Jasper Ore
The term applied to iron formations which are composed of steel-gray, crystalline or specular hematite, and finely granular quartz, with minor iron silicates. Jaspers are concentrated by froth floatation methods.
JP (Jet-Process)
- Fully alloyed galvanneal product. 2. The aluminum percentage is reduced from the pot on the Galvanize lines; primarily zinc left; produces a flat, dull coating on the steel (Jet-Process).
Jumbo Coil
A single coil produced by welding two or more coils.
Kaldo Process
A process of steel making where the impurities are oxidised by blowing high purity oxygen through an inclined lance (or lances) on the surface of high phosphorous molten pig iron held in a basic lined converter which is inclined at about 20o to the horizontal and is rotated at rates up to 35 revolutions/minute.
Key
A wedge used for fastening the dies into the hammer tup of into the anvil block.
Killed Steel (Solid Steel)
Steel which has been fully deoxidized to reduce the oxygen content of the steel to a minimum in order that it lies perfectly quiet when poured into an ingot mould and no reaction takes place between carbon and oxygen during solidification. There is no evolution of gas in the mould and the to surface of the ingot solidifies with relative rapidity. Killed steel generally is used when a homogeneous structure is required in the finished steel. In general, all steels with more than 0.30% carbon content are killed.
Kisser
Patches of scale left on sheets after pickling. This results from two sheets having remained in close contact during pickling.
K-Plate
Tin plate with superior corrosion resistance to mild acid food products; must meet four (4) special property tests : 1. Pickle lags 10 or less. 2. Tin crystal size ASTM 9 or larger. 3. ISV (iron solution value) 20 micro grams Fe or less. 4. ATC (Alloy tin couple – American Can test) or AMP (Aerated Media Polarization test) Avg. 0.050 micro amps/sq. cm. Or less – 95% 0.085 or less. No test over 0.120.
Knoop Hardness Test
An indentation hardness test using calibrated machines to force a rhombic-based pyramidal diamond indentor having specified edge angles, under specified conditions, into the surface of the material under test and to measure the long diagonal after removal of the load.
Lace
Area where the strip is joined together (with wire, bands, etc.) after being broken.
Lacquer
A coating composition which is based on synthetic thermoplastic film forming material dissolved in organic solvent and which dries primarily by solvent evaporation during stoving operations.
Ladle Injection
A process by which deoxidizers, special materials and rare earth metals are added to ladles of steel. The process is the best of all secondary steel-making processes for achieving excellent inclusion morphology in steel.
Ladle Refining Furnace (LRF)
A ladle refining furnace has the ability to reheat the liquid steel. This allows the steel-makers to add greater amounts of alloys to the liquid steel. The furnaces’ capacity to provide heat during refining by arc-reheating gives the steel-makers the capability to desulphurize, deoxidize and perform metallurgical operations with synthetic slag. The ladle refining step comes after the steel is melted and refined in the electric arc or basic oxygen furnace, but before the steel is sent to the continuous caster.
Ladle Rigging
A mechanism for raising and lowering the stopper rod vertically to open and close the bottom hole of a steel ladle.
Lagging
Slack in the strip.
Lamellar Tear
A system of cracks or discontinuities aligned generally to the worked surface of a plate. This is usually associated with a fusion weld in thick plate.
Laminations
Imperfections resulting from the presence of foreign inclusions, laps, blisters or other discontinuity in the steel typically aligned parallel to the worked surface or rolling direction of the metal. This imparts a tendency to split into layers along the direction of rolling.
Lap (Overlap, Shut)
A surface imperfection on worked metal caused by folding over a fin overfill or similar surface condition, then impressing this into the surface by subsequent working without welding it.
Lap Weld
Done at platers; coil ends are “lapped” over one another and welded; it doubles the thickness of the steel at the weld and is marked by a hole punch.
Lattens
A measure of thickness, and refers to those hot rolled sheets having thickness from 0.56 to 0.4 mm.
LD-AC (Arbed Cockerill Process)
This process is an extension of the LD process developed in Belgium whereby lime powder is introduced vertically into an LD converter along with the oxygen in order to make the LD process suitable for refining high phosphorus (up to 2 percent) bearing molten pig iron.
LD Process (Linz Donawitz Process)
A process of steel making where the impurities are oxidized by blowing high purity oxygen through a lance at supersonic speeds vertically on the surface of the molten pig iron held in a stationary basic lined converter which itself is kept vertical.
Lead Annealing
A process to anneal wire, it consists of drawing the wire through a bath of molten lead heated to the proper temperature.
