The environmental diagnosis of the coke plant site in Homécourt hasbeen carried out over the last 15 years. Bail Industrie has selectedtwo zones on the site for a remediation program in view of their furtherredevelopment. The weakly polluted grounds were submitted toa bio treatment, while the more polluted grounds were treated bythermal desorption. Tars have been incinerated off site. To assessthe effectiveness of the treatment, percolation tests are carried out.

The “airtight” technology allows energy savings but hinders directprocess observation inside the vessel and information on the unmeltedscrap volume and on possible skull formation at the furnacewalls. To overcome this difficulty, a new concept is proposed, basedon mounting a camera and an endoscope inside an existing burner.This technique has been first implemented on the 155 tons DC furnacein the PROFILARBED Esch-Belval plant. Typical images of themelting phase are presented. Scrap movement mechanisms in theburner produced cavity have been displayed in real time.Operational benefits combine the appraisal of scrap basket chargingtime and anticipation of abnormal melting behaviour.

A new method for controlling the BOF process is proposed thatinvolves the use of an original in blow heterogeneous sampler and adedicated laser analytical method. The aim is to deliver a fast andcomprehensive analysis of steel and slag collected by the heterogeneous-samplings. Combined with a metallurgical model, the dataobtained with the heterogeneous samples make it possible to dynamicallyassess the refining progress in order to allow a safe directtapping practice.

The control of temperature distribution across the strip is essential forthe hot strip flatness improvement. Hot strips of Arcelor in Avilès maydisplay wavy edge defects that are generated after the finisher and areattributed to residual stresses introduced by the accelerated coolingon the run-out-table. A first approach has established that the thermaldrop on the run-out-table has a significant effect on flatness, at theedges in particular. Among several systems that may control temperatureat the edges, the edge masking technology has been selected,considering the previous implementation on CSP mills. Wavy edgesare considerably removed or even suppressed on the operator side,while they are reduced but not eliminated on the drive side.

The coefficient of friction is one of the tribological factors that characterizethe process of multi pass hot rolling. Friction is strongly dependenton inter-pass and in-pass rolling and cooling processingparameters. It can be improved by application of hot lubricationunder specific conditions. This paper builds upon previous studies onthe application of a Coulomb-Norton friction mathematical model, tostudy the influence of hot lubrication for a range of rolling conditions,with a view to define conditions where lubrication is most effective.

Thickness defects on thin strips are caused by the cold rolling processitself or by mechanical trouble at the tandem mill. Dedicatedexperimental measurements of the related phenomena are reportedand a global analysis of their effect on the final product thickness isput forward. Innovative advanced solutions are presented to achievehigh thickness performance.

ThyssenKrupp's n° 8 hot dip galvanizing line is equipped with aChemcoater to apply passivating layers such as chromate orphosphate to the galvanized strip. Attention must be paid to the factthat the Chemcoater process can operate at variable speeds. Theinvestigations to achieve a constant thickness of the coated layerover width and length are reported.