Oxide scales on hot-rolled steel strips

With the continuing growth of the world economy, steel consumption has been rapidly increasing since 2000 [1-3]. Total world steel consumption in 2006 reached about 1100 million metric tons (mmt), an increase of 40% over the consumption in 2000 (777 mmt). The consumption forecast for 2007 is 1180 mmt, 1225 mmt by 2010 and 1408 mmt for 2015, respectively. Amongst the total volume of steel consumed, nearly 50% are flat-rolled steel sheets and plates [1], with hot rolling as an essential process to make these products. 

In the past 150 years since the invention of the Bessemer process in 1856, the methods of sheet and strip steel production have undergone several major transformations [4]. The conventional and new hot strip processing routes are summed up in Eig. 8.1, modified from that presented by Guthrie [4] to incorporate the rapidly developing electric arc furnace (EAF) technology in the past 20 years. 

1 Conventional and newly developed hot strip processing routes, modified from the schematic illustration by Guthrie (4). 

In the past 20 years, the conventional steel processing route has faced a fierce challenge from the newly developed thin slab casting and direct hot rolling process, which was assisted by the increasing acceptance of the minimill technology. 

With the rapid development of the thin slab casting and direct hot rolling 

---

P. Henk Bolt, Understanding the properties of oxide scales on hot rolled steel strip . Steel Research Int. 75, 399-404 (2004). 

---