New Applications
Awards 2022

New Application Awards

Table of contents
Market Development

Technology Award

Vertical Farming
Stainless steel Chinese lanterns
Application and popularization of life cycle theory in coal mine field
3CR12 Mining Roof bolts: Mild steel replacement
Liqueﬁed Hydrogen Carrier the “SUISO FRONTIER”
Super Austenitic Stainless Steel NAS254N (SUS836L) for Soy Sauce
Brewing Tanks
New Jersey 9-11 Memorial
Stainless Steel Vehicle Defence BarriersLighthouse Stainless Steel Lantern Room
Stainless Steel Smokehouse Oven
Stainless Steel Automated Aqueous Parts Washer
Market Development Award

Development of a Low-Cost Stainless Steel with High-Strength andToughness and Its Application“Hand tearable steel” -- Wide ultra-thin stainless steel precision strip
Low Ni alloyed Austenitic Stainless Steel (Grade STS290) for LCD paneltransport frameHigh Performance Ferritic Stainless Steel for Large-Scaled Washing
Machines and Dryers
Technological development of heat and surface treatment on duplex
and super duplex

BACK

?

2

New Application Awards

Introduction
For the 7th time, our members haveparticipated in the New Applications
Awards.
For the New Technology Awards we arelooking to recognise original concepts thatmake significant contributions in either
the production methods for stainlesssteels or for the application of stainlesssteels in service. In the New Development
category we are looking for highly original
concepts that promote bespoke stainless
grades, have a significant global market
potential and offer strong environmental
improvements in terms of preservation of
scarce resources and/or reduction of GHGs
and/or reduction in lifetime maintenancecosts.
In each Awards category three winners
are chosen, giving them a Gold, Silver orBronze Award. The worldstainless Teamstrongly believes all case studies and all
the work done at the member sites help
companies to innovate and find novel

applications and technology for theirproducts.

Target Beneficiaries from the Action

All companies supplying case studies forthe application awards had to answer thefollowing questions:or communities who have benefited fromThe Challenge
What problem were you trying to solve or whatfeature were you trying to develop?

Why?

Who are the people, organisations and/the outcome of the above action? (e.g.; hostcompany, employees, contractors, local
community, regional community, customers,
global community, etc.)

Horizontal Expansion Capability
Can the actions or approach taken be
expanded for use elsewhere within yourWhy did you decide it was necessary to addresscompany and/or applied within other member

All case studies andthis challenge?

companies?

all the work done at

Needed Action

OutcomeWhat action(s) did you take to solve theWhat benefits have you observed andproblem or undertake the development?

quantified since you took the action? Please

Action Review
Were the action(s) taken SMART? Specific,
Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timeboundalso explain the value of each of the statedbenefits to employee health and well-being,

the member sites
help companies toinnovate and findnovel applications
and technology for
their products.

job satisfaction, leading indicators (KPIs) andlagging indicators (KPIs).
We hope the case studies will give inspiration
to other member companies worldwide.
The worldstainless Team

BACK

?

3

New Application Awards

Vertical Farming
Member Company
ACERINOX EUROPA, S.A.U.
on behalf of Farmitank

Category
Original application concept for stainlesssteels; Strong environmental improvement
potential; reduction in routine
maintenance costs; life-cycle costs (LCCS)
lowest compared to competing materials

The Challenge

issue. The challenge was carried out inorder to prevent the future food crisis.

Needed Action
To develop a fully climate-controlledhydroponic farm that integrates anadvanced technology to achieve theoptimal climatic and lighting conditions
that, combined with a perfect mix ofnutrients, guarantees the maximum
product quality. It is an isothermal,
modular and scalable stainless-steel tank.

The objective is to allow you to growcrops anywhere in the world regardlessof external climatic conditions. Vertical
farming turns agriculture into an industrial
process which constant costs, production
and quality are achieved.

Action Review

Why?

Achievable; It is achievable because it is

Because it was observed there will be
shortage of food and water in the years tocome and that will become a worldwide

Specific; It is developed to solve theproblem detected.
Measurable; It is quantified the quantity ofwater it is being saved.
already in use.
Realistic; It is designed as a modular

system. It can be adapted to the client
BACK

?

4

New Application Awards

needs.

OutcomeTime-bound; It has being developed in

The project contributes to territorial
development allowing horticultural
products processing in those regions andcountries where it would not be possible
to grow certain products, due to theclimate conditions or the shortage of water
resources.

phases starting from the idea, and passing
through three different prototypes before
having the final version.

Horizontal Expansion Capability
It is a patented system.

The elevator system improves theemployees’ health and wellbeing at thesame time that improves the businessefficiency.

BACK

?

5

New Application Awards

6

Stainless steel Chinese lanterns
Member Company
Australian Stainless Steel Development
Association (ASSDA)

Category
Original application concept for stainlesssteels; Strong environmental improvement
potential; Reduction in routine
maintenance costs; Life-cycle costs (LCCs)
lowest compared to competing materials

The Challenge
Chinese lanterns are a symbol of Chinese
culture worldwide, initially used to provide
light and later adopted for religious
worship, decoration and celebration.
Traditionally made from silk or paper, theCity of Melbourne recently evolved theChinese hanging lanterns featured on
Little Bourke Street from cloth to stainlesssteel. In extensive consultation with the
Chinatown Precinct Association, the City of
Melbourne and GHD (Structural Engineers)

reimagined the classic Chinese lanternwith a detailed design that preserved the
traditional aesthetics while examining a
number of considerations.

Why?
Durability and product life cycle werestrong factors to reduce maintenanceand regular replacement of the lanterns.
Strength-to-weight ratio and resilienceto local weather conditions was also
important, with the completed design
required to stay below 7kg to be viable
for use on the existing catenary lighting
system.

Needed Action
ASSDA Member Draffin Street Furniture
worked closely with the City of Melbourne
to bring the design to life, assisting with thematerials selection and manufacturabilityof the lanterns. Two prototype lanterns
were installed at the corner of Heffernan
Lane and Little Bourke Street to test thedesign and seek feedback from local
traders and the Chinatown Precinct
Association.
Powder coated aluminium was initiallyselected as the design material, however,stainless steel superseded the specification
primarily for its strength and the ability fora thinner section of material to be used
(0.6mm stainless steel sheet vs. 1.22mm
aluminium sheet). In addition, stainlesssteel offered a more sustainable solution
with a 25-year design life and little-to-no
maintenance.
The final design resulted in a 700mm wideby 500mm high spherical lantern madefrom 316 grade stainless steel, powder
coated with a luminous metallic red
colour. In Chinese culture, the colour red
symbolises good fortune and joy.
The lanterns were formed using laser cut
0.6mm sheet, with each panel formed into
shape and fixed to a central aluminium
frame. The custom-designed lanterns were

manufactured by Draffin Street Furniture,and stainless steel material for the project
was supplied by Steel Color Australia.

Action Review
Specific; To deliver a reimagined Chinese

hanging lantern for the City of Melbourne’s
Chinatown that preserved the traditional
aesthetic while considering product life
BACK?

New Application Awards

cycle, reduced maintenance, strength andproduct weight of below 7kg to be viable
for use on the existing (stainless steel)catenary lighting system.
Measurable; Two prototype lanterns were

designed, manufactured and installed totest the design, materials selection andseek feedback from local traders and the
Chinatown Precinct Association.
Achievable; The stainless steel lantern met

the brief because of its excellent material
properties and was brought to life throughthe collaboration of expertise: Chinatown
Precinct Association (Client), City of
Melbourne (Client, Design), GHD (StructuralEngineers), Draffin Street Furniture (Designand Manufacture).
Realistic; With the skills and expertise

combined as above, stainless steel was a
viable material option to meet the briefof the product life cycle, durability, lowmaintenance and aesthetics.

Time-bound; 80 new permanent lanterns

were installed at the end of July 2020. It
was delivered to coincide with the easingof COVID lockdown restrictions, to enhanceand brighten the Chinatown precinct andwelcome and encourage visitors back tosupport local traders.

Horizontal Expansion Capability
Chinese lanterns are traditionallymade from paper and cloth, however,maintenance of these materials andproduct types are high and require
regular replacement, particularly in urban
areas with exposure to various weather.
Stainless steel delivers a sustainable
solution, offering strength, longevity,and consistent aesthetics. It also offers
excellent life-cycle costs, with little-to-no
maintenance, saving time and costs forcouncils and other government bodies
supporting public infrastructure.
This is a very niche application of stainlesssteel. While this product may not deliverscale in terms of tonnage, it is a uniqueapplication that can influence how we
present decorative adornments in the
public sphere globally. It is not limited
to Chinese lanterns – this excellent
example could influence other traditional
decorations and celebratory products for
Christmas for example. In a world where
sustainable and reusable products are
becoming more relevant, stainless steel
offers a long-term (durable) and costeffective solution for decorative products,
especially when compared with materials
that need to be replaced regularly.

