Steel Industry Glossary of Terms

Glossary Term

Alloy
steel

Glossary Explanation

AOD

Refers to steels made with deliberate additions of one or more

alloying elements during steelmaking to enhance the properties
of the steel. The most common alloying elements are Mn, Cr, Mo
and Ni
Refers in metallurgy to heat treatment which is used to impart
changes in mechanical properties such as strength and
hardness. Typically, the annealing process is used to induce
softness and to relieve stress, allowing the steel to be further
worked
Argon-Oxygen Decarburisation. A secondary steelmaking
process in which oxygen and argon are blown into the molten
steel. Enables carbon to be removed without oxidising
chromium. Main method of refining stainless steel (see
also VOD)

Apparent
consumpt
ion

The mathematical sum of production plus imports minus

exports. The difference between 'apparent' consumption and
'real' consumption is that the latter definition also recognises
changes in stock levels. The phrase 'apparent consumption' is
often used interchangeably with 'apparent domestic
consumption' (abbreviated ADC)

Anneal

Bar-in-coil
Base
metals
Beneficiat
ion
Billet

Steel bar [round, square or hexagonal] that is in coiled form,

rather than in lengths. Bar products 10mm in diameter and
below are typically coiled
The glossary term typically refers to the set of easily corroding
[non-ferrous] metals that includes copper, aluminium, lead,
nickel, tin and zinc
Reference in the mining industry to the process of separating
ore by crushing and other means into mineral and waste
products
A semi-finished long product of up to 150 mm square crosssection with round corners. Billets can be continuously cast or
hot rolled from either ingots or larger concast billets and
blooms. They are re-rolled or forged into other forms

Black
plate
Bloom

Glossary phrase refers to uncoated cold rolled steel, typically

thin gauge material between 0.14-0.5 mm thick. The most
common application of black plate is production of tinplate for
the packaging industry
A semi-finished long product of greater than 150 mm square or
rectangular cross-section. Blooms can be produced by
continuous casting or by rolling from ingot. Continuously cast
rounds of 300mm diameter or greater are also referred to as
blooms

BOF

Basic oxygen furnace, which converts hot metal (pig iron from
the blast furnace) into liquid steel by blowing oxygen into the
furnace to remove carbon as carbon monoxide gas

BREF

BRIC
Bright
drawing
Campaign
CAPL
Carburisa
tion
Cast iron
Cobble

Stands for best reference and refers to best available technique

documentation which is often used as a benchmark
environmental performance measure
Reference to Brazil, Russia, India and China. In iron and steel,
theseBRIC countries are notable because of their high expected
economic growth rates in the coming 20-30 years and the
consequent implication for growth in future steel demand.
Compared to the industrialised world, the BRIC countries also
have relatively low labour costs and / or access to low cost
energy or steelmaking raw materials making them strategically
attractive locations for the manufacture of steel
The cold drawing of steel bars through a die in order to produce
a product with close dimensional tolerances, improved
mechanical properties and a bright finish. Shotblasting or
pickling to remove surface scale is normally carried out prior to
bright drawing
Period of continuous blast furnace operation: 20-25 years
represents a fairly typical campaign
Continuous annealing and processing line, used for the
production of cold rolled steel. The continuous anneal process
is to be distinguished from batch annealing. Whilst the former is
better suited to high volume production (e.g. on automotivededicated production lines) the latter is best suited to small job
lots and / or specialty grades

Process of introduction of carbon into steel - typically involving

heat treatment - to improve surface hardness
A ferrous alloy with more than 2.1% carbon content and
typically also with significant amounts of silicon, normally in the
1 - 3% range
An incident when bar that is being hot rolled either jams in the
mill guides, resulting in delays to reset the guides and rolls, or
comes out of its normal rolling trajectory, frequently landing

Coke
Cold
finishing
Cold
heading
Cold roll
formed
sections

(often at high speed) in the area adjacent to the rolling mill

stands
A solid carbon based product derived from baking bituminous
coal at high temperature to remove volatile constituents.
Metallurgical coke ['met coke'] is used as the main fuel in the
smelting of iron ore in a blast furnace
Processing of steel either with surface removal (polishing,
grinding, peeling) or without surface removal (e.g. through wire
drawing), primarily for further machining into shapes such as
gears, shafts, hydraulic fittings etc
Also known as cold upsetting, or fastener production. Glossary
term refers to the production of nuts and bolts through cold
deformation

