METALLURGY IN THE MAKING OF AUTOBODY STEE LS

The results obtained today in the manufacturing of car body plate woul d be inconceivable if it were not for exhaustive study of the processe s occurring during each individual manufacturing stage and subsequent application of the knowledge gained to globally optimize technology. I t is, for example, necessary to purposely adjust the balance of import ant material constituents (e.g. nitrogen content) as early as the blas t furnace stage as there are causal relationships between the composit ion of the hot metal and the properties of the cold-rolled end product . With the help of complex process models, all variables affecting qua lity, such as the content of carbon and elements with high oxygen affi nity as well as the interaction of all precipitation-forming elements, are recorded and controlled on the basis of the existing technologica l expertise using specific actuators installed on the individual plant s. Thin slab and thin strip casting are, in addition, considered to of fer great development potential for steel as a car body material. Fina lly, besides scrap recycling, metallurgy may bring further performance to car recycling.