In the mathematical model of the VAR process developed at Nancy, the coupled transport equations are solved in transient conditions, using an evolutive mesh for the ingot. The turbulent flow of the liquid metal is described by a k-ε method. The main physical phenomena included in the model are: latent heat dissipation, solute partitioning at solidification and liquid flow in the mushy zone. The model allows to represent the entire cycle of melting and electromagnetic stirring, and to relate directly the operational parameters to the metallurgical quality of the product. After validation, it has been implemented in a simulation software for an industrial sequence of triple VAR remelting. This software is currently used in industry.

CPM developed a mechanical sensor to measure coke oven wall deflections. This sensor was used in Dunkirk coke plant under normal operating conditions and showed reversible deflections between 1 and 1.5 mm when plastic layers meet at the oven centre. Special blends, with a high content of low volatile coals, were charged in several ovens of the Drocourt coke plant. In those conditions, CPM noticed the same phenomena as in Dunkirk plant but also reversible wall deflections just after charging.

A major investment programme is going on in the Sidmar steel plant. This programme will be described briefly. One of the investments was the modernization of the primary dedusting system of both BOF. The reason for this modification is twofold : reduction of the emissions through the flare stack and increase of the oxygen flow rate. This paper describes the existing equipment and all modifications made, the emission results and the very large influence on the BOF cycle time (reduction from more than 31 to 28 min only) leading to an important capacity increase of the BOF using a 1 out of 2 vessel operation.

TEM in situ straining experiments are of high interest in evidencing the dislocation mechanisms responsible for the macroscopic behaviour of materials. The application of this technique to biphased materials is illustrated here through various examples in which deformation is controlled either by dislocation propagation (e.g. precipitate overcoming) or by dislocation nucleation (e.g. interfacial sources).

The greenhouse gas emissions of a steel mill have already been described rather extensively from a process metallurgy point-of-view and the potential impact of alternative technologies has been estimated, especially by taking into account innovative concepts that still need long term development. To progress further, it is necessary to carry out the analysis at a broader scale than the steel mill itself. Downstream, it is possible to utilize slag in the cement industry to replace natural resources, blast furnace gases in an energy optimized power plant and coke oven gas to produce hydrogen to be used as a fuel to power fuel cell driven electrical automobiles. Upstream, it also makes sense to use secondary raw materials and secondary energy sources instead of coal or natural gas. Moreover, sustainable recycling, i.e. carried out an indefinite number of times, reduces emissions drastically.

A specific method for the automatic starting of strands fed through stopper flow control is presented. The methodology includes on one hand the estimation of the flow rate in function of the stopper opening, and on the other hand the qualification of the stopper flow control system prior to strand starting. Moreover, metallurgy and behaviour of different steel grades are considered in order to optimize the mould filling time. Results are given from the installation of the system on one slab caster which produces a wide range of steel grades, and on one bloom caster which produces stainless steel.

A finite element 3D polycrystalline aggregate made of 216 grains is subjected to a mean axial deformation up to 1%. The heterogeneities inside the polycrystal are due to the crystallographic orientations of the grains - this appears at the scale of the mean responses per grain - and to the local interaction between neighbouring grains - this appears at the intragranular scale. The intragranular heterogeneity is measured as a function of the distance to the grain boundary, inside a single grain and for all the points of the microstructure. It is characterized by dispersions of the local responses due to grain boundaries. These measurements correspond to dispersions - variances -; the statistical errors have also been determined.

In the series of conferences organized by VAI, the 2002 edition was devoted to steelmaking. The LD process was particularly at honour, at the occasion of its 50th anniversary. New developments at VAI in the area of upgrading and automation technologies for converter steelmaking were also presented, based on recent applications. Trends and developments in stainless steelmaking were finally reviewed and recently started-up plants were described.

Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steelmaking generates fumes that must be captured for economic and environmental reasons. The fumes exhaust control at the EAF must be adapted to the process in order to fulfil the steel plant requirements and to meet the environmental regulations. It is in this context that Irsid has implemented, on 6 EAF (5 in France and 1 in Belgium), a strategy of advanced control associated to a representative instrumentation of the fumes emissions. An on-line defect detection algorithm is added to the pressure control in order to improve its reliability. Latest results obtained in Le Creusot have shown that the fumes exhaust control has a direct impact on the EAF ratios with a reduction of energy consumption, a reduction of electrode consumption and a reduction of the amount of dust recovered in the filters.