Cost price
squeeze

The term usually refers to hot rolled steel (although it can be

cold rolled steel) that is roll formed [or 'bent'] cold into angles,
channels or shaped / corrugated sheet. The word 'cold' refers to
the forming process, not to the type of steel that is used
A process in which molten steel is poured into a water-cooled
copper mould for gradual solidification as it is drawn down the
caster, turning into a solid steel billet, bloom, or slab. Compared
to ingot casting, continuous casting has evolved as the
preferred method for making semi-finished steel because of
much better yield, productivity and cost performance
Reduction process for production of hot metal from iron ore
using coal. Key advantages over traditional integrated
steelmaking include the ability to use non-coking coal
[eliminating the need for coke batteries] and the ability to iron
ore pellets [eliminating the need for sinter plant]
Refers to the long term trend in the steel sector for new
technology to lead to cost improvements - for example through
introduction of continuous casting replacing ingot casting meaning reductions over time of overall price and cost levels.
The trend is sometimes quantified as an erosion of nominal
revenue of ~1% per annum or more

CSP

Compact strip production - see glossary under 'thin slab

casting'

Continuou
s casting
Corex

D-bar
Decarburi

Deformed bar - the most common form of reinforcing bar

The loss of carbon at the surface of steel. It is caused by
exposure of the surface to oxidising conditions at high
temperature

sation
Deep
drawing
steel

Low carbon steel strip with a microstructure to enable it to be

extensively pressed or drawn without tearing or failure

DMTU

Dry metric tonne unit. A metric tonne unit is equivalent to 1% of

a metric tonne (i.e. 1% of 1000 kg) and equals 10 kilograms. Iron
ore prices are commonly expressed in terms of cents per DMTU.

DNV

Det Norske Veritas - independent foundation based in Norway

with objective of safeguarding life, property, and the
environment - with an important role in product certification

DRI

Direct reduced iron - a residual-free scrap substitute

EAF
ECSC
EIA
Electrical
steel
ERW
ESR

Electric arc furnace - a furnace that melts (and thus recycles)

steel scrap for the production of liquid steel using electrical
power
European Coal and Steel Community - the original version of
what is now known as the European Community. Founded by
the Treaty of Paris in 1952, the ECSC was based on the principle
of member nations sharing their coal and steel resources
Environmental impact assessment - an appraisal of the
environmental impact of a project during both construction and
operation phases, and of future compliance with relevant
regulatory requirements
Cold rolled strip with containing up to 6% Si and cold rolled and
annealed to give specific magnetic properties and high
electrical resistivity. They can be grain-oriented (GO) to give
preferred magnetic properties in the rolled direction or nongrain oriented (NGO) to give uniform properties. The strips or
laminations are usually lacquer coated to increase electrical
resistivity when assembled into cores for transformers, electric
motors, etc
Electrical resistance welding: welding by the process of passing
of an electric current through two metals. Resistance to the
current creates heat, melting the metal (often under some force)
and thus forming the weld
Electro-Slag Remelting. (Also known as EFR, electro-flux
remelting) method of producing refined ingots with fewer
inclusions and reduced segregation. The process consists of
melting a cast or wrought electrode through a molten slag and
solidifying in a water cooled copper mould. An electrical current
is passed through the electrode and the electrical resistance of

the slag provides the heat to melt the electrode. The

resultant ESR ingot is then conventionally hot forged or rolled

ETS

Emissions trading scheme - a system for reducing carbon

dioxide emissions, based on pricing of CO2 output

Ferroalloy

Alloy of iron with high proportion of an element such as nickel,

chromium, molybdenum, vanadium, manganese etc that used in
the production of steel

Finex

Smelting reduction process based on reduction and melting of

non-agglomerated iron ore fines using thermal coal [i.e. noncoking coal] as the main energy source

FIOR

Direct reduction process based on the use of iron ore fines to

make iron units. FIOR is an acronym for Fluidized Iron Ore
Reduction

Flux

A substance such as limestone which is added to a furnace and

which reacts with impurities to form a slag

Full hard

Refers to cold rolled sheet steel that has not been softened by
annealing

GA
Galvanne
al

Refers to a sheet steel product that is annealed after hot dip

galvanizing with zinc. The additional annealing step produces
an external zinc-iron alloy coating which gives the coated steel
product exceptional corrosion resistance