Lead-Time
Delivery time for an item of inventory to be moved from a source location to a destination via a specific route. Detail is specific to the level of the location. Also the time to produce a customer’s order from order placement to shipment.
Leveling
The process by which a leveling machine flattens metal strip, coil, or sheets beyond its yield point by bending it up and down over the interrupting arcs of upper and lowers sets of long, slender work rolls. Machines generally employ 17, 19, or 21 relatively small diameter rolls whose deflection under load is controlled by additional back-up rollers and a rigid frame.
Leveling Line
A process to flatten any shape deficiencies (wavy edges and buckles) in the sheet, prior to final shipment. Most cold-rolled sheet initially has a crowned cross-section that, if such a shape is undesirable to the customer, must be flattened in the leveling line.
Leveling Rolls
A set of five adjustable rolls that flatten or level the front end strip of steel when running through the feeders.
Life Cycle Costing
An accounting method of costing where expenses are allocated over the life of the product. Life cycle costs are often lower for stainless steel than for alternatives despite a higher initial outlay, because stainless products generally last longer and require little maintenance.
Lift
A stack of sheared-to-length plates or sheets.
Light Gauge (Defect)
Product with a thickness below the customer’s minimum gauge tolerance.
Light-Gauge Steel
Very thin steel sheet that has been temper-rolled or passed through a cold-reduction mill. Light gauge steel normally is plated with tin or chrome for use in food containers.
Light Special Treatment
A surface treatment of dried-in-place chromate for electro-galvanized product which provides corrosion resistance. A lighter film weight is applied as compared to special treatment. (See Special Treatment)
Lime
A product (calcium oxide, CaO) obtained by burning limestone (calcium carbonate, CaCo3) and is used in basic steel making practice as a flux, and to a limited extent as mould wash.
Limestone
Naturally occurring mineral comprising mainly calcium cabonate (CaCo3) containing various impurities, chiefly silica and alumina and used as flux in steel industry.
Lineal Footage Counter
Electronic device used to count lineal footage of a coil.
Line Marking
Lines are used as the identifying marks on the heavy Tin coated side of the strip to identify it to the customer.
Line Pipe
Pipe used in the surface transmission of oil, natural gas and other fluids.
Line Speed
Speed at which the coil is processed through the line; Platers may run 1800+ feet per minute.
Liquid Carburizing
A light, hard case, which is also a mixture of carbides and nitrides, is obtained by immersing the steel in a molten salt bath containing about 30% sodium cyanide at 870o C for periods of about ½ to 1 hour. This results in a case depth of about 0.25mm.
Location
A coding system that defines the physical placement of materials, usually to a high degree of specificity.
Lock Out / Tag Out
Terminology used to describe the process of securing an energy source so that work may be done. This is accomplished by locking out all the energy sources pertaining to the device, tagging out the resources, and trying out the device to make sure that it is de-energized and safe for work to be done.
Lockseam Test
A test performed on a galvanized product to evaluate the adherence of the zinc to the steel substrate. This test involves bending the steel to form an ‘S’ shape and assessing the adherence of the coating along the apexes.
Logistics
The science of identifying, maintaining, and transporting materials.
Longitudinal Direction
The principal direction of flow in a worked metal.
Long Products
Classification of steel products that includes bar, rod and structural products, that are “long”, rather than “flat”.
Looper / Loop Tower
- Area where the strip accumulates enabling the line to continue running while making a weld. 2. Collecting unit used for storing steel. This enables the Entry or Delivery End of the line to stop without stopping production.
Loose Wrap
A coil that is not wound tight. Using too little tension when winding causes this condition.
Lot No.
Identifies groups of coils for a particular customer order to be processed at a certain time; identifies a particular group of coils to load.
Low-Carbon Steel
Steel with less than 0.005% carbon is more ductile (malleable): It is capable of being drawn out or rolled thin for use in automotive body applications. Carbon is removed from the steel bath through vacuum degassing.
Low Coating
A condition that occurs when the coating thickness is less than customer specifications.
Lowboy (or Stabilizer Roll)
Submerged roll in the pot used to stabilize the strip as it exits the pot before entering the dies.
Low Temperature Steel
Steels which are especially suited for extremely cold climates and for the handling of relatively ‘warm’ (to –100o) liquefied gases such as propane, anhydrous ammonia, carbon dioxide and ethane.
Luting
The original method of sealing the doors of coke ovens by trowelling and smoothening ground ‘mud’ into the V-shaped opening between the door and the door jamb. In recent years, there have been developed self-sealing doors that do not require luting.
