News 2011

The commissioning of two experimental  set-ups for the simulation of high temperature corrosion processes in power plants has extended the expertise of SZMF Research and Development in Duisburg by a new field of competence in the area of heat resistant steel products.

 

Currently, state-of-the-art, coal-fired high-performance power plants operate with steam parameters of 600°C und 290 bar at efficiencies of 47 %. In order to be able to achieve an efficiency of 50 % and higher, it is mandatory to increase the steam temperature to approximately 700°C and operating pressure to approximately 350 bar in future power plants. In addition, the application of new technologies such as the Oxyfuel combustion process generates new conditions.

New energy resources are increasingly being developed in remote regions with complex soil conditions and extreme climates. This presents a considerable challenge when laying the required pipelines. Ground movements have a critical impact and can be caused, for example, by subsidence, thermal expansion, frost heave or earthquakes, which can lead to bending stress in the pipeline and thereby to high plastic elongation. In combination with the internal pressure, this causes multiaxial stress in the pipe wall.

In order to optimize results of production in the continuous casting plants, the melts have to be cast at the temperature that has been set up precisely for the relevant quality and width of the cast. The exact calculation of the liquidus temperature, which is specific for the steel analysis, is the basis for the casting temperature determination.

One of the most important tasks of the Joining and Heat Technology department at the Duisburg site of SZMF is to perform weldability tests according to customer specifications.

As metal arc welding is increasingly opted for in pipeline construction, this process is used to conduct weldability tests in semi-field conditions. A new plant for the fully mechanized arc welding of girth welds was commissioned at the Duisburg site.

 

In order to shorten the development cycles of new vehicle models the use of finite element simulations is on the rise in the automotive industry.