Alloy steels

Alloy steels have enhanced properties due to the larger proportion of elements such as manganese and silicon present in carbon steels.

Annealing

The heat treatment process by which steel products are reheated to a suitable temperature in order to remove stresses from previous processing and to soften them and/or improve their machinability and cold forming properties.

Apparent consumption

The sum of net industry shipments within a given country or region, plus its imports and minus its exports.

Bar

A finished steel product, commonly in flat, square, round or hexagonal shapes. Rolled from billets, bars are produced in two major types: merchant and special.

Billet

A semi-finished steel product with a square cross section up to 155mm x 155mm. This product is either rolled or continuously cast and is then transformed by rolling to obtain finished products like wire rod, merchant bars and other sections. The range of semi-finished products above 155 mm x 155 mm are called bloo

Blank

Steel sheet of high dimensional precision, in simple or complex form, sometimes multi-thickness, constituting principally automobile body parts.

Blast furnace

A furnace used in integrated steelmaking in which coke and iron ore react together under a hot air flow to form liquid hot metal, also called pig iron.

Carbon steel

A type of steel that generally has only a small quantity of elements other than carbon, silicon, manganese, sulphur and phosphorus, so it has no significant alloying element.

Coal

The primary fuel used by integrated iron and steel producers.

Coke

A form of carbonised coal burned in blast furnaces to reduce iron ore pellets or other iron-bearing materials iron.

Coke ovens

Ovens where coke is produced. Coal is usually dropped into the ovens through openings in the roof, and heated by gas burning in flues in the walls within the coke oven battery. After heating for about 18 hours, the end doors are removed and a ram pushes the coke into a quenching car for cooling before delivery to the blast furnace.

Cold rolling

Passing a sheet or strip that has previously been hot rolled and picked through cold rolls (below the softening temperature of the metal). Cold rolling makes a product that is thinner, smoother and stronger than can be made by hot rolling alone.

Continuous casting

A process for solidifying steel in the form of a continuous strand rather than individual ingots. Molten steel is poured into open-bottomed, water-cooled moulds. As the molten steel passes through the mould, the outer shell solidifies.

CRC

Cold rolled coil (see cold rolling)

Crude steel

Steel in the first solid state after melting, suitable for further processing or for sale. Synonymous with raw steel.

Direct reduction

A group of processes for making iron from ore without exceeding the melting temperature. No blast furnace is needed.

Electric arc furnace

A furnace for scrap-based steelmaking. Once the furnace is charged and covered, graphite electrodes are lowered through holes in the roof. The electric arc travelling between the electrodes and the metallic charge creates intense heat which melts the scrap. Alloying elements can be added during the process.

Electrical steels

Specially manufactured cold rolled sheet and strip containing silicon, processed to develop definite magnetic characteristics for use by the electrical industry.

Flat products

A type that is produced by rolls with smooth surfaces and ranges of dimension, varying in thickness. The two major flat steel product categories are thin, flat products (between 1mm and 10mm in thickness) and plates (between 10mm and 200mm thick and used for large welded pipes, ship building, construction, major works and boilers).