lenhart James S. McNeill Craig A. Rhoads
Gary C. Page
Michael S. Levick Stewart K. Mehlman Kent C. Richards
Robert G. Palicka Jr.
Edward C. Levy Jr. Walter D. Meloy John A. Ricketts
Stephen Palko
Reginald G. Lewicki Basil D. Mercuri James M. Ridgeway

Lawrence W. Palmer
Timothy Lewis‡ Steven R. Meyer Albert H. Riebel Jr.
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Prafulla C. Panigrahy
Louis W. Lherbier Robert J. Milbourne Michel Rigaud
Jeffery T. Pastorius
Louis W. Lherbier Jr. James H. Miller Gary W. Riggs
Joseph Pataki
Marc Liebman Edward A. Mills Robert W. Rike
Robert A. Patrizi
John D. Lilley George Mischenko David G. Robertson
John R. Paules
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John A. Robertson Gary R. Shreve Emil S. Suley Frank M. Wheeler

Norman A. Robins Bruce M. Shields Michael D. Sullivan† Kenneth R. White
Stewart W. Robinson Richard C. Shindle Joel L. Sundholm C. Joseph Willebrand
Dennis B. Rodal Gary R. Shreve Russell E. Swanson Lawrence E. Williams III
Mark S. Rodney Richard L. Shultz Richard C. Sweitzer Warren L. Wiltrout
Norman F. Rodowicz Timothy A. Shuman Edward S. Szekeres William J. Winters
Gerald J. Roe† James C. Simmons Shigeaki Takahashi David P. Wirick
Charles J. Romberger David B. Simpson Laxmi C. Tandon Emil J. Wirth Jr.
Frederick C. Rorick Jr. Surjit Singh Arden V. Tarum David A. Wise
Libor F. Rostik Panagiotis G. Sismanis Douglas P. Taylor David A. Withrow
Tracy T. Rudolph James Skubak John R. Thebo Christian Wojciechowski
Nicholas M. Rymarchyk Jr. Charles E. Slater Brian G. Thomas Bradley D. Wolf
Hans J. Sack Ralph M. Smailer John E. Thomas William F. Wolfe
Ian Sadler Allan M. Smillie Thomas N. Thorla Brian Wolman
Walter D. Sadowski James E. Snowden Jr. Wellington Tong J.F.B. Wood
Debabrata Saha Robert J. Snyder James F. Torok Martin B. Wood
Eugene A. Salvadore Stan J. Sobota Charles Trenkle William T. Wood II
Ronaldo Santos Sampaio Russell Solomon III James E. Trunzo Herbert E. Woodruff Jr.
S.D. Sanders Sigurd M. Sorensen H. Thomas Tsai Gerald W. Worth
Nobuo Sano David J. Sosinsky Fumitaka Tsukihashi Michael Wyte
Karl J. Saylor George R. St. Pierre Daniel L. Tuck George L. Yager
Anton Schedl Alan J. St. Vincent Alim Ullah Bhaskar R. Yalamanchili
Bernhard Schiefer Greg V. Stanic Hardarshan S. Valia George H. Yeckley
Donald H. Schiele Leroy Stebbing John C. Vaught Sam C. Yockey
Gregory F. Schneider Andrew A. Stefanak III David A. Velegol Robert A. Yohe
Richard A. Schochet Robert W. Steiger Richard H. Verdier J. Michael Zaia
Edmund N. Schuster Joseph L. Stein Frank A. Vonesh Jr. Gerald E. Ziemer F
Klaus J. Schwerdtfeger Zygmunt Stepien David H. Wakelin
Samuel H. Seem Hans H. Stiasny Mark S. Walker
Michael R. Seifert John J. Stofko Rhett Walla
Ray Sekowski Randall P. Stone Ron Webber
Herbert D. Sellers Sr. Fred J. Stover David J. Wedmore
Sudhir K. Sharma Dale T. Straughen Millet L. Wei
Thomas E. Shelenberger Darrell E. Sturgill Brooks E. Weingart
Trevor Shellhammer Sundaresa V. William J. West
Richard C. Shindle Subramanian Jeffrey W. Weyant

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2020
EDITORIAL
CALENDAR
March
Coke & Ironmaking
Bonus Features: Ad Closing Material Due Date

AISTech 2020 Preview
15 January 2020 21 January 2020
Coke Oven Battery Roundup
Cokemaking Byproducts Roundup
Blast Furnace Roundup
Feature Articles
New Thermoplasticity and Adhesiveness Measurement of Coal Based on Permeation Behavior and Wettability
of the Softened Grains
JFE Steel Corp. and Arthur D. Little Japan Inc.
Hearth Temperature Control at USS Blast Furnace No. 14