7

resilience to outdoor weather conditions.
It also satisfied the expectations ofChinatown Precinct Association, wheretraditional aesthetic was of utmost
importance. Brought to life using local
design expertise and stainless steel, thelanterns maintain its symbolic heritage andwill continue to provide a festive welcome
to visitors for at least the next 25 years.

OutcomeThe successful outcome was a team effort
by all parties involved, and all are proud of
the end result. The product using stainlesssteel met the durability and life cycle
requirements to reduce maintenance andregular replacement of the lanterns, aswell as the strength-to-weight ratio andBACK?

New Application Awards

Application and popularization of life cycle theory in coal mine field
Member Company
TAIYUAN IRON & STEEL (GROUP) CO., LTD.

Category
Original application concept for stainlesssteels; Reduction in routine maintenancecosts; Life-cycle costs (LCCs) lowest
compared to competing materials

The Challenge
To Solve the problem of oxidation andcorrosion of underground materials andequipment in coal mine.
Brief introduction of coal mine conveying,water supply and drainage system:
1. Transportation system: the maintransportation system of the mine is
the transportation channel from themining face to the bottom of the shaft
and lifted to the ground;
2. Water supply and drainage system:

provide tap water source to the well
water cooling and spray dust control
firefighting equipment (require lesssuspended solids and less calcium).
Collect the water gushing or inrush
from the coal mine underground tothe central water bunker and thendischarge it to the ground;
Due to the need of spraying water forunderground dust removal in coal mine,the equipment and steel materials ofeach system are in the environment ofalternating dry and wet for a long time,
which are easy to oxidize and rust within
the service life, affecting the reliability,
safety and service life of the system. The
corrosion problem leads to material
deformation and resistance increase, andthe self-weight of ordinary materials is
heavy, while the service life of coal mine
is generally more than 30 years, The anticorrosion of the system is difficult andthe anti-corrosion cost is high, and thesystem maintenance is difficult and the
BACK

?

8

New Application Awards

maintenance cost is high.
To develop special stainless steel to solve
the problems of high cost and difficult
maintenance in the whole life cycle of theequipment.
By optimizing the use of special stainlesssteel for belt conveyor equipment
and steel materials under the special
operation environment of coal mine,the purposes of prolonging service life,
reducing self-weight, reducing use cost,energy conservation and environmental
protection are achieved.

Why?
TISCO is located in Taiyuan, Shanxi
Province. Its products radiate the key
customers in the main coal producing
areas in Northwest China (Shanxi, Shaanxi
and Inner Mongolia). Shanxi, Shaanxi andInner Mongolia are the most important
coal producing regions in China. In 2021,
China’s total coal output was 4.07 billion

tons, and the raw coal output of Shanxi,
Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia provinces(autonomous regions) was 2.93 billion
tons, accounting for 72% of China’s
total output. In the future, China willcontinue to optimize the layout of coaldevelopment and promote the intelligent
construction of large coal bases. Intelligent
construction needs the support of fulllife cycle materials, while stainless steel
has the advantages of safety, reliability,
stability, long life and energy saving, andcan be recycled as a green material. The
above advantages are very consistent
with the concept of intelligent coal mine
construction, and can replace carbon steel
and other materials in large quantities.
It has broad application prospects inunderground coal mining machines,
various types of pipelines, support
materials, related buildings and otherfields.

Needed Action
By comprehensively adopting stainlesssteel materials to replace the original
carbon steel, PE and other materials in
the field of coal mine, it has the following
advantages:
Transportation system: Shendong group
has done a lot of research to solve a seriesof problems such as heavy structureof underground conveyor belt system,
difficult handling and installation ofworkers, easy corrosion of metal parts,
serious adhesion of idler, short service
life and high energy consumption, but
has never found an effective solution.
In 2013, TISCO’s technical marketing
team found the customer’s demand andconducted joint research and developmentwith a team composed of scientific andtechnological personnel of Shendonggroup. It went deep into the mine toinvestigate the service environmentof steel, collected water sample data,

9

analysed corrosion components, anddetermined to improve the material
performance based on ferritic stainlesssteel through optimized design. The mostserious corrosion problem of idler andsupport affecting production in coal mine
environment has been completely solved.
Based on the batch use of stainless steel
idler, aiming at the problem of heavy andserious corrosion of carbon steel support,
the two sides jointly developed the allstainless steel belt support system. The
high-strength stainless steel square pipe
structure is used to replace the traditional
carbon steel angle steel and channel steel
structure. The weight of a single support isreduced by 40%, the service life is longer,
the anti-corrosion maintenance is free, andthe comprehensive cost can be reduced bymore than 50%.
Water supply and drainage system: TISCO
set up a special development team to
analyse the causes of pipeline failureand determine the material selection of
BACK?

New Application Awards 10

special stainless steel for water supply
and drainage. Stainless steel has theadvantages of corrosion resistance,
anti-corrosion, service life of more than
30 years, high strength, anti-collision,light weight, high installation efficiency,
multiple reuse and low fluid resistance.
TISCO launched a series of products andcontinued to promote them in the watersupply and drainage system.

Action Review
Specific; To reduce the life cycle cost ofequipment and materials.
1. In various application fields, the service
life of stainless steel is 3 ~ 5 times thatof other materials of the same type,
and the reuse rate of pipeline andstructure is high;
2. Weight reduction: the weight ofstainless steel idler is reduced by morethan 20%, the weight of stainless steel
support is reduced by 40%, and theweight of stainless steel pipeline isreduced by more than 50%.
Measurable;

1. The corrosion rate of stainless steel
and carbon steel is only 1 / 1 / 4 of thatof stainless steel under the action of
wet fog for 72 hours, and the average
corrosion rate of stainless steel is only
1 / 1 of that of stainless steel under theaction of wet fog;
2. Water supply and drainage pipe:
comparison of uniform corrosion rate
in different solutions. In mine water,
the corrosion rate of stainless steel is 1
/ 30 times that of carbon steel. In NaClsolution proportioned according to Cl
ion concentration, stainless steel is 1 /75 times that of carbon steel.
Achievable;

1. The pipeline and steel structure madeof economical stainless steel have been
operated for more than 30 years, withthe same service life as the mine;
2. Based on the existing high-strength
ferritic stainless steel (50000 hourservice life), continue to improve anddevelop 100000 hour stainless steel
idler materials.
Realistic; In the “14th five-year plan” andfor a long time to come, China’s macroeconomy will continue to maintain astable growth in a reasonable range anddrive the energy demand to continue tomaintain moderate and stable growth. It
is difficult to change the status and roleof coal as a comprehensive guarantee ofenergy supply. At the same time, the goalsof carbon peak and carbon neutralization
force the acceleration of energy
structure adjustment, the acceleration oftransformation and upgrading of the coalindustry, and the high-quality developmentof the coal industry is an inevitable
trend. Intelligent construction needs the
support of full life cycle materials, whilestainless steel has the advantages ofsafety, reliability, stability, long life andenergy saving, and can be recycled as agreen material. The above advantages
are very consistent with the concept ofintelligent coal mine construction, and canreplace carbon steel and other materials
in large quantities. It has broad application
prospects in underground coal mining
machines, various types of pipelines,
support materials, related buildings andother fields.

BACK

?

New Application Awards 11

Time-bound; To hold no less than three

exhibitions and promotion meetings in 180
days to introduce the optimization schemeof underground materials and equipment
to major coal enterprises aroundthe world, and introduce a steel pipe
manufacturing enterprise and stainlesssteel product manufacturing enterprise in
Shanxi, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia in 360
days.

Horizontal Expansion Capability
Transportation system: in Shanxi, Shaanxi
and Inner Mongolia, the main coalproducing areas of Shendong Coal Groupand Yulin Shenhua Energy, it is used forunderground coal transportation industry;
Water supply and drainage system:
Shendong Coal Group;
Emulsion supply system: China Huaneng
Gansu walnut Yu mine project, the productis stainless steel emulsion tube.
This achievement will continue to expand
to the mining and metallurgical system
of Baowu group, and develop overseas
markets and key coal mining enterprises in
Shanxi Province.

OutcomeOver the past few years, the cumulative
supply of stainless steel has exceeded
15000 tons. The development of the above
stainless steel products has provided
green material solutions for China’s majorcoal groups, and provided ideas for supply
side reform while reducing costs andincreasing efficiency;
The energy-saving effect provided bycustomers shows that in the normal
production process of coal, the power
consumption of belt conveyor is reducedby more than 20%, and the annual income

from power saving of each 6000 meter
conveyor is 1.43 million yuan;
If the stainless steel idler iscomprehensively promoted in China, itwill save more than 100 million yuan ofelectricity for coal enterprises in the field ofcoal every year;
The comprehensive cycle cost of
stainless steel material can be reducedby more than 50%. The characteristics ofmaintenance free and lightweight greatly
reduce the burden of workers.

BACK

?