Machinability
The capability of being machined. It is controlled through the composition and rate of cooling, but often must be sacrificed for some more essential property, such as strength or toughness.
Machine Straightening
Straightening by reeling, speening or other mechanical means.
Magnesite
Naturally occurring magnesium carbonate (MgCO3) containing small amounts of silica, alumina and iron oxide, and is used in making banks and bottom of a basic furnace, as well as during its fettling.
Magnetite
The iron oxide, having the composition Fe3O4, corresponding to 72.36% of iron and 27.64% of oxygen, specific gravity 5.16 to 5.18, occurring in nature in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks and associated with varying amounts of impurities.
Magnetite Taconite
The rock name applied to bedded sedimentary iron formations in which the principal iron mineral is magnetite. It is a hard, dense, compact, fine-grained rock, commonly containing from 40 to 55% silica and 15 to 35% iron in the form of magnetite. Magnetite taconite ores are concentrated by magnetic methods after fine grinding.
Magnet Steels
These are an example of alloy electrical steels. The outstanding property of these steels is their retentivity or ability to retain magnetism. Cobalt, chromium, and tungsten are the alloying elements commonly used to enhance this characteristic.
Malleability
Capacity for undergoing deformation in all directions, usually cold deformation by hammering or squeezing, without fracture.
Malleable Iron
The term usually means malleable cast iron but it is sometimes applied to wrought iron also.
Malleablizing
Annealing white cast iron so that some or all of the combined carbon is transformed into graphite or, in some instances, so that part of the carbon is removed completely.
Mandrel
A round bar, usually slightly tapered, inserted through the forging and not supported at the ends, and around which a tube, ring or drum is forged between the upper & lower tools of the hammer or press. The mandrel governs the internal diameter.
Man-Hours Per Ton
This is a measure of labor efficiency i.e. the ratio of total hours worked by steel employees to the tons shipped for a given period of time. Changes in the inventory level and work that is contracted out will affect the reported measurement.
Martempering
- A hardening procedure in which an austentized ferrous material is quenched into an appropriate medium at a temperature just above the martensite start temperature of the material, held in the medium until the temperature is uniform throughout, although not long enough for bainite to form, then cooled in air. The treatment is frequently followed by tempering.
- When the process is applied to carburized material, the controlling martensite start temperature is that of the case. This variation of the process is frequently called marquenching.
Martensitic
Small category of stainless steel characterized by the use of heat treatment for hardening and strengthening. Refers to a particular grain structure of steel which is extremely hard and consists of iron oxide precipitates in a ferrite matrix. Martensitic stainless steels are plain chromium steels with no significant nickel content. They are utilized in equipment for the chemical and oil industries and in surgical instruments. The most popular martensitic stainless steel is type 410 (a grade appropriate for non-severe corrosion environments requiring high strength).
Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)
Sheets that document safety issues associated with various materials used.
Matte Finish
A dull or grit surface appearance achieved by rolling on rolls which have been roughened by mechanical, chemical, or electrical means to various degrees of surface texture.
Matte Surface
A dull surface appearance on a tin plate product; non-reflowed tinplate. See Reflowed Surface.
Mechanical Galvanizing
A batch process used to produce a zinc coating on manufactured steel items by shot peening. Small iron and steel parts are coated with zinc by drum-tumbling with a mixture of promoter chemicals, zinc powder, and glass beads. The tumbling action peens the zinc powder onto the part.
Mechanical Properties
Those properties of a material that reveal the elastic and inelastic reaction when force is applied, or that involve the relationship between stress and strain; for example, the modulus of elasticity, tensile strength, and fatigue limit. These properties have often been designated as “physical properties,” but the term “mechanical properties” is much to be preferred. These are determined by mechanical methods involving destruction or deformation or both, such as tensile test, bend test, impact test and hardness test.
Mechanical Shaping
Permanent deformation of metal with the objective usually of production of a specific shape or size.
Medium-Carbon Steel
Carbon steel containing generally minimum of 0.30% carbon and maximum 0.60% carbon.
Melt
A stage in the steel making process when all the scrap charged has been melted. This term is also synonymous with cast, blow or heat.
Merchant Bar
- A group of commodity steel shapes that consist of rounds, squares, flats, strips, angles, and channels, which fabricators, steel service centers and manufacturers cut, bend and shape into products. Merchant products require more specialized processing than reinforcing bar.
- A trade term for black bar.
Metallizing
A process used to produce a zinc coating on manufactured steel items by metal spraying. Zinc metal wire or powder is fed into a spray gun where it is melted and sprayed onto the part to be coated. Melting is accomplished either by combustion in an oxygen-fuel gas flame or an electric arc. Combustion gases and/or auxiliary compressed air provide the necessary velocity to spray the liquid metal onto the part.
