Steel Glossary F - J
 Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Steel…But
Were Afraid to Ask - December 2004
Michelle Applebaum Research provides this collection
of terms and concepts used in our research, company and industry
reports, and other steel publications as an invaluable tool for those in
the steel industry.
Reproduction of all or part of this glossary is specifically prohibited
without the written consent of the author
F
Fabricate
To work a material into a finished state by machining,
forming, or joining.
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Fabricator
A producer of intermediate products that does not also
produce primary metal. For example, a rebar (see Reinforcing Bar)
fabricator purchases rebar and processes the material to the
specifications of a particular construction project.
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FAS 106
An accounting rule established in 1990 that requires
companies to change their accounting for the cost of their
retirees’ future nonpension benefits (life insurance and health
services). What were once “pay as you go” or
“cash basis” expense items were changed to an accrual
basis. Such costs are now recognized during the employees’
working years.
When the steel companies shifted to the new accounting
rule, most companies charged the “catch-up” to equity in
large one-time write-downs as they established the new liabilities on
their balance sheets.
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FAS 109
An accounting rule for deferred taxes that requires
companies to explain within their financial statements the difference
between the tax expense found on the income statement and the check
actually sent to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). (This rule
superseded FAS 96 and APB 11.)
Some steel companies carry net operating losses (NOLs)
on their balance sheets as assets that can be used to offset future
taxes. Under the rules of FAS 109, however, a valuation allowance
may be recorded to reduce these NOLs unless there is a high probability
that they will be used.
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Fastmet
A process to directly reduce iron ore to metallic iron
pellets that can be fed into an electric arc furnace with an equal
amount of scrap. This process is designed to bypass the coke
oven-blast furnace route to produce hot metal from iron ore. It is
also one of several methods that mini-mills might use to reduce their
dependence on high-quality scrap inputs (see Direct Reduced Iron and Hot
Briquetted Iron).
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Feedstock
Any raw material. Substrate.
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Ferritic
The second-largest class of stainless steel,
constituting approximately 25% of stainless production.
Ferritic stainless steels are plain chromium steels with
no significant nickel content; the lack of nickel results in lower
corrosion resistance than the austenitics (chromium-nickel stainless
steels). Ferritics are best suited for general and
high-temperature corrosion applications rather than services requiring
high strength. They are used in automotive trim and exhaust
systems, interior architectural trim, and hot water tanks. Two of
the most common grades are type 430 (general-purpose grade for many
applications, including decorative ones) and type 409 (low-cost grade
well suited to withstanding high temperatures).
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Ferroalloy
A metal product commonly used as a raw material feed in
steelmaking, to aid various stages of the steelmaking process such as
deoxidation, desulfurization, and adding strength. Examples:
ferrochrome, ferromanganese, and ferrosilicon.
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Ferrochrome
An alloy of iron and chromium with up to 72%
chromium. Ferrochrome is commonly used as a raw material in the
making of stainless steel.
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Ferrous
Metals that consist primarily of iron.
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Finmet
The process reduces iron ore fines with gas in a
descending series of fluidized bed reactors. The reduced iron is
hot briquetted.
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Finish
The surface appearance of steel after final
treatment.
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Finishing Facilities
The portion of the steelmaking complex that processes
semi-finished steel (slabs or billets) into forms that can be used by
others. Finishing operations can include rolling mills, pickle
lines, tandem mills, annealing facilities, and temper mills.
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Finishing Stand 1
The last stand in a rolling mill, which determines the
surface finish and final gauge.
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Flat-Rolled Steel
Category of steel that includes sheet, strip, and tin
plate, among others. Produced by passing ingot/slab through pairs of
rolls.
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Flux
An iron cleaning agent. Limestone and lime react
with impurities within the metallic pool to form a slag that floats to
the top of the relatively heavier (and now more pure) liquid
iron.
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FOB Pricing
Free on Board Pricing
Phrase that explains whether the transportation costs of
the steel are included. “FOB Mill” is the price of
steel at the mill, not including shipping.
Freight Equalization
A common industry practice when a mill sells steel
outside its geographic area; it will assume any extra shipping costs
(relative to the competition) to quote the customer an equivalent price
to get the business.
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Forging
A metal part worked to predetermined shape by one or
more processes such as hammering, pressing, or rolling.
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Full Hard Cold Rolled 1
Hot rolled pickled steel that is cold reduced to a
specified thickness and subject to no further processing (not annealed
or temper rolled). The product is very stiff; it is not intended
for flat work where deformation is very minimal.
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Full Hard Temper 1
Full Hard Cold Rolled steel produced to a Rockwell
hardness of 84 and higher on the B scale.
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Forming 3
Bending and forming plate or sheet products into
customer specified shapes and sizes with press brakes.