New Application Awards 12

3CR12 Mining Roof bolts: Mild steel replacement
Member Company
Columbus Stainless Pty (Ltd)on behalf of Mpumatech Stainless Tube
(Pty) Ltd and Delberg Engineering

Category
Original application concept for stainlesssteels; Life-cycle costs (LCCs) lowest
compared to competing materials

The Challenge
Underground mines require roof support
systems which are sturdy and well
suited to prevent roof collapse. Split set
technology (comprising of friction bolt
and plate) is used worldwide in a wide
variety of mines, including gold and coalmines. These sections work as friction
rock stabilisers. Traditionally, mining roof
bolts are made from mild steel that is hot
dip galvanised post fabrication. During
installation (i.e. drilling the split sets into
the rock formation), the zinc layer becomesseverely compromised, resulting incorrosion attack on the exposed mild steel
substrate.
Corrosion compromises the structural
integrity of the metal used in thisapplication – which often leads tocatastrophic loss of life and production.

Why?
The application of friction rock stabilisers
for underground mines is a safety criticalend use. Mining bolt split set friction
anchors have been used as a primaryroof support in the underground mining
environment for many years. The anchor
consists of an open seamed high strength
steel tube with a face plate. One end istapered for easy insertion into a predrilled hole. It is installed by driving theassembly into a marginally smaller holethan the split set friction anchor diameterand the welded steel ring then provides
the necessary support to hold the washer

plate in place. The set then uses friction toanchor itself along the whole length of thebolt by relying on the radial spring force
generated through compression of thetube.
The underground mining environment
contains various chemistries of minewaters seeping through the rocks, some ofwhich can be very acidic. The section of theroof bolt embedded in the rocks is more
prone to corrosion attack – especially due
to the damaged galvanised zinc coating.
Ultimately, corrosion attack compromises
the integrity of the mild steel support
structures. Compromised structures
result in loss of production but also
more importantly, loss of life. Researchof failures in South African coal mines
estimate that mine roof collapse (i.e. fallsof ground) contribute to as much as 25%of mining related fatalities.
The continuous development of a longerlasting support structure solution not only

contributes to reduction in loss of life, but
is also considered a more economic life
cycle cost product for this application. Thisis the motivation behind the development
of 3CR12 split set solution.
BACK?

New Application Awards 13

Needed Action
A key concern of split set friction anchors
relates to their useful life span in anunderground environment. They arevulnerable to corrosion and can become
ineffective after a short period of time.
Mpumatech Stainless Tube has invested
in a new product development initiative– identifying a suitable alternative metalof construction that meets the strength
requirements of the traditional mild
steel used, but offering superior – almost
indestructible corrosion resistance. This
alternative product line offers morepermanent split set friction anchors
which can be used in more permanent
excavations.

along with the wet-abrasion conditions
created through lateral rock movementssynonymous with the underground mining
conditions.

This longevity and subsequently lower
life cycle efficient product is attained byusing grade 3CR12 stainless steel – a
product which is best suited to withstandthe harsh underground mine conditions

The stainless steel split set anchor
offers similar physical and mechanicalproperties to the traditional options
available in the market; with the added
advantage of an almost indefinite life

span due to the corrosion resistanceoffered by the tenacious chromiumoxide layer. Therefore, where peace ofmind is required, especially in corrosive
environments, 3CR12 split set meet eventhe most demanding safety standards.
The split sets manufactured by
Mpumatech Stainless Tube are subjected
to various quality assurance measuresand tests; including in-situ case testing at
various sites. Third party verification tests
are also conducted to ensure the productmeets the stringent safety requirements
stipulated in the mining roof support
system standards. The company continues
to invest in research studies to ensurethat the product evolves with the safety
requirements of the mining industry.
BACK?

New Application Awards 14

Action Review
Specific; (Goal) 3CR12 mining split sets are

specifically designed to meet the operating
conditions of underground mining
excavations – offering both structural
integrity through the product’s strengthand additional corrosion resistance inwhen exposed to mine waters with various
chemical constituents.
Measurable; Number of units

manufactured and sold per year.
Achievable; Yes – ongoing since thesuccessful trial work and implementation
since 2018.

Realistic; Mpumatec has grown their

3CR12 product line to a demand of over 60
tons/month. Within the past 6 months, theproduct demand has increased to roughly
150 tons per month. There is still greatroom for growth in the years to come.
Time-bound; Ongoing. The organisation

strives to increase the stainless steelmarket share year on year as quickly as
possible. Expansions are not only limited
to South Africa, but also worldwide.

Horizontal Expansion Capability
With the need to reduce the life cycle costof products, materials that offer greater
longevity can be explored for otherproduct lines. The stainless steel solution
allows for this to be possible in mostapplications.

can afford greater capacity expansion
without compromising product quality –since the finish is deemed fit for purpose.

OutcomeMaterial quality (Client): More efficient
product that can afford the productgreater longevity in use. This ensures lessmaintenance and replacements within theunderground environment. Ultimately,
this is beneficial to the mines – offering
improved safety features as a result of the
product’s corrosion resistance, withoutcompromising the other safety features
required for the product.

Business efficiency (Mill): The product uses
3CR12 in the hot rolled mill finish (HRA).
We have seen in the past the rise of
the need for this lower cost alternative
product in the hot rolled mill finish. Thisis beneficial to production capacity as the
production process does not contributeto backlog/bottlenecking with otherproduction processes downstream. Ideally,
this is the type of product stream which

BACK

?

New Application Awards 15

Liqueﬁed Hydrogen Carrier the “SUISO FRONTIER”
Member Company

Why?

Action Review

NIPPON STEEL Stainless Steel Corporation

Hydrogen is considered to be one of the
major clean energy sources in the future.
In order to develop a sustainable economy,
we believe that it is important to build ahydrogen supply chain.

Specific; CO2-free Hydrogen Energy

Category
Strong environmental improvement
potential; GHG emissions reduction;
Preservation of scarce resources

The Challenge
Brown coal, an abundant unused resource,
can be used to produce hydrogen, andco-generated CO2 is stored underground.
The CO2-free hydrogen is converted intoliquefied hydrogen, which allows more
efficient transportation of hydrogen touser countries
In order to build such a hydrogen supply
chain, it was necessary to develop
the world’s first technology for masstransportation of liquefied hydrogen.

Needed Action
It was necessary to establish technology
for safe and efficient transportation ofmass volumes of liquefied hydrogen.
Using existing technologies forconstruction of LNG marine carriers
and for land transportation and storageof liquefied hydrogen, a new cargocontainment system with cryogenic
temperature (keeping the temperature
at -253°C) and accumulated pressure to
specifically transport liquefied hydrogenon a marine carrier has been developed.

Supply-chain Technology Research
Association (HySTRA) has been working
on demonstrating hydrogen supply
chains in Australia and Japan. HySTRA
asked Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.
(Kawasaki) to build a liquefied hydrogen
carrier including a liquefied hydrogen tank.
Kawasaki used the stainless steel that
Nippon Steel Stainless Steel produced forthe material for the tank.
Realistic; Kawasaki developed the world’s

first hydrogen carrier named “Suiso
Frontier”. The vessel is equipped with a
1,250 m3 vacuum-insulated, double-shellstructure liquefied hydrogen storagetank. Stainless steel was used for thistank because of its excellent performance
under high cryogenic conditions as well as
its corrosion resistance.

of a hydrogen carrier in July 2017 which
was completed it in March 2020. In
December 2021, the “Suiso Frontier”
became the world’s first vessel tobe officially classified as a liquefiedhydrogen carrier, after being registeredby the General Incorporated Association
Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK). In thesame month, HySTRA demonstrated theworld’s first technology for long distancetransportation of large volume liquefiedhydrogen.

Horizontal Expansion Capability
This case proven that stainless steels canplay an important role in the storage andtransportation of liquefied hydrogen. We
believe that stainless steel can also be
used in other projects related to liquefiedhydrogen.

Time-bound; Kawasaki began development

BACK

?

New Application Awards 16

OutcomeThe demonstration of hydrogen supply
chain will be an important step towardachieving a carbon-neutral society. We
will continue to explore new applications
for stainless steel in the processes ofhydrogen production, transportation,
storage, and utilization. This will contributeto both the promotion of carbon neutrality
and to the development of the stainlesssteel industry.

BACK

?

New Application Awards 17

Super Austenitic Stainless Steel NAS254N (SUS836L) for Soy Sauce Brewing Tanks
Member Company
Nippon Yakin Kogyo Co., Ltd.

Category
Reduction in routine maintenance costs

The Challenge
Stainless steels have been used for foodprocessing industries because of theireasiness of cleaning and their good
corrosion resistance against many foodmaterials. For example, standard grade
stainless steels, such as Type304 and
316L, have been widely used for brewery
and winery tanks and piping systems.
However, many seasonings, such as
soy sauce, contain high concentrationof salt which leads to severe corrosive
conditions for the stainless steels.
Therefore, localized corrosion such as
pitting corrosion and crevice corrosion
tend to occur in seasonings processing
environments. In the soy sauce brewing

process, long-term fermentation leads toa drop of pH from production of organic
acids making soy sauce tasty, such as
glutamic acid and acetic acid, which makes
the corrosive condition more severely.
In this environment, carbon steels withresin linings and FRP have been usedas brewing tanks’ materials. However,regular maintenance and repairing werenecessary.