Metallography
The science dealing with the condition and structure of metals and alloys as revealed to the unaided eye or by using such tools a low-power magnification, optical microscopy, electron microscopy, and diffraction or x-ray techniques.
Microcleanliness
Removal of undesirable non-metallics, primarily oxides and sulphides.
Microvalve
A control valve used to control the hydraulic pressure to the clutch plates on the winch drive.
Middling
Forging the middle of an ingot or billet as a first operation; into finishing the middle of a forging before either end.
Mild Drawn Wire (Soft Drawn Wire)
Wire drawn from the rod or annealed base with a reduction of area of less than 10%.
Mill Edge
The edge as obtained from the normal practice of rolling without the use of edge rolls. This replaces the old term, band edge.
Mill Finish
The surface finish on sheets corresponding to the ground finish of rolls used.
Mill Scale
Oxide layer (scale) formed during heating of the bar, which is dislodged at the mill and collected.
Mild Steel
Carbon steel containing generally less than 0.30% carbon.
Mini-Mills
Normally defined as steel mills that melt scrap metal to produce commodity products. Although the mini-mills are subject to the same steel processing requirements after the caster as the integrated steel companies, they differ greatly in regard to their minimum efficient size and product markets. See Integrated Mills.
Minimized Spangle
A dull Hot-Dipped Galvanized surface appearance in which the normal zinc formation has been suppressed; achieved by applying water droplets or some other nucleating agent to the zinc surface after the bath but before the zinc solidifies to suppress the growth of spangle.
Minimum Triple Spot Average Coating
The average of three coating weights test results obtained from a full width sample of a galvanized (or any other coated) coil: 2 inches from each end and dead center.
Misting
A coating defect consisting of a condition encountered, primarily on D & I high speed beverage can coating machines, which appears as many fine spots of coating.
Mist Cooling
A cooling process used in secondary cooling section of steel melting shop in place of conventional water sprays. The mist is produced by an atomized nozzle in which cooling water and compressed air are premixed; the mist is discharged through a slit outlet from a pressure chamber. This improves heat transfer, resulting in significantly lower water volumes and greater cooling uniformity.
Mixer
A large refractory lined cylindrical or rectangular vessel, provided with tilting arrangement, and is used for storage of molten iron, and in some cases, for pertly refining the stored metal (active mixer used in open hearth shops). Apart from storage, it offers considerable latitude towards the intake of ‘off standard’ hot iron, and aims in bringing about some uniformity in the supply of hot iron for steel making.
Mixer Metal
Molten iron from the blast furnace which has been stored in a mixer preparatory to conversion to steel.
Modulus of Elasticity
The number which represents the relative “springness” of a given type of metal. All steels have the same modulus of elasticity or “springiness” regardless of the tensile or yield strengths. That is, until the yield point is reached they all stretch the same amount for a given load. Aluminum, on the other hand, is more elastic than steel and thus will stretch more than steel under the same loading.
Molybdenum (Mo)
An alloying element used as a raw material for some classes of stainless steel. Molybdenum in the presence of chromium enhances the corrosion resistance of stainless steel.
Monkey
(See Slag Notch.)
Months of Inventory
Ratio of the end-of-period inventory to average monthly level of sales for the period.
Mould Dressing
Materials (such as varnish, lacquor, tar, etc.) applied to the inner faces of moulds for better ingot surface.
M Sections (Bantam BeamsTM , Junior BeamsTM)
Light footweight beams primarily used in the construction of pre-engineered housing. These beams are produced in lighter footweights, usually six to 10 pounds per foot, than traditional structural products.
Muck Bar
Semi-finished bar produced in the forge.
Mud Gun
It consists of a hollow, cylindrical barrel and a plunger that pushes the refractory clay out through a nozzle into the tap hole of a blast furnace to plug it after the cast has been completed.
Mult
A “mult” is the term used to describe the slitting of a coil into multiple smaller strips. If a coil is slit into strips less than 9″, each strip is referred to as a “mult” and does not receive an individual IPM number. Mults are not removed from the line individually, but as a whole coil unit. For reasons pertaining to customer orders, however, they may be separated and packaged with “mults” from other coils for shipping.
Multiple Lengths
Length from which a given number of pieces of specific lengths can be cut with minimum waste.
Multi Stage Pumps
Pumps that are designed to put out different amounts of water pressure by changing the speed of the pump by opening up different ports on the turbine of the pump.