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G
Galfan 1
A galvanized product coated with 95% free zinc, 5%
aluminum and traces of mish metal in the coating; provides extra
corrosion protection with lighter coating weight; has improved
formability over regular free zinc coatings (hot dipped galvanized
regular products).
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Galvaneal Coating 1
Coatings on hot-dipped galvanized steels processed to
convert the coating completely to zinc-iron alloys; dull gray in
appearance, have no spangle, and after proper preparation, are well
suited for painting.
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Galvanize Coatings 1
Free zinc coatings applied to a hot-rolled or
cold-rolled steel to produce Galvanized steel. The coating can be
applied by the hot-dip or electrodeposition process.
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Galvanized Steel
Steel coated with a thin layer of zinc to provide
corrosion resistance in underbody auto parts, garbage cans, storage
tanks, or fencing wire. Sheet steel normally must be cold-rolled
prior to the galvanizing stage.
Hot-Dipped
Steel is run through a molten zinc coating bath,
followed by an air stream “wipe” that controls the thickness
of the zinc finish.
Electrogalvanized
Zinc plating process whereby the molecules on the
positively charged zinc anode attach to the negatively charged sheet
steel. The thickness of the zinc coating is readily
controlled. By increasing the electric charge or slowing the speed
of the steel through the plating area, the coating will
thicken.
Differences
Electrogalvanizing equipment is more expensive to build
and to operate than hot dipped, but it gives the steelmaker more precise
control over the weight of the zinc coating. The automotive
manufacturers, because they need the superior welding, forming, and
painting ability of electrogalvanized steel, purchase 90% of all tonnage
produced.
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Galvalume®
Steel sheet with a unique coating of 55% aluminum and
45% zinc that resists corrosion. The coating is applied in a
continuous hot-dipped process, which improves the steel’s weather
resistance. Galvalume® is a trademark of BHP Steel, and the
product is popular in the metal building market.
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Galvannealed 1
An extra tight coat of galvanizing metal (zinc) applied
to a soft steel sheet, after which the sheet is passed through an oven
at about 1200 degrees F. The resulting coat is dull gray without
spangle especially suited for subsequent painting.
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Gauge
The thickness of sheet steel. Better-quality steel
has a consistent gauge to prevent weak spots or deformation.
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GigaJoule 2
A measure of energy. A GigaJoule equals
1,000,000,000 Joules. A 100-watt light bulb turned on for one
second consumes 100 Joules.
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Grinding 3
Involves grinding the top and/or bottom of carbon or
alloy steel plate or bars into close tolerance.
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Greenfield Facility
New metalmaking complex that is built “from
scratch,” presumably on a green field.
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H
Hafnium 5
An exotic alloy usually obtained as a by-product of
zirconium production with outstanding corrosion resistance and good
mechanical properties. It is added to specialty alloys for use in
jet engine parts and as control rod material in nuclear reactors.
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Hardening
What?
Process that increases the hardness of steel, i.e., the
degree to which steel will resist cutting, abrasion, penetration,
bending, and stretching.
Why?
The increased endurance provided by hardening makes
steel suitable for additional applications.
How?
Hardening can be achieved through various methods,
including 1) heat treatment, where the properties of steel are altered
by subjecting the steel to a series of temperature changes; and 2) cold
working, in which changes in the structure and shape of steel are
achieved through rolling, hammering, or stretching the steel at a
relatively low temperature.
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Hardness 1
Defined in terms of the method of measurement.
Usually the resistance to indentation
2 Stiffness or temper of wrought products
Machinability characteristics
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Heat Treatment
What?
Altering the properties of steel by subjecting it to a
series of temperature changes.
Why?
To increase the hardness, strength, or ductility of
steel so that it is suitable for additional applications.
How?
The steel is heated and then cooled as necessary to
provide changes in the structural form that will impart the desired
characteristics. The time spent at each temperature and the rates
of cooling have significant impact on the effect of the
treatment.
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Heavy Structural Shapes
A general term given to rolled flanged sections that
have at least one dimension of their cross sections three inches or
greater. The category includes beams, channels, tees and zees if
the depth dimension is three inches or greater, and angles if the length
of the leg is three inches or greater.
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High-Carbon Steel
Steel with more than 0.3% carbon. The more carbon
that is dissolved in the iron, the less formable and the tougher the
steel becomes. High-carbon steel’s hardness makes it
suitable for plow blades, shovels, bedsprings, cutting edges, or other
high-wear applications.
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High Strength Low Alloy (HSLA) 1
A specific group of steel in which higher strength, and
in some cases additional resistance to atmospheric corrosion or improved
formability, are obtained by moderate amounts of one or more alloying
elements such as columbium, vanadium, titanium, used alone or in
combination.