Why?
The main reason why we had decided
to address this challenge is; We wereasked the cooperation to reduce themaintenance cost of the soy sauce brewing
tanks (maintenance-free) from a soy sauce
production company. The second reason
is to expand sales of our company’s highcorrosion resistant stainless steels to the
new field.

Needed Action;
In order to lower the maintenance costs ofthe soy sauce brewing tanks (maintenancefree), we considered the applicationof a super austenitic stainless steel“NAS254N” (SUS836L, UNS S32053: 23Cr25Ni-5.5Mo-0.2N), which has excellent
corrosion resistance in comparison withthe standard grade stainless steels. We
carried out the long-term field test in thesoy sauce brewing tank at the soy sauce
producer’s site and the corrosion test at
the laboratory. From the results of thosetests, we confirmed that pitting and crevice
corrosion, even stress corrosion cracking,did not occur at NAS254N in the soy sauce.
This demonstrated the excellent corrosion
resistance of the super austenitic stainlesssteel NAS254N in the soy sauce brewing
environment.
The soy sauce brewing tanks arefabricated by welding plates. Normally,
corrosion resistance of the welded partof the stainless steels tend to deterioratecompared to the base metals. In order tomaintain the corrosion resistance of theNAS254N’s welds, the suitable conditionsof factory and on-site welding were
investigated. It was confirmed that TIG,
MAG and PLASMA welding for NAS254N
do not deteriorate the corrosion resistanceof the welds with adequate filler metals.

Action Review
Specific; Based on the excellent corrosion

resistance of the super austenitic stainlesssteel NAS254N in the soy sauce brewing
environment, it was applied to thebrewing tanks of a Japanese soy sauce
production company. The operation has
been successfully continuing for 20 years
without trouble of corrosion.
Measurable; Because NAS254N does

not corrode in the soy sauce brewing
environment, the brewing tanks of
NAS254N do not require the regular
BACK?

New Application Awards 18

maintenances for inside of the tank. Itmeans maintenance-free.
The maintenances were necessary when
they had used the conventional tanks withresin linings and FRP tanks.
Achievable; It is already in use.
Realistic; It is already in use.
Time-bound; It is already in use.

OutcomeApplication of NAS254N to the soy sauce
brewing tanks do not require the regular
maintenance which is required for theconventional lining tanks and FRP tanks.
It contributes to the long-term benefit forthe clients by meeting the requirements ofreducing maintenance and management
costs.

Horizontal Expansion Capability
From 2017 to 2021, a large amount of
NAS254N had been applied to the soy
sauce brewing tanks of Korean soy
sauce company “Sempio Foods” whosemarket share of the soy sauce is No.1 inSouth Korea. Approximately 620 tons ofNAS254N plates with thickness of 2mm to10mm were used. It is expected that theapplication of NAS254N to the soy sauce
brewing tanks will expand in the future.

Appearance of the NAS254N’s soy sauce
brewing tanks of Sempio Foods in South Korea.

BACK

?

New Application Awards 19

New Jersey 9-11 Memorial
Member Company

Needed Action

Horizontal Expansion Capability

North American Stainless (NAS)on behalf of Stainless Structurals

The decision was made to fabricate theMemorial using NAS stainless grade
316L due to its high degree of corrosion
resistance.

The use of T316L NAS stainless can beapplied to similar projects at other venues.

Category
Reduction in routine maintenance costs;
Life-cycle costs (LCCs) lowest compared tocompeting materials

The Challenge
Increase life Cycle and reduction of costsof New Jersey’s 9-11 Memorial by meansof selection of materials that would reduce
corrosion thus extending life Cycle of the
project as well as reduction in the amountof maintenance needed.

Why?
The application being exposed to theelements needed to be manufactured withcorrosion resistant materials.

Action Review
Specific; Yes, specific grade was identified

as being optimal for the purpose

OutcomeThe benefit of maintenance cost savings
will be measured over time, job satisfaction
was achieved as fabricator supplied thefinish product and was accepted.

Measurable; Yes, corrosion resistance will

be measurable and lower maintenancecosts can be recorded
Achievable; Yes, fabrication was made as

per requirements
Realistic; Yes, based on available data, useof T316L as optimal is realistic
Time-bound; Life Cycle of the 9-11

Memorial is expected to increase as aresult of material chosen

Picture courtesy of Stainless Structurals

BACK

?

New Application Awards 20

Stainless Steel Vehicle Defence Barriers
Member Company

Needed Action

Horizontal Expansion Capability

North American Stainless (NAS)on behalf of Shaw Stainless and Alloys

Decision was make to fabricate the Vehicle
Defence Barrier Bollards with NAS stainless
grade 304 due to its high degree ofcorrosion resistance.

The use of T304 NAS stainless can beapplied to similar projects at other venues.

Category
Reduction in routine maintenance costs;
Life-cycle costs (LCCs) lowest compared tocompeting materials

The Challenge
Increase life Cycle and reduction of costs of
Vehicle Defence Barrier Bollards by meansof selection of materials that would reduce
corrosion thus extending life Cycle of the
project as well as reduction in the amountof maintenance needed.

Why?
The application being exposed to theelements needed to be manufactured withcorrosion resistant materials.

Action Review
Specific; Yes, specific grade was identified

as being optimal for the purpose
Measurable; Yes, corrosion resistance will

OutcomeThe benefit of maintenance cost savings
will be measured over time, job satisfaction
was achieved as fabricator supplied
the finish product and was accepted as
optimal.

be measurable and lower maintenancecosts can be recorded
Achievable; Yes, fabrication was made as

per requirements
Realistic; Yes, based on available data, useof T304 as optimal is realistic
Time-bound; Life Cycle of the Vehicle

Defence Barriers Bollards is expected toincrease as a result of material chosen.
Picture courtesy of Shaw Stainless & Alloys

BACK

?

New Application Awards 21

Lighthouse Stainless Steel Lantern Room
Member Company

Needed Action

Horizontal Expansion Capability

North American Stainless (NAS) on behalfof Carlson Sheet Metal Works

The decision was made to fabricate the“lantern Room” for the Lighthouse using
NAS stainless grade 304 due to its highdegree of corrosion resistance.

Use of T304 NAS stainless can be applied
to similar projects at other venues.

Category
Reduction in routine maintenance costs;
Life-cycle costs (LCCs) lowest compared tocompeting materials

The Challenge
Increase life Cycle and reduction of costsof Lighthouse Lantern Room by means of
selection of materials that would reduce
corrosion thus extending life Cycle of the
project as well as reduction in the amountof maintenance needed.

Why?
The application being exposed to theelements on the top side of a lighthouseneeded to be manufactured with corrosion
resistant materials.

Action Review
Specific; Yes, specific grade was identified

as being optimal for the purpose

OutcomeThe benefit of maintenance cost savings
will be measured over time, job satisfaction
was achieved as fabricator supplied thefinish product and was accepted.

Measurable; Yes, corrosion resistance will

be measurable and lower maintenancecosts can be recorded
Achievable; Yes, fabrication was made as

per requirements
Realistic; Yes, based on available data, useof T304 as optimal is realistic
Time-bound; Life Cycle of the Lantern

Room of the lighthouse is expected toincrease as a result of material chosen

Pictures courtesy of Carlson Sheet Metal
Works

BACK

?

New Application Awards 22

Stainless Steel Smokehouse Oven
Member Company

increase life cycle of the oven.

Horizontal Expansion Capability

North American Stainless (NAS)on behalf of Fusion Tech

Needed Action

The use of NAS T304 stainless can beapplied to other similar ovens.

Category
Reduction in routine maintenance costs;
Life-cycle costs (LCCs) lowest compared tocompeting materials

The Challenge
Increase life Cycle and reduction of
costs of Smokehouse Oven by means of
selection of materials that would reduce
corrosion thus extending life Cycle of theoven as well as reduction in the amount ofmaintenance needed.

Why?
The application being subject to foodprocessing industry sanitary regulations
needed to be manufactured with corrosion
resistant materials that would both ensurecompliance to the regulations as well as

Decision was made to fabricate theIndustrial Parts Washer using NAS
stainless grade 304 due to its high degreeof corrosion resistance at elevatedtemperatures.

Action Review

OutcomeThe benefit of maintenance cost savings
will be measured over time, job satisfaction
was achieved as customers accepted the
Smokehouse oven as optimal.