Gauge

Another term for the thickness of sheet steel

GI
Greenhou
se gas
Grey iron

Common abbreviation for galvannneal

Galvanised iron, a common name for hot dip galvanised steel

Name collectively refers to a group of gases which trap
radiation leaving the Earth. The main GHGs responsible for the
resulting climate change are carbon dioxide CO2,
methane CH4 and nitrous oxide N2O. The full GHG list also
includes water vapour H20, ozoneO3, sulphur
hexafluoride SF6 and several other halogen-containing
hydrocarbons
Basic form of cast iron that is relatively easy and inexpensive to
produce. Grey iron ['gray iron'] is suitable for making a wide
range of castings including valve, pump, rail and auto
applications

Hardenab
ility

The hardenability of a steel is its ability to be hardened at depth

in quenching. As a general rule, the hardenability of low alloy
steels increases with alloy content

Hardness

Hardness is a measure of the resistance of a steel to indentation

and is related to the maximum strength of the steel. Typical
hardness measurement scales are Vickers, Brinell and Rockwell

HBI

Compacted DRI, formed into briquettes for easier handling. The

briquettes are commonly known as hot briquetted iron

HDG
High
speed
tool
steels

Hot dip galvanised - describes a zinc coating obtained by

dipping steel sheet into a bath of molten zinc

Hismelt

Glossary term refers to a range of metal-cutting tool steels that

retain their hardness at red heat. The compositions are based
upon high carbon steels with significant additions of W, Mo, V,
Cr and in some cases Co

HMS1, HM
S2

Direct ironmaking process, based on use of iron ore fines and

non-coking coal for the production of hot metal
HMS1 and HMS2 are the preferred forms of scrap for the
production of steel. Both are defined as obsolete scrap - which
is generated when a steel product comes to the end of its
working life. HMS denotes 'heavy melting scrap'
[sometimes 'heavy melting steel']. HMS1 comprises clean iron
and steel with a minimum thickness of 1/4" and a defined
maximum size [e.g. 60"x24" wide]. HMS2 is similarly defined but
has a minimum thickness of 1/8"

Hot metal

Another term for pig iron (see glossary entry below) - the
product made in a blast furnace

HRC

Common abbreviation for hot rolled coil

HSLA

High strength low alloys: a type of alloy steel that provides

better mechanical properties or greater resistance to corrosion
than carbon steel

HSM

Common abbreviation for hot strip mill - used for the production
of hot rolled steel coil

IISI
Inclusion
Induction
furnace

International Iron & Steel Institute. Former name of World Steel

Association (WSA) - one of the leading world steel industry
associations
Steel impurity - most often an oxide or a sulphide - which can
have a detrimental impact on mechanical properties
Furnace is which steel is heated by a process of induction,
whereby electromagnetic coils that surround the furnace heat
the steel by generation of eddy currents within the metal.
Relatively speaking, the process is both very clean with respect
to emissions and fairly enegy efficient
Mass of metal obtained from casting liquid steel into a mould.
The resulting ingot - a semi-finished product - is typically then
hot rolled or forged

Ingot
Interstitia
l-free
Killed
steel
Ladle
metallurg
y
Large
diameter
pipe

Definition in size terms varies but trade and other statistics

frequently define large diameter pipe as over 16 inches (or
406.4mm) in diameter. Large pipe of this size is invariably
welded rather than seamless, and can be produced by
longitudinal or spiral welding for applications that often include
gas and oil transport

LME

London Metal Exchange - leading non-ferrous metals market in

the UK

Long ton

Measure of weight used in the UK prior to metrication. The long

ton is equivalent to 2240 pounds or approximately 1016 kg. See
also under glossary term short ton and tonne below

MHPT

Man hours per tonne - a common measure of labour force or

process productivity

Interstitial-free (IF) steels have few solute interstitial elements,

such as carbon and nitrogen. These interstices can be sources
of strain and may result in brittleness

Steel that has its oxygen content reduced - typically through

addition of aluminium. Hence the term aluminium killed

A process step typically applied in a ladle furnace for alloying,

deoxidation, desulphurisation as well as for temperature
adjustment prior to casting of quality steels

Micum
index

The percentages of coke remaining in a given size-band after

rotating a coke sample within a drum for a given time. The index
is a measure of the strength of coke against both impact and
abrasion