United States Steel Corporation and Hatch Ltd.
ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor East No. 7 Blast Furnace Casthouse Tapping Equipment Upgrades
ArcelorMittal USA, Paul Wurth and TMT Tapping Measuring Technology Sarl
Use of Sound Signals in Analyzing Flow Behavior in Steel Vessels

Swinburne University of Technology
Assessment of the Impact of Rising Levels of Residuals in Scrap — Part 1

CIX Inc.
How Does the Steel Industry Solve a Problem Like Mobile Equipment? (Safety First)
Edw. C. Levy
Digital Solutions for Modern and Efficient Ironmaking (Digital Transformations)

Paul Wurth S.A., Dillinger Hüttenwerke and TMT Tapping Measuring Technology Sarl
Ad Closing
Month and Feature Topic
Material Due Date
JAN 2020
19 February 2020
April Oxygen Steelmaking
25 February 2020
I IRON & STEEL TECHNOLOGY I AIST.ORG
Project & Plant Management, Energy & Utilities, and Environmental 18 March 2020
May Technologies 24 March 2020
22 April 2020
June Material Handling, Packaging & Transportation
28 April 2020
19 May 2020
July Ladle Metallurgy & Continuous Casting
26 May 2020
To advertise, contact the AIST sales team at sales@AIST.org or call +1.724.814.3000, ext. 2.
234 Member Chapters
AIST represents individual Recent Member Chapter Events

members in the iron and steel
community from more than 70
countries around the world. Brazil Member Chapter
Through active networking at
the chapter level, AIST members Students from the Universidade Fed- Mining Association), took place on
benefit from the interchange eral de Minas Gerais (UFMG) and 1–3 October 2019. It is considered the
of ideas and solutions with Synergy Student Chapters, along with largest metallurgy congress in Brazil.
others from the local iron officers from the AIST Brazil Member The students volunteered their
and steel community. Visit Chapter, attended ABM Week at the time to work the booth and promote
AIST.org to learn more about Pro Magno Event Center in São Paulo, AIST programs and membership to
Member Chapters. Brazil. The event, hosted by ABM attendees.
(Brazilian Metallurgy, Materials and
1. At the AIST booth at ABM Week, some of the VFMG students volunteered their
time to promote AIST membership and programming (left to right): Filipe Teixeira,
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Manoel Franco, Pontifical Catholic University
of Minas Gerais; Arthur Gonzaga, Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais;
Gabriel Mourão, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto; Giovanna Carneiro, Pontifical
Catholic University of Minas Gerais; Adria Caroba, Universidade Federal de Ouro
Preto; and Ernesto Rheinboldt, Brazil Member Chapter secretary-treasurer and Tallman
Technologies Inc. 2. On 1–3 October 2019, students and AIST Brazil Member Chapter
officers were in attendance at ABM Week in São Paulo, Brazil.
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Midwest Member Chapter
The twelfth AIST Midwest Chapter Valparaiso, Ind., USA. There were 186
High School Engineering Seminar students and 14 faculty members at
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was held on Thursday, 10 October the event.

2019, at Valparaiso University in
235
Local Member Chapters

Argentina
Australia
Birmingham
Brazil
Detroit
European
Globe-Trotters
India
Korea
Mexico
Midwest
Students and faculty from nine high schools gathered on 10 October 2019 at Valparaiso
University in Valparaiso, Ind., USA. Northeastern Ohio
Northern
The following high schools were Corporation, AIM Machinery, Orbit- Northwest
in attendance: Andrean, Bishop Noll al Engineering, Process Plus and Ohio Valley
Institute, Lake Central, Merrillville, Superior Engineering. Philadelphia
Morton East (Cicero, Ill., USA), Mor- Also in attendance were members
ton West (Berwyn, Ill., USA), Portage, of the AIST Midwest Chapter, ASM- Pittsburgh
Washington Township and Wheeler. Calumet Chapter, National Society of San Francisco
The following universities, indus- Black Engineers (NSBE – VU Chap- Southeast
tries and engineering firms partici- ter), Society of Hispanic Profession-
pated: Purdue University Northwest, al Engineers (SHPE – VU Chapter), Southern California
Purdue University – West Lafayette, Society of Women Engineers (SWE Southwest
Valparaiso University, ArcelorM ittal – VU Chapter) and Center for Innova- St. Louis
USA, CET Inc., DLZ Industrial, tion Through Visualization and Simu-
McCarthy Building Companies, Nalco, lation of Purdue University Northwest,
NIPSCO, RoviSys, Stevens Engineers along with faculty and staff volunteers
& Constructors, United States Steel from Valparaiso University.
Northern Member Chapter
The Northern Member Chapter Haggstrom shared Dofasco’s jour-

hosted a dinner meeting on Tuesday, ney to embed a culture of a strong
29 October 2019, at the Holiday Inn health and safety mindset through
Burlington Hotel & Conference Cen- employee engagement and ownership.
tre in Burlington, Ont., Canada. Her presentation described tactics
Laurie Haggstrom, manager, health that have been implemented to support
and safety, ArcelorMittal Dofasco G.P., the integration of health and safety
presented “Pyramid Builders: Driv- in the workplace as well as practical
ing Health & Safety Performance to methods to establish employee-driven
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Zero Through a Culture of Employee performance improvement, reduced