Specific; Yes, specific grade was identified

as being optimal for the purpose
Measurable; Yes, corrosion resistance will

be measurable and lower maintenancecosts can be recorded
Achievable; Yes, fabrication was made as

per requirements
Realistic; Yes, based on available data, useof T304 as optimal is realistic
Time-bound; Life Cycle of the Smokehouseoven is expected to increase as a result ofmaterial chosen

Pictures courtesy of Fusion Tech

BACK

?

New Application Awards 23

Stainless Steel Automated Aqueous Parts Washer
Member Company

Needed Action

material chosen.

OutcomeNorth American Stainless (NAS)on behalf of Alliance Manufacturing

Decision was make to fabricate theAutomated Aqueous Parts Washer using
NAS stainless grade 304 and 316L due toits high degree of corrosion resistance.

Horizontal Expansion Capability

The benefit of maintenance cost savings
will be measured over time, job satisfaction
was achieved as customers accepted theAutomated Aqueous l Parts Washer as
optimal.

Category
Reduction in routine maintenance costs;
Life-cycle costs (LCCs) lowest compared tocompeting materials

The Challenge
Increase life Cycle and reduction of costsof Automated Aqueous Parts Washer bymeans of selection of materials that would
reduce corrosion thus extending life Cycleof the machine as well as reduction in theamount of maintenance needed.

Why?
The application being exposed to water,
cleaning agents and acid/heat andtherefore needed to be manufactured withcorrosion resistant materials.

Action Review

The use of NAS T304 and T316 stainless
can be applied to other similar machines.

Specific; Yes, specific grade was

identified as being optimal for the
purposeMeasurable; Yes, corrosion resistancewill be measurable and lower
maintenance costs can be recorded
Achievable; Yes, fabrication was madeas per requirements
Realistic; Yes, based on available data,

use of T304 and T316L as optimal isrealistic
Time-bound; Life Cycle of theAutomated Aqueous l Parts Washer
is expected to increase as a result ofPicture courtesy of Alliance Manufacturing

BACK

?

New Application Awards 24

Market Development Award
Member Company
Tsingshan Industry

Category
Promotes a bespoke or non-standard
grade.

The Challenge
It has been well recognised that theconventional 304 austenitic stainless steels
has rather good corrosion resistance,
formability and weldability and been
applied extensively in various markets.
The strength of 304 steel at annealedcondition is, however, too low, being onlyat 235MPa level, which could not meet well
the requirements in many fields, such as
construction and building, art and street
furniture, home and office appliance,
cookware, transport, etc, where both thecorrosion resistance and the strength
should be maintained high. In addition,
8% nickel gives the product of 304 steel ahigh alloy cost and also a risk as the nickel
resources and price fluctuates.
Can we develop a nickel saving steel
austenitic stainless steel grade with at least
the same corrosion resistance and higher
strength and promote its application into
different markets.

Why?
The total consumption of stainless steel
in the year 2022 worldwide is around 56
millions tons. Among them, around 50%
is the 304 type stainless steel. The total
consumption of nickel within 304 steel
its alone would be 4.5 millions tons. Suchamount of nickel consumption of might
be a very big challenge due to nickel
resources.
Because of its low corrosion resistance,
the current standard 200 series with highmanganese and 3~4%Ni alloyed can not
replace 304 steel in those application
although it has much higher strength.

There is, therefore, an urgent need fordeveloping a new type of austenitic
stainless steel with no less than corrosion
resistance and higher strength and evenlower cost as compared with 304 in
those applications where both corrosion
resistance and strength are highly
required.

Needed Action
1. Product development
In 2018, Tsingtuo Group, a Tsingshan
Industry Holding Company, has developed
a high nitrogen alloyed QN1803 steel withthe same amount of chromium (18%) whilemuch lower nickel (~3%) as comparedwith 304. Since then, more QN series steel
grade，namely QN1804, QN1906 and
QN2109 have been developed successfully.

nitrogen austenitic stainless steel withgood pitting corrosion resistance andsulphuric acid corrosion resistance andthe manufacturing process) has beenauthorised.
3. Product Standard
Totally, the 16 product standards in termsof steel industry, construction and building,as well as elevator have been promoted,
which provide the base for the market
development.
4. Market development
The QN series steel have been promoted
into various market for different
applications, such as building andconstruction, home appliance, etc.

Action Review

2. Patent

Specific; The new steel grade QN1803 was

The Chinese patent with ZL 2020 1
0672735.4 (a nickel saving and highdeveloped in Nov., 2018 with the alloy
compositions shown below. Apparently,
QN1803 has 3.35% nickel, being much
BACK?

New Application Awards 25

lower than 304 steel while the nitrogen content of the former is 0.225%, being muchhigher than the latter.

2. Pitting corrosion resistance of QN 1803 steel is slightly higher than 304 steel

Alloy compositions of QN 1803 and 304 steels (wt%)
Grade

C

Si

Mn

P

S

Cr

Ni

Mo

Cu

N

PREN*

MD30

304

0.045

0.40

1.15

0.037

0.004

18.20

8.05

0.04

0.15

0.046

18.6

5.0

QN1803

0.075

0.40

5.85

0.038

0.002

18.20

3.35

0.10

1.05

0.225

19.2

-15.0

Measurable;

1. Nitrogen content in QN1803 steel is the highest considering the total alloy content(Cr+Mn+Ni+Cu+Mo)

BACK

?

New Application Awards 26

3. QN1803 has the higher yield strengththan 304 steel

Achievable;

1. Nitrogen solubility during continuous
casting
Through the optimization of continuous
casting processing parameters, such as
the tundish temperature, the coolingrate, etc., the nitrogen solubility above
2000 ppm in liquid steel of QN 1803
could be ensured and the nitrogenpore on the surface of slab could be
prevented.

temperature plasticity due to thehigh nitrogen content, which needs
optimization of hot working processing
to ensure the good surface and edge
quality of the hot strip.

Realistic;

4. QN1803 has the similar cold deep
drawability as 304 steel

2. Hot workability
QN1803 steel has lower high

3. Cold workability
QN1803 steel has slightly higher strain
hardening behaviour in the beginningof cold working process. As the cold
reduction is higher than 50%, QN 1803
has even slightly lower hardening
behaviour, which makes QN1803 aseasy cold work as 304 steel.

Obviously, QN1803 steel has no less pitting
corrosion resistance, higher mechanicalstrength, slightly lower deep drawability
as compared with 304 steel. Such good
properties give QN1803 steel a very
promising platform to replace 304 in many
application fields.
Until now, over 200000 tonnes of QN
series steel have been produced andapplied in terms of cold strip, hot strip
and wire rod in Chinese markets, such as
construction and building, home appliance,
BACK?

New Application Awards 27

cookware, etc., with the representative
pictures shown on this page.

Decoration wall of office building.

Welded Tube

Refrigator
Time-bound; The development work of QN

series steel in terms of product design,
processing innovation and the market
explorement have been carried out since
1, Nov., 2018. Great success has beenachieved until now.

Office Building in Changsha Broadway Co.

Roof and wall of the factory

Elevator

BACK?

New Application Awards 28

Horizontal Expansion Capability

OutcomeThe QN series steel have been listed as
the standard product and are open for
the whole stainless steel industry since2021. Nowadays, BaoWu steel is following
to produce BN1803, which is similar as
QN1803.

QN1803 has at least 20% less of the alloy
cost as compared with the conventional
304 steel, its application in different
markets could definately help reduce thecost of the customers, which will increase
the competence of the such productand even the stainless steel industry. In
addition, more than half percent of nickel
is saved for QN1803 steel as comparedwith 304 steel, which help save the usageof nickel metal, which is in a quite shortage
storage worldwide.

BACK

?

New Application Awards 29

Development of a Low-Cost Stainless Steel with High-Strength and Toughness and Its Application
Member Company
TAIYUAN IRON & STEEL (GROUP) CO., LTD.

Category
Original concept for production of or
application of stainless steels; Significant
global market potential (>2.0m tons) or
reduction in operational costs; Significant
global market potential (>2.0m tons);
Strong environmental improvement
potential; GHG emissions reduction;
Preservation of scarce resources;
Reduction in routine maintenance costs;
Life-cycle costs (LCCs) lowest compared tocompeting materials

The Challenge
Belt conveyor is the key production
equipment in the coal mining industry,
which plays an important role in theefficient transportation of coal from one
location to another. As an important partof the belt conveyor, the rollers are themost numerous rotating parts, and thecost of which accounts for more than 30%of the total cost. In addition, the rollers run
in series, and the quality of which has agreat influence on the efficiency of the belt
conveyor and the reduction of production
cost.
However, working in an adverse
environment with high humidity and highconcentrations of coal dust and acidic
material, the roller tube (made of carbon
steel) is prone to corrosion and easy to be
stained with coal dust, which leads to theoccurrence of a series of problems, such as
the increase in surface roughness, runningresistance and energy consumption, andthe decrease in roundness and service life(the average service life is not more than
30,000 hours).
In addition, the load-bearing bracket ofthe belt conveyor is also made of carbon
steel which is susceptible to corrosion,and usually the safe service life of which is

The roller tube with high-frequency induction

The roller tube with high-frequency induction

welding has fine grains in the centre

welding has fine grains in the welding heataffected zone (HAZ)

less than 10 years, even with galvanizing
treatment and regular paint maintenance.
Due to the low strength of carbon steel(the yield strength grade is 350 MPa),the bracket has to be designed as thicksection and high weight (a single bracket isabout 40kg), which increases the working
intensity of manual installation andremoval.

for belt conveyor is about 200,000 tons,
and the above-mentioned problems havebeen pain points for long time. Therefore,
there are urgently needed to develop
long-life, economical and environmentallyfriendly products to solve the problems
and help upgrading the production lines toachieve better performance.

