In every year of the millennium so far, more steelplant has been commissioned than was put to work in the whole of the previous decade. The design and manufacturing techniques for steelplant engineering that were previously neglected are now being realised, leading to reenergised blast furnaces, slab casters, rolling mills and mechanical shearing.
Techniques to teach steelmaking and steel processing within an undergraduate curriculum can be problematic. However, there is an alternative in the form of steeluniversity.org, which aims to provide e-learning resources covering all aspects of iron and steelmaking, including applications and recycling.
The UK-based Brunel Centre for Advanced Solidification Technology has been actively developing rheoforming or melt processing technologies. This technology is used to promote the transformation of liquid alloys into solid products. Components produced from rheoformed technology have an improved mechanical performance and this process could reshape the metallurgical industry.