During the last 5 years, the semi-conductor industry has enhanced device performances by scaling down the feature sizes and by introduction of new technologies. Transmission electron microscopy with high resolution images (HREM) has become an indispensable tool for analyzing devices structure at nanoscale, for failures analysis, defects review and manufacture controlling. In parallel to this progress on the devices, the sample preparation techniques for MET compatible with the requirements of the industrial world were developed and open new prospects. In this paper, we present these techniques of sample preparation. Then we show examples in what high resolution images make it possible to answer industrial problems.

Eko Stahl installed a roll gap lubrication system in stands F2-F4 of its HSM in 2001. The main objectives were energy saving, reduction of roll wear and vibration. The paper describes the equipment and its startup, the consequences of roll gap lubrication, looper angles and AGC, the cost saving results by energy saving and roll wear reduction. The influence on surface quality and environment is described as well as the ongoing optimization process.

Modelling is a powerful tool for preparing and carrying industrial developments through. Jean Morlet used modelling widely and contributed to the opening out of a strong French school. Several types of development will be presented and illustrated with concrete achievements carried out during the course of Jean Morlet's career.

The dimensional range of the Bokaro Steel hot strip mill (India) has been increased through the application of optimized process models and advanced control systems. With limited investment costs, Bokaro Steel is now able to offer to its customers a significantly extended product range.

The innovative technological solutions by VAI (VOEST-ALPINE Industrieanlagenbau, Austria), which are presented, allow to obtain substantially improved results for profile and flatness of hot rolled strip. These solutions concern, on the one hand, the design of rolling stands and rolls and, on the other hand, highly modern numerical models for the control of the important parameters.

A self-consistent elastic-plastic model has been developed for the analysis of the behaviour of rolled samples of zirconium 702 during mechanical loading. The thermal residual stresses produced by cooling from the annealing temperature to room temperature have been determined and compared to X-ray diffraction results. The elastoplastic behaviour of zirconium in tensile tests along the rolling and transverse directions has been simulated and compared to the experimental results. The influence of texture and of existing thermal stresses on the response of the material could be studied and explained by this approach.

Against the background of the several years lasting slump in the real price of stainless steels, different ways to reduce the production costs of these steels are analyzed. They consist in innovative technologies, some of which are already applied and others are still waiting for confirmation at the industrial scale. The emphasis is put on developments made by Voest-Alpine Industrieanlagenbau (VAI).

After transfer to the P.R. of China and modernization in many respects of the installation of a former German steel plant, the Chinese steel producer Shagang will also be able in the future to make high quality flat products. Many important modernization projects are carried out by VOEST-ALPINE Industrieanlagenbau (VAI, Austria). In the case of the hot strip mill, these projects concern in the first place the implementation of high standard technical solutions for rolling technology, automation and process optimization.

This paper is mainly devoted to the presentation and the illustration of chemical microananalysis methods. Four basic techniques will be successively presented: the energy dispersive X-rays spectroscopy (EDS), the wave dispersive spectroscopy of X-rays (WDS), the electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) and the Auger spectroscopy (AES). For each of them, the limitations and advantages will be presented.

The CEQCSI software (Chemical EQuilibrium Calculation for the Steel Industry) was developed at IRSID under the guidance of Jean Morlet. This paper discusses the place of CEQCSI in the fast expanding field of Computational Thermodynamics packages, analyzes the major impact experimentation at Imphy had on its evolution, presents a few examples of industrial applications in ladle metallurgy and inclusions control, and finally evokes trends in the association of thermodynamic codes with CFD (computational fluid dynamics) codes and kinetic models.

In this study, we present an analysis of the internal stresses generated during cooling of alumina-chromium composites using a micromechanical approach by a finite element method. Residual stress fields are calculated for microstructural models derived from a scanning electron microscope image. Results show in particular that particles with concave shapes can generate relatively high local plastic deformation and residual stress distributions in the adjacent matrix that are very different from those of particles with a spherical shape. We present also the experimental determination of residual stresses using synchrotron radiation from LURE. We show that measurements are possible and the results concerning the mean stresses in the alumina and chromium phases are analyzed.