In China’s coal mining industry, the annual
consumption of the carbon steel used in
the manufacture of roller tube and bracket
BACK?

New Application Awards 30

Why?
Stainless steel is a material with excellent
corrosion resistance and good mechanicalproperties, long service life and low
maintenance cost, and 100% recyclability.
If a low-cost, high-strength and toughness
stainless steel can be developed to replace
the traditional carbon steel used in the
manufacture of roller tube and bracket ofthe belt conveyor, it can reduce the energy
consumption in the whole life cycle, saveresources and be environment-friendly,
and meet the needs of low-carbon, green
and sustainable development of the belt
conveyor for the coal mining industry.

Needed Action
Cr12 ferritic stainless steel belongs toresource-saving stainless steels and it has
the lowest alloy content in the stainlessfamily. It shows good corrosion resistancein the atmosphere and weakly corrosive
environment, and is considered to be ideal

material to replace carbon steel in theenvironment with high requirements forstress and corrosion resistance.
Since the coal belt conveyor works in a
weakly corrosive environment, replacing
carbon steel with Cr12 stainless steel is themost economical way to solve the above
problems caused by corrosion. However,traditional Cr12 stainless steel has low yieldstrength, only about 300MPa, and it has
no advantage over carbon steel. In orderto reduce weight and production cost, theyield strength of the material should be
improved to 460 MPa.
Therefore, it will be a huge challenge
to achieve a substantial increase in thestrength of Cr12 stainless steel andmaintain good plasticity and toughness
at the same time by material design andprocess innovation in industrial production
with nearly no cost increase. Additionally,
welding is required in the productionof roller tube and bracket of coal belt

The stainless steel roller in service has a

There is no apparent rust on the surface

bright and smooth surfaceof the stainless steel brackets which areremoved out of a coal mine after 6 years

conveyor. How to solve the welding
brittleness problem of Cr12 stainless steel
is also a key technical problem before
large-scale application.
After years of unremitting research,through the unique composition design
and the innovation in annealing process,a low-cost, high-strength and toughness
stainless steel with ferrite and martensite
dual phase structure was developedof cumulative service (the black/gray is coalresidue)on the basis of the conventional Cr12
ferritic stainless steel, and the strength issignificantly improved, meanwhile, good
plasticity and toughness are achieved. The
yield strength of the steel is higher than
460 MPa (the average yield strength isabout 500 MPa ), the total elongation is ≥20% ( the average total elongation is about 24
BACK?

New Application Awards 31% ), and the DBTT ( ductile-brittle transition
temperature ) is ≤ − 20 °C, and it has goodbending performance.
According to the product form and service
characteristics of coal belt conveyor roller,high precision stainless steel roller tube
with good welding seam quality (Figure1), straightness ≤0.5mm/m and nonroundness ≤0.2mm, has been successfully
developed with the new high strength
stainless steel by using low heat input
high frequency induction welding, online induction heat treatment of weld
and cold rolling process. As a result, thewall thickness of the roller tube has been
reduced by more than 20%, the roller
made of the new stainless steel has been
well working for more than 50,000 hours(the designed service life is 70,000 hours),
and the energy consumption of the belt
conveyor has been reduced by more than
20% and the operation efficiency has beensignificantly improved (Figure 2, 3).

The bracket for belt conveyor with newly
developed stainless steel (Figure 4) was
successfully produced by MIG welding
method and with suitable commercial
welding consumables. Due to the highstrength of the newly developed stainlesssteel, the weight reduction of more than
30% is achieved and the working intensityof manual installation and removal is also
greatly reduced. Furthermore, for the
stainless steel bracket, paint maintenanceis no longer needed, which avoids
unfavourable effect on human bodyand the environment during painting. At
present, the stainless steel bracket has
been serving in good condition and thelongest service has been 6 years (Figure 5),
and the service life is expected to reach 30
years, which will significantly reduce theoperating cost of users.

Action Review

operation in coal mining industry.

Specific: A new Cr12-typed high-strength

Realistic: Nearly 15,000 tons of the newly

and tough stainless steel with ferrite andmartensite dual-phase structure and withthe yield strength higher than 460MPa
was developed, and using which the longlife, lightweight and high precision roller
and bracket for coal belt conveyor were
produced.
Measurable: With the new developed

stainless steel, the wall thickness roller pipe
and the operation energy consumptionof the belt conveyor are reduced, and theservice life is prolonged; The weight of thebracket is reduced, which greatly reduces
the work intensity and the operationand maintenance cost during manualdisassembly and assembly.
Achievable: The products have been

produced and applied in large scale, whichhelps to achieve the upgradation of thetransmission lines and the low-carbon

developed stainless steel products havebeen applied in the coal mining industry
and they shows good performances.
Time-bound: The application of the newly

developed stainless steel products in thecoal mining industry will be extended evenfurther.

Horizontal Expansion Capability
The newly developed stainless steel
has high strength, good plasticity andtoughness, and satisfying welding
properties. It can be produced efficiently
and cost-effectively utilizing conventional
production facility and processes. The
product can be used to replace carbon
steel, weathering steel, coated steel, etc.
in the atmosphere and weakly corrosive
environment where the force andcorrosion resistance are highly required,and it has a strong industrialization
BACK?

New Application Awards 32

promotion. At present, the product has
been successfully applied in the coal belt
conveyor, and has begun to be applied to
the fields of iron ore, power station, andstockyard wharf belt conveying. The future
market potential is extremely huge.

OutcomeThe bottleneck of low strength of
traditional Cr12 ferritic stainless steel isbroken, and a new 460 MPa grade, lowcost, high strength and toughness stainlesssteel with ferrite and martensite dualphase structure is developed. Throughcooperation with the downstream

manufacturing enterprises such as tube
and bracket factories, the technicalproblems during the welding of the newstainless steel are solved. The mass
production of stainless steel rollers andbrackets is realized, and the pain points onbelt conveyor in the coal mining industry
are eliminated, which not only improves
the profitability of our company, but also
contributes to the realization of low-carbon
and green operation and the improvement
in industrial competitiveness of coalenterprises. The main achievements are as
follows:

1. The service life of stainless steel
roller has more than doubled, which
dramatically reduces the time and costof operation and maintenance of belt
conveyor for coal.
2. The stainless steel bracket loses
more than 30% of the weight, whichsignificantly decreases the working
intensity of manual installation andremoval. And the service life of thestainless steel bracket has tripled,which reduces the frequency ofdisassembly and assembly of belt
conveyor for coal during production

process and shortens the working
hours of the employees in the adverse
environment.
3. The use of the belt conveyor consistedof stainless steel rollers and brackets
leads to the decrease in overall energy
consumption by more than 20%
and the improvement in production
efficiency by more than 10%. And thelife-cycle cost of rollers and brackets
reduces more than 38%, and theinventory levels decrease sharply.

BACK

?

New Application Awards 33“Hand tearable steel” -- Wide ultra-thin stainless steel precision strip
Member Company

Why?

TAIYUAN IRON & STEEL (GROUP) CO., LTD.

Ultra-thin stainless precision steel strip
is a cutting-edge product of steel andan indispensable key material in 5G
communication, aerospace safety devices,radiation protection clothing, new energy,
high-end electronics and other high-techemerging fields. In recent years, with therapid development of consumer electronic
products, there is an urgent demand forwide ultra-thin stainless steel precision
strip.

Category
Original concept for production of or
application of stainless steels

The Challenge
The ultra-thin Stainless steel precision
strip with a width of more than 450mm isa major breakthrough in the international
precision steel industry. Its production
process is complex and technically difficult,which is mainly reflected in the highrequirements for steel purity, difficult
control of rolling accuracy, plate shape andperformance, and easy to cause problems
such as belt breaking, belt drawing, rollcollapse, surface defects and so on.

