TPT January 2018

G LOBA L MARKE T P L AC E

While still very much at the research stage, the work suggests that ultra-strong 3D-printed stainless steel may not be too far away. Its development would allow engine parts, for example, to be made significantly tougher. In particular, the researchers think, the advance could have application in fields like the oil and gas industries and aerospace, where extreme conditions create a pressing requirement for durability in metal components. Conventionally produced 316L already sees service in oil pipelines. Dr Wang told Digital Trends that the next goal of the team is to apply 3D-printing technology to other, more brittle, materials to learn whether they can be made stronger and more ductile. Scientists at Ames National Laboratory (Iowa), Georgia Tech University, and Oregon State University participated in the research at Livermore. A paper describing their work, “Additively Manufactured Hierarchical Stainless Steels with High Strength And Ductility,” was recently published in the journal Nature Materials. Elsewhere in steel . . . › ArcelorMittal plans to invest $1bn over the next three years to construct a new hot strip mill in Mexico capable of turning out 2.5 million tons of flat-rolled steel coil a year for Mexican customers. The Luxembourg-based steelmaker, the world’s largest by volume, announced it would invest heavily in mining and steelmaking in Mexico, where many US automakers have been shifting small car production. One of Northwest Indiana’s largest employers, the global steelmaker expects the new hot strip mill to boost its productivity in Mexico from 4 million tons a year to 5.3 million tons a year. As noted by Joseph S Pete on nwi.com (27 October), ArcelorMittal accounts for about two-thirds of the 15 million tons of steel produced in Northwest Indiana annually. The company recently invested $200mn in improvements at its Indiana Harbor steel mill there, including upgrades to the 80" hot strip mill. But it also idled many finishing lines, including the hot strip mill at the former LTV mill nearby. Automot i ve When will the US follow China in spurning the internal combustion engine? Educated guesses range from 2025, 2035, 2050, to never “But let’s assume that the attitudes of the TrumpAdministration, whose top administrators have frequently denied accepted climate science, are a temporary aberration.” The assumption suggested by John Voelcker, the editor of Green Car Reports , was by way of setting the stage for an informal poll of the magazine’s Twitter followers. Positing a

an additional boost from a nationwide boom in other building. And a cutback in steel production in China is also facilitating the emergence of the industry in Japan from a period of high inventories and low profitability. Japan’s biggest steelmaker, Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp, reported an 800 per cent increase in net profit in the first half of its 2017/18 financial year. And JFE Holdings, the second-biggest Japanese steelmaker, posted net profit in the first half, after a net loss; and it forecast that full-year profit will more than double. With construction materials in tighter supply, Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co Ltd, Japan’s top electric-arc furnace steelmaker, said that prices for H-beams, its main product, rose to $711 per metric ton in October, the highest since 2011. “This is the first time since 2013 to see the steel market being pulled by stronger demand, instead of pushed by higher costs of materials,” Atsushi Yamaguchi, an analyst at SMBC Nikko Securities, told Reuters. › But Ms Obayashi pointed out that Japan’s third-biggest steelmaker, Kobe Steel Ltd, is conspicuously detached from the trend, struggling to contain fallout from its role in one of Japan’s biggest industrial scandals. (“Japan’s Steelmakers in Rare Sweet Spot, but Kobe Steel May Miss Out,” 1 November) Kobe’s admission, in October, of widespread cheating on product specifications has compelled companies in global supply chains to check whether the safety or performance of any of their goods has been compromised. The company said it had lost customers. And analysts told Reuters that, after the revocation of Kobe Steel’s seal of industrial quality, more contract cancellations could be expected. › Executive vice-president Naoto Umehara said the misconduct would likely reduce Kobe Steel’s second-half recurring profit by $87.7mn, 70 per cent of which will come mainly from the steel business. Researchers say an ultrastrong 3D-printed stainless steel holds promise for oil and gas applications In Digital Trends, Luke Dormehl reported that investigators at several research institutions, including Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, have made what they believe is a major breakthrough in the 3D printing of 316L, a type of marine-grade stainless steel. Superior to other such steels – which offer high strength but have low ductility – versatile 316L is able to plastically deform and adapt when under stress. This quality, the opposite of brittleness, allows it to absorb energy and makes it more durable. As described by Mr Dormehl, the researchers used two laser 3D printers to fabricate thin plates of 316L for mechanical testing. They found that the material produced can be very much stronger than steels manufactured using conventional techniques. According to Morris Wang, a materials scientist at Livermore, this opens the door for 3D printing of actual components. (“3D-Printed Stainless Steel Is Up to Three Times Tougher Than Alternatives,” 1 November)

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JANUARY 2018