Ownership.” risk tolerance and shared vigilance.
ArcelorMittal Dofasco is the inaugu- Dofasco’s work on implementing the
ral winner of AIST’s Safety & Health innovative and successful Pyramid
Innovation Award for their “Pyramid Builders program was highlighted as
Builders” program, designed to iden- well.
I
tify and address unsafe conditions

and unsafe behaviors.
236 Member Chapters
1 2
1. Members of the AIST Northern Member Chapter pictured with their AIST Steel Wheels. 2. The Northern Member Chapter
dinner meeting was held on 29 October 2019 (left to right): Yindong Yang, University of Toronto; Shannon Clark, ArcelorMittal
Dofasco; Alex McLean, University of Toronto; and Yonggang Wei, University of Toronto. Back row (left to right): Wenlan Dai,
Qianyun Li, Hanqing Shao, Guangjun Wang and Wei Lv of University of Toronto.
Southern California Member Chapter
On Thursday, 17 October 2019, the Southern California USA. The tour was followed by a fellowship dinner at
Member Chapter hosted a plant tour for 22 attendees at Slater’s 50/50. F
the Goodyear Rubber Co. in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.,
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Names and titles of executive, engineering, maintenance
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239
For the most up-to-date information on upcoming events, visit AIST.org.
JANUARY 2020 6 Technology Committee Meetings

•C okemaking
14 Member Chapter Event Coraopolis, Pa., USA
• Midwest • Ironmaking
Reliability roundtable discussion and dinner meeting, Coraopolis, Pa., USA
Avalon Manor, Merrillville, Ind., USA
10 Technology Committee Meeting
21–22 Technology Committee Meeting • L ong Products
• Cold Sheet Rolling and Tinplate Mill Products Jacksonville, Fla., USA
(joint meeting)
Pittsburg, Calif., USA 10 Member Chapter Event
• Pittsburgh
30–31 SMA Board of Directors Winter Meeting Dinner meeting, Omni William Penn Hotel, Pittsburgh,
Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., USA Pa., USA
11 Member Chapter Event

• Midwest
FEBRUARY 2020 Dinner meeting, Avalon Manor, Merrillville, Ind., USA
3–7 Technology Training 11–12 Technology Committee Meeting

• Modern Electric Furnace Steelmaking — A Practical • Continuous Casting and Pipe & Tube (joint meeting)
Training Seminar Mobile, Ala., USA
The Nines, A Luxury Hotel, Portland, Portland,
Ore., USA 11–13 Technology Training
Phone: +1.724.814.3000, Fax: +1.724.814.3001, • Long Products Rolling — A Practical Training
conferences@aist.org or AIST.org Seminar
Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront, Jacksonville,
4 Member Chapter Event Fla., USA
• Northern Phone: +1.724.814.3000, Fax: +1.724.814.3001,
Dinner meeting, Holiday Inn Burlington Hotel & conferences@aist.org or AIST.org
Conference Centre, Burlington, Ont., Canada
12–13 Technology Committee Meeting

4–5 Technology Committee Meetings • Hot Rolling
• Cranes Golden, Colo., USA
I
Las Vegas, Nev., USA

12–13 SMA Committee Meeting
• Material Handling
• Environment
Mobile, Ala., USA
Dallas, Texas, USA
5 Technology Committee Meeting
13–19 Member Chapter Event
• S t. Louis
Portland, Ore., USA
I
Tour of Missouri University of Science and Technology

Metallurgy Facility, Rolla, Mo., USA
240 Steel Calendar
18–19 Technology Committee Meetings 2–4 Technology Training

• L adle & Secondary Refining • Scrap Supplements and Alternative Ironmaking 8
Charleston, S.C., USA Wyndham Lake Buena Vista, Orlando, Fla., USA
• Metallurgy — Steelmaking & Casting Phone: +1.724.814.3000, Fax: +1.724.814.3001,
Austin, Texas, USA conferences@aist.org or AIST.org
20–21 Technology Committee Meeting 3–4 Technology Committee Meeting