Needed Action
TISCO adheres to independent innovation.
Based on the combination of production,
learning and research, TISCO has achievedmajor innovations in steel purity, precisioncontrolled rolling, high-performance
control and key equipment throughthousands of tests in 10 years. The results
are as follows:
1. High purity steel and fine inclusion

control technology: the refining
technology of silicon reduction
barium enhanced deoxidation + low
alkalinity slag refining + weak calcium
modification treatment is developed
for the first time, which breaks throughthe problem of two-way regulationof low oxygen and high cleanlinesspurification of stainless steel andinclusion plasticity. The inclusion size inultra-thin strip steel is less than 1 μm.
2. Wide ultra-thin and high-precisionrolling model and core rolling
technology: rolling shape control
technologies such as compound multicurve taper roll system configurationand high-strength and tough titanium
alloy roll have been developed,
realizing the world’s thinnest andwidest 0.02 × 640mm strip steel isrolled with high precision and stability,
and the thickness accuracy reaches ± 1
μ m. Flatness of plate type is less than
0.1mm/m.

3. Ultra-thin strip fine structure and highperformance control technology: TISCO
has developed high Si composition
design + temperature controlled
cold rolling and large deformation+ low-temperature aging treatment
technology of finished products for the
first time, took the lead in developing
high hardness and ultra-flat fine strip
products with the highest hardness(above hv600) and 200000 fatigue life in
the world, and developed multi rolling
process + process flexible annealing +precision heat treatment technology
of finished products to achieve 1 μ M
ultra-fine grain high plasticity soft ultrathin fine belt production.
4. Design, integration and development ofwide width ultra-thin strip production
line and key equipment: the world’s
widest ultra-thin strip rolling, heat
treatment and TA production line
has been built, and a series of key
technologies and equipment have
BACK?

New Application Awards 34

been developed. For the first time,
the continuous, efficient and stableproduction of wide width highperformance ultra-thin precision strip
has been realized, with a single coillength of more than 20000 meters.

Action Review
Specific; The technology involves various

processes and equipment of wide strip
production such as smelting, rolling, heat
treatment, performance control and key
production lines.
Measurable; The inclusion size in ultra-thin

strip steel is less than 1 μm. Thickness
accuracy is ± 1 μm. Flatness of plate type isless than 0.1mm/m.

Achievable; Wide width high-performance

ultra-thin precision strip steel is produced
continuously, efficiently and stably, witha single coil length of more than 20000
meters.
Realistic; This technology has achieved theworld’s thinnest and widest 0.02 × 640mm
strip steel rolling with high precision andstability.

Horizontal Expansion Capability
Wide ultra-thin stainless steel precision
strip technology leads the development
direction of ultra-thin stainless steel strip
in the world, represents the cutting-edge
manufacturing level of the iron and steel
industry, and promotes the expansionof stainless steel cold rolling products tothinner and wider direction.

OutcomeTISCO’s wide ultra-thin precision strip isthe pearl of the crown of the steel industry,
amongst a series of stainless precision
strip products. For the first time, TISCO
has developed the thinnest, widest andbest performing stainless precision strip
in the world, and its technology andproduct quality have reached the world
leading level. The products are used inradiation protection clothing, aerospaceand military core components, folding
screen mobile phones, sodium basedsaline energy storage battery electrodes,

precision pressure sensor diaphragms
and shielding materials for nuclear power.
Over the past three years, 71000 tons havebeen sold and the output value is 1.569
billion CNY. It provides key basic materials
for high-end manufacturing fields such as
high-end electronics, aerospace, military
nuclear power, new energy and marine
engineering, and promotes their upgrading
and sustainable development. It provides
a solid guarantee for the development ofhigh-tech coating, coating and passivationindustries, and provides a solid foundation
for the healthy development of 5G coating,coating, coating and coating industries in
the future.

BACK

?

New Application Awards 35

Low Ni alloyed Austenitic Stainless Steel (Grade STS290) for LCD panel transport frame
Member Company

Why?

POSCO

STS290 has enable a lightweight design of
the LCD panel transport frame to improveloading efficiency.

Category
Original concept for production of or
application of stainless steels

The Challenge
LCD transport frames are being used
to transport products from LCD panel
manufacturing plants to long-distanceareas. These LCD panel transport frames
are mainly manufactured by assembling
STS304 square tubes. Recently, in order toreduce logistics costs of LCD panel due tohigh oil prices, it is required to reduce theweight of the LCD panel transport frame
and improve the loading efficiency throughstructural improvement.

Characteristics of STS304 and STS290

Needed Action
POSCO developed STS290, a new steel
grade with high corrosion resistance,high strength, and low cost, to lighten thematerial of the LCD panel transport frame.
In addition, in consideration of the physicalproperties of the new steel type STS290,
the structure of the LCD panel transport
frame that can improve the loading
efficiency was improved.

Action Review
First of all, the yield strength of the newsteel grade STS290 is over 350MPa, which
is about 30% higher than that of theexisting STS304 (YS: 280MPa). For thisreason, when manufacturing an LCD paneltransport frame by applying STS290, it was

Mn and Ni content in stainless steels

possible to reduce the thickness by about
40% (1.7 to 2.4t) compared to the thickness(3.0 to 5.0t) of the existing STS304. In
addition, as STS290 exhibits excellent
elongation of 45% or more, corrosion
resistance of STS304 level, and corrosion
resistance of welded parts, it is possible tomanufacture structures through squarepipe forming and welding.
Through design review of the LCD panel

LCD panel transport frametransport frame (composed of adapter andcassette) considering the high-strengthcharacteristics of STS290, the structure of
the cassette was changed from 72 degrees
to 90 degrees. By applying this design, theBACK?

New Application Awards 36

Outcomenumber of LCD panel transport frames
doubled compared to the existing one
could be loaded in the same container
space, and this made it possible to reduce
logistics costs.

From 2019, POSCO began to develop andapply a new LCD panel transport frame
model using STS290 through collaboration
with customers. The manufactured LCD
panel transport frame is used very stably,
and there is no particular problem in using
it for a long time.

AnchorHorizontal Expansion Capability
Recently, it was promoted to apply STS290
as an alternative material to STS304 foranchor use in building structures. In
this case, it was possible to reduce thethickness by about 40% compared toexisting thickness, and as a result, it waspossible to reduce the material cost by
15%. Because of these characteristics,
many Korean construction companies are

expanding the application of STS290 foranchors. It has been proven that STS290
has great potential to be used for various
purposes through high strength and highcorrosion resistance, and its use will be
expanded for various structural membersin the fields of automobiles, railways, civilengineering/construction.

BACK

?

New Application Awards 37

High Performance Ferritic Stainless Steel for Large-Scaled Washing Machines and Dryers
Member Company
POSCO

Category
Significant global market potential (>2.0m
tons)

The Challenge
As washing machines and dryers becomelarger, consumers such as LG Electronics
demand for us to make the material withexcellent formablility and good weldability
with a competitive price.
1. The reduction of defect rate in ‘Drum
Rear’ part after press processing.
→ Excellent Formability (superiorr-value as well as anti-ridging
characteristics)
2. ‘Drum Center’ productivity must be
improved by the change from ‘LockSeaming’ to ‘Laser Welding’.
→ Good weldability with a competitive

Quality position

price.

Why?
In response to the increased demand forpremium appliances(large-scaled washingmachines & dryers), POSCO needs acustomer lock-in for our development.

Needed Action
1. Competitive alloy design and processdevelopment (BAF(Batch Annealing
Furnace) process omitted)

Application of 430RE

2. Optimization of hot-rolling as well as
cold manufacturing conditions for
improved formability and lowering
ridging.

Action Review
Specific; ‘Drum Rear’ & ‘Drum Center’ of

washers and dryers
Measurable; Ridging value (Wt), r-value(r-bar), elongation (%), corrosion resistancein fastened part
BACK?

New Application Awards 38

Achievable; 430RE (Ridging Endurance)

product is launched and expanded sales
Realistic; LG Electronics has adopted

430RE product and has been constantly
purchasing it
Time-bound; From 2018 to 2020, POSCO

successfully satisfied the demands of LG
Electronics.

Horizontal Expansion Capability

OutcomeOn the POSCO side, the developmentof BAF-processed omitted product hasenabled process cost reduction and CO2
reduction.
On the LG Electrons side, ‘Drum Center’
productivity is improved by the change
from ‘Lock-Seaming’ to ‘Laser Welding’ aswell as reduction of defect rate in ‘Drum
Rear’.

The change of joint method in Drum Center

It can be applied to large scaled washingmachines and dryers that require weldingtype.
It can be expanded into a global consumer
electronics company.
The appearance of joint in Drum Center after corrosion test

BACK

?

New Application Awards 39

Technological development of heat and surface treatment
Member Company
SIJ Acroni d.o.o.