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Hot Band (Hot-Rolled Steel)
A coil of steel rolled on a hot-strip mill (hot-rolled
steel). It can be sold in this form to customers or further
processed into other finished products.
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Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI)
Direct reduced iron that has been processed into
briquettes. Instead of using a blast furnace, the oxygen is
removed from the ore using natural gas and results in a substance that
is 90%–92% iron. Because DRI may spontaneously combust
during transportation, HBI is preferred when the metallic material must
be stored or moved.
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Hot End
The section of a steelmaking complex from the furnace up
to, but not including, the hot-strip mill.
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Hot Metal
The name for the molten iron produced in a blast
furnace. It proceeds to the basic oxygen furnace in molten form or
is cast as pig iron.
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Hot Mill 1
The rolling mill that reduces a hot slab into a coil of
specified thickness; the processing is done at a relatively high
temperature (when the steel is still “red”).
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Hot Roll 1
Product that is sold in its “as produced
state” off the Hot Mill with no further reduction or processing
steps aside from being pickled and oiled (if specified).
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Hot-Strip Mill
A rolling mill of several stands of rolls that converts
slabs into hot-rolled coils. The hot-strip mill squeezes slabs,
which can range in thickness from two to ten inches, depending on the
type of continuous caster, between horizontal rolls with a progressively
smaller space between them (while vertical rolls govern the width) to
produce a coil of flat-rolled steel about a quarter-inch in thickness
and a quarter mile in length.
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HYL I, HYL III
Processes for producing DRI and HBI developed by
Hylsa. The processes reduce iron ore lump or pellets with reformed
natural gas in a vertical shaft furnace. The HYL I process uses
four fixed-bed reactors; HYL III uses a single-shaft furnace.
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Hydrate[i]
An aluminum oxide with three molecules of chemically
combined water.
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Hydroforming
A forming process in which a tube is placed into a
forming die. The tube is then formed to the shape of the die
through the application of internal water pressure.
The hydroforming process allows for severe shape
deformation, making it ideal for automotive structural parts such as
engine cradles, radiator supports, and body rails. Various shaped
and sized holes can be punched in the tube almost anywhere during the
process.
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I
I-Beams
Structural sections on which the flanges are tapered and
are typically not as long as the flanges on wide-flange beams. The
flanges are thicker at the cross sections and thinner at the toes of the
flanges. They are produced with depths of three inches to 24
inches.
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Import Administration
Import Administration, within the International Trade
Administration of the Department of Commerce, enforces laws and
agreements to protect U.S. businesses from unfair competition within the
U.S. resulting from unfair pricing by foreign companies and unfair
subsidies to foreign companies by their governments.
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Ingot
A form of semi-finished type of metal. Liquid
metal is teemed (poured) into molds, where it slowly solidifies.
Once the metal is solid, the mold is stripped, and the 25- to 30-ton
ingots are then ready for subsequent rolling or forging.
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Inmetco
What?
Inmetco is a coal-based process similar to FASTMET that
uses iron oxide fines and pulverized coal to produce a scrap
substitute. Mill scale and flue dust, inexpensive by-products of
steelmaking, can be mixed with the iron oxide fines. Inmetco,
unlike other direct reduction products, is intended to be hot charged
into an EAF, with attendant energy savings.
How?
The process includes three steps. First, iron
oxide fines, pulverized coal and a binder are formed into pellets.
Second, the pellets, two to three layers deep, are heated in a gas-fired
rotary hearth furnace for 15–20 minutes to produce sponge
iron. Subsequently, the iron must be desulfurized. The coal
in the pellets provides much of the energy required in the second
phase.
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Integrated Mills
These facilities make steel by processing iron ore and
other raw materials in blast furnaces. Technically, only the hot
end differentiates integrated mills from mini-mills. However, the
differing technological approaches to molten steel imply different scale
efficiencies and, therefore, separate management styles, labor
relations, and product markets. Nearly all domestic integrated
mills specialize in flat-rolled steel or plate.
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Interstitial Free Steel
A recently developed sheet steel product with very low
carbon levels that is used primarily in automotive deep-drawing
applications. Interstitial Free Steel’s improved ductility
(drawing ability) is made possible by vacuum degassing.
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Iron Carbide
One of several substitutes for high-quality,
low-residual scrap for use in electric furnace steelmaking. Iron
carbide producers use natural gas to reduce iron ore to iron
carbide.
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Iron Ore
Mineral containing enough iron to be a commercially
viable source of the element for use in steelmaking. Except for
fragments of meteorites found on earth, iron is not a free element;
instead, it is trapped in the earth’s crust in its oxidized
form.
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Reproduction of all or part of this glossary
is specifically prohibited without the written consent of the
author
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