• Digitalization Applications and Electrical • Plate Rolling and Metallurgy — Processing,
Applications (joint meeting) Products & Applications (joint meeting)
Dallas, Texas, USA Greensboro, N.C., USA
5–6 SMA Committee Meeting

MARCH 2020 • Safety and Transportation
Nashville, Tenn., USA
1–5 Technology Training 9 Member Chapter Event

•C
old Rolling Fundamentals — A Practical Training • Pittsburgh
Seminar Young Engineers’ Night, Embassy Suites Downtown
Francis Marion Hotel, Charleston, S.C., USA Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa., USA
Phone: +1.724.814.3000, Fax: +1.724.814.3001,
conferences@aist.org or AIST.org 10 Member Chapter Event
• Midwest
2 Technology Committee Meeting Dinner meeting, Avalon Manor, Merrillville, Ind., USA
•D
irect Reduced Iron F
Orlando, Fla., USA
Steel IronyTM
Where’s the Hypocycloid?

© 2020 Association for Iron & Steel Technology
Each month a hypocycloid (F) is “hidden” on the cover of

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Iron & Steel Technology. While its size and color may vary, its
shape is maintained. Every month, Iron & Steel Technology
uses this space at the end of “Steel Calendar” to point out
where the hypocycloid was hidden on the previous issue’s
cover. When you find the hypocycloid, post it to AIST’s
Facebook page. Challenge yourself to find it before looking
on the page for the answer.
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• Electric Steelmaking

A Publication of the Association for Iron & Steel Technology

Two world leaders in industrial process fluids, Quaker Chemical

2019–2020 Board of Directors

• 2020 AIST North and

IN OUR NEXT ISSUE

One World Trade Center.

Learn more at:

Starting the New Year Off on a High Note

PROFILE OF CISDI GROUP

Provides full- Provides full-

Provides full life-cycle services

Formosa Ha Tinh Steel (FHS), Vietnam

Blast Furnace Fast

Modular-based short-outage overhaul

High-strength Strip Mill

High-strength coil dividing and skin pass

Also in the News Cleveland-Cliffs reaches deal to acquire AK Steel

nity in Ashland, we can then offer our

Wire rod coils

High-speed shear Wire rod mills

INGENIOUS SOLUTIONS TO FUEL YOUR SUCCESS

30 March - 3 April 2020

SMS group GmbH SMS group S.p.A.

Algoma Steel commences plate mill upgrade

plate mill at Canada’s Algoma Steel In a statement, Danieli said it

SSAB begins cooling line

ucts to 39% by 2022.

Nucor signs contract for bar

vacuum degasser at a Nucor Corp.

DIRECT REDUCTION ARC FURNACES

4 Signs That You Need To Upgrade Or Replace Your

detectors. We are experts in diagnosing and recommending a

Vietnam 1,680 1,342 337 25.1 17,084 11,421 5,664 49.6

Note: The countries included in this table accounted for approximately

e = estimate Source: World Steel Association. Data as of 27 November 2019.

8,250 81% 1,950

Weekly production (’000 tons)

Capability utilization (%)

U.S. Production Capability and Imports — Monthly imports — Monthly exports

crude steel (Fig. 1) in October 2019, a decline of 4.1% 3,500 41%

from the same month in the prior year. In the same

Monthly imports as % of apparent supply

duction was slightly above the rolling 36-month average

For comparison, October’s global crude steel production 1,000 26%

Imports and Exports ­— U.S. imports fell 16.0% in Septem-

Table 1 provides a breakdown of imports by country of

Monthly imports (’000 tons) m-o-m m-o-m y-o-y y-o-y

South Korea 157 263 189 (106) (40.2) (32) (17.0)

India 11 21 22 (10) (48.6) (12) (52.7)

Total imports 1,900 2,019 2,262 (119) (5.9) (362) (16.0)

Monthly imports (’000 tons) m-o-m m-o-m y-o-y y-o-y

Monthly average exchange rate comparisons m-o-m m-o-m y-o-y y-o-y

JAN 2020 IRON & STEEL TECHNOLOGY AIST.ORG

ping nearly 31% to 177,000 tons.

— Total construction — Private construction — Highway construction — y-o-y % change

Highway construction (US$bn)

400 -4% 90 -5.0%

1,200 120% 69 21%

New orders (US$ bn)

1,000 80% 66 12%

— Industrial production — y-o-y % change 65%

Institute of Supply Management (ISM) Index

Oct’19 Sep’19 Oct’18 m-o-m m-o-m y-o-y y-o-y

• Electric Steelmaking

Imports and Exports — U.S. imports fell 16.0% in Septem-