Category
Original concept for production of or
application of stainless steels; Degree ofcontribution; Significant global market
potential (>2.0m tons) or reduction in
operational costs; Significant global
market potential (>2.0m tons); Strong
environmental improvement potential;
GHG emissions reduction; Reduction inroutine maintenance costs; Life-cycle costs(LCCs) lowest compared to competing
materials

The Challenge
The solution is based on setting up a newtechnological route in the part which
includes a change of heat treatment
technology and subsequently beneficiallyaffects the quality of the steel structure,
which is closely linked to the final

mechanical properties. The change of theheat treatment technology subsequently
has very beneficial effect on the timeand intensity of the surface treatment
process or acid pickling to dissolve oxides
from the plate surface. The solution was
implemented in processing of all duplex
X2CrNiMoN 22-5-3, W.Nr. 1.4462 andsuperduplex X2CrNiMoN 25-7-4 W.Nr.
1.4410 steel grades of our brand SINOXX
4462 and SINOXX 4410, which are part of
SIJ Acroni’s production programme.
From the beginning of development of
duplex and superduplex steel grades
up to 2017, when we began started with
the implementation of the innovation
process, heat treatment was done on
three different heat treatment lines. Dueto the broad dimension range (mostly
thickness), the specifics of the steels
under consideration, each heat treatmentline had its technological limitations
with regard to its position in the plant.
Due to these limitations, the plates were

sorted based on the rolled thickness
before heat treatment. The inconvenient
position of the plate manipulator and thelengthy transport of the heated plates tothe cooling beds caused undercoolingwhich negatively impacted the structureof the cooled plates as well as the final
mechanical properties. The input material
was also heated in furnaces that usedoxidative atmosphere, which accelerated
the process of high-temperature oxidation
and affected the thickness of scaling on theplate surface.

Why?
In accordance with the limitations on
different heat treatment lines during
regular production there were instances
when duplex, and especially superduplex
steels did not achieve the required
structural properties. In the microstructureof plate samples, metallographic
examinations showed some initials ofintermetallic phases present in the steel
BACK?

New Application Awards 40

steel with excellent mechanical properties
which can be repeated and achieved in the
shortest possible time.

Needed Action

structure, mostly in the midsection of
thicker plates. There were also cases whentechnological limitations on the line andsubsequent excessive precipitation werethe cause of poor mechanical properties(excessive precipitation of intermetallic
phases in the steel has adverse effect onmechanical properties, mainly toughness),which resulted in re-heat treatment and, inthe worst case, scrapping the product.

The innovation is based on the
optimization of heating and cooling the
input material. As the high-temperatureroller furnace HTF (HTF – heat treatmentline) is composed of the pre-heating(max. 800 °C) and heating (max. 1100 °C)part, the technological challenge which
we needed to conquer on the HTL line
was in the pre-heating part of the HTF.
The set temperature of the pre-heating
furnace is constant during the process
and does not vary. This is unfavourable
for the presented type of steel due to theprecipitation of intermetallic phases in thecritical temperature range between 600 °C
and 900 °C.

We wanted to eliminate these processproblems and introduce into the market

Within the framework of this challenge,
based on the industrial tests, industrial

temperature measurements with athermal barrier (obtaining a temperature
profile ...), parallel laboratory sample
examinations, and setting up suitablecooling conditions with appropriate watertemperature intervals in l/m2 * min in
the industrial environment offered by thecooling device MFQ, we managed to set
the conditions of solution annealing andcooling on the line, which enable stableproduction of heat treated duplex andsuperduplex heavy plates.
The second part of the technologicalprocess which follows is surface treatment
or pickling. Thanks to the successful
implementation of the technologicalprocess on the HTL line, we achieved
extraordinary results in pickling the platesurface. The results have a favourable
financial and ecological impact.
The first condition for achieving shorter
pickling times is sandblasting or
mechanical removal of oxide products

from the surface of hot-rolled steel
plates, which is the first phase on the
HTL line, before solution annealing. The
efficiency of sandblasting was achieved
with an appropriate speed through the
sandblasting chamber between 1 m/min
and 6 m/min and the type of sand.
The goals, we had to achieves:Ensuring temperature homogeneity
in the process of solution annealing
according to the applicable standards(ASTM, Norsok …)

Achieving a critical cooling rate during
quenching, primarily to prevent theoccurrence of intermetallic phases

Achieving the prescribed flatness of theduplex and super duplex heavy steel
plates after solution annealing andquenching

Guaranteeing stability and repeatabilityof the prescribed mechanicalproperties
BACK?

New Application Awards 41

Successfully passed pitting andcorrosion test

Acid pickling time optimization

Action Review
Specific; This is a very specific development

and innovation, which is tied to the duplex
and super duplex stainless steel segment.
We have developed a new technologicalapproach with the technological processof heavy plate heat treatment on theline which was originally made for heat
treatment of wear-resistant steel. Alongwith developing excellent final mechanicalproperties and microstructure of the steel,
we also improved the final surface qualityof the plates.
Measurable; The results are measurable

and comparable. The innovation’s yearly
contribution from the start amounted to:20188,061,354 EUR or 1.86 % of the total
revenue of the company SIJ Acroni in

8,335,218 EUR or 1.93 % of the total
revenue of the company SIJ Acroni in2019
11,233,333 EUR or 2.98% of the total
revenue of the company SIJ Acroni in2020

technology for 3 years, with repeatable
results regarding efficiency and quality.
Time-bound; The development of thistechnology lasted 2 years.

Horizontal Expansion Capability

achievable. In comparison to the period
before introduction of the innovation, we
improved the yield of the presented steel
grades on an annual basis. The percentage
of scrap heavy plates due to poor surface
quality was reduced by 42.3 %.

The process technology could be
implemented into any production process
globally or in companies with similar
technological lines. The basic line wasintended for heat treatment of special
carbon steel grades. Our innovation
with the change and upgrade of theline’s technological process enables us
to process the whole group of duplex
stainless steels on the line. in this way were-developed the process and upgraded
the line for multifunctional use.

Realistic; The technological development is

Outcomerealistic. The complete technological routeof processing duplex and superduplex
steel grades has directed throughthe newly developed heat treatment

The direct beneficiaries of this innovation
are our customers for the whole group of
duplex stainless steels. These steel grades

9,776,507 EUR or 2.15 % of the total
revenue of the company SIJ Acroni in
2021

Achievable; The results are realistically

BACK

?

New Application Awards 42

are mostly used in oil & gas industry. Someare also used in the aviation industry.
The direct beneficial effect of thisinnovation is firstly felt by the employees
which are part of the production system,
and in the work, which is related to heat
treatment and surface treatment of duplex
and superduplex steels. The physicallabour is made significantly easier, andexposure to dangerous substances isminimized.
In the field of a wider range of users of
duplex and superduplex heavy plates, theinnovation has a very favourable impact
in terms of final material quality andtechnological stability of production.
Regarding shortening pickling times,
the innovation has an impact on theprotection of the environment and thehealth of people, both employees andlocal communities. We are able to deliver
quality steels to our customers with abetter appearance and in a shorter periodof time.
The innovation’s contribution amounted
to 8,061,354 EUR or 1.86 % of the total
revenue of the company SIJ Acroni in 2018.
In 2019, the contribution slightly increased,
and amounted to 8,335,218 EUR or 1.93
% of the total revenue of the company SIJ
Acroni.

and ensures a faster delivery of final
products with high added value to thecustomers. On the other hand, with thecertification of the presented steels, which
is currently underway for new customers,
we are expanding sales to new markets
in the marine, electrical and oil & gas
industries.

In 2020, the contribution rose to
11,233,333 EUR (2.98 %). In 2021, it
lowered due to the changed market
situation, and amounted to 9.776.507 EUR(2.15 %) of the total revenue of SIJ Acroni.
In comparison to the period before
introduction of the innovation, we
improved the yield of the presented steel
grades on an annual basis. The percentage
of scrap heavy plates due to poor surface
quality was reduced by 42.3 %.
This innovation is very important to thecompany, as it increases the stability of
duplex and superduplex steel processing
BACK?

New Application Awards 43

Help?

Help page
Contents page
Previous page
Next page

BACK

About worldstainlessContact

worldstainless is a not-for-profit researchand development association which was
founded in 1996 as the International
Stainless Steel Forum.

You can contact the worldstainless teamthrough the following email address:

Its primary roles are to undertake stainlesssteel industry beneficial tasks that are
better coordinated centrally in the fields ofDisclaimer

Previous view
 Promoting industry and material
sustainability benefits
 Conserving resources and 			promoting the circular economy
 Providing economic and industryleading statistics
 Support industry health & safety
needs and developments

info@worldstainless.org

The world stainless association believes
that the information presented
is technically correct. However,worldstainless, its members, staff andconsultants specifically disclaim any andall liability or responsibility of any kind forloss, damage, or injury resulting from theuse of the information contained in thisbrochure.

 Outlining market development 		
and expansion opportunities
 Maintaining brand reputational 		
positioning Materials education

BACK

?

New Application Award 44

world stainless association
Avenue de Tervueren 270
1150 Brussels
Belgium
T: +32 (0) 2 702 89 00
F: +32 (0) 2 702 88 99
E: info@worldstainless.org
C413 Office Building
Beijing Lufthansa Center
50 Liangmaqiao Road
Chaoyang District
Beijing 100125
China
T : +86 10 6464 6733
F : +86 10 6468 0728
E : china@worldsteel.org
worldstainless.org