Midrex

Direct reduction process for converting iron ore into direct

reduced iron (DRI) for iron and steelmaking

Mild steel

Low carbon steel - often also referred to as soft steel. Carbon

content generally under 0.25%
The term 'minimill' normally refers to a scrap-based EAF route
steelmaking operation of relatively small scale (usually less
than 500 kt capacity / year; thus much smaller than a typical
BOF plant making several million t/yr) producing long products although the concept is increasingly finding application in flat
product mills. The word 'mini' is applied both because of the
relatively small scale in volume terms and because of the
relatively low capital cost per tonne involved in construction
[broadly ~$250/t for a minimill versus ~$1000/t for an integrated
plant]

Mini mill
NDT

Non-destructive testing - refers to electronic or other methods

of inspection that do not permanently affect the properties of
the material
Iron units made from low grade pig iron produced from laterite
ore (0.9% to 1.9% nickel). When the cost of refined nickel rose
steeply in 2006, these 'pigs' came into popularity (especially in
China) in attempts to offset high stainless steel production
costs

Nickel
pigs
Normalisi
ng

Heat treatment for relief of internal stress, based on heating and

subsequent air cooling

Nut coke

Low ash content coke that is 10-25mm or 12-30mm [industry

definitions vary] in size

OCS

Organic coated sheet

OCTG
OHF

Oil country tubular goods - refers to the group of steel tube

products (both seamless and welded) used in vertical oil well
applications such as casing, drill pipe, and well tubing
Open hearth steelmaking furnace. A shallow hearth
reverberatory furnace in which the charge is melted by flames.
Once the most common type of steel making furnace, it has
largely been replaced by BOF and EAF steelmaking

OHS
Organic
coated
PAH
Passivatio
n
PCI
Pickling

Occupational health and safety

Organic coating refers to paint or varnish which is added as an
extra corrosion protection layer to products typically made from
zinc-coated sheet
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon. These may be emitted during
electric steelmaking to the air, and thus represent a potential
health hazard in EAF operations

Changing of a chemically reactive metal surface to a less

reactive state, typically through chemical treatment
Pulverised coal injection - a process increasingly used in blast
furnaces, typically offering substantial economic benefits
through greater use of coal and proportionately less use of
metallurgical coke

Pig iron

Removal of mill scale by mechanical and chemical means

A key intermediate material in the integrated (converter-based)
steelmaking process, pig iron is the product of smelting iron
ore, coke and limestone in a blast furnace. Merchant pig iron is
sometimes used as as substitute for scrap in EAF steelmaking,
when there is a need to control residuals

PPGI

Pre-painted galvanised iron, a common term for pre-painted hot

dip galvanised steel - also known as organic coated sheet [OCS]
or prepainted sheet

PPPL
Price
cycle
Proof
stress
Quarto
Plate

Common abbreviation for push-pull pickling line

Refers to the well-established phenomenon of cyclicality in
international steel price movements. Although no cycle is ever
identical, this cyclicality has in recent years been characterised
by price swings from peak to trough of 25% or more, and by a
periodicity (from peak to peak, or trough to trough) of approx.
two years
The stress that will give rise to a specified permanent extension
of the material undergoing a tensile test. The 0.2% proof stress
is most commonly quoted
Steel plate that is usually made on a one- or two-stand four-high
plate mill. Quarto plate is usually wide and in straight lengths
rather than coiled

Quenchin
g
Reduction
Reduction
ratio
Residuals
Refractor
y

Rapid cooling - typically undertaken to obtained a specific

property such as increased hardness of steel
Chemical removal of oxygen. Thus direct reduced iron (DRI) is
formed through the reduction of iron oxide
Typically refers to extent of area compression in the production
of hot rolled bar. Reduction ratios of 15:1 used to be the norm
for quality applications (e.g. engineering steels) some 10-20
years ago, but even this expectation has fallen with the advent
of modern continuous casting practices. Reduction ratios as
low as 8:1 are currently acceptable for many high quality long
product applications
Refer to so-called tramp elements such as copper and tin, which
are typically introduced into the steelmaking process in the
form of unsorted or contaminated scrap and which can impair
the physical and mechanical properties of steel
Adjective refers to an ability to retain strength at high
temperature. Noun describes the material. In the steel industry,
refractory materials are used for furnace linings

Rod

Refers to small cross-section bar, typically ~5.5 to ~13.5mm

diameter that is coiled after rolling. Also known as Wire Rod

SAW

Submerged arc welding - a welding process that uses the heat

of an electric arc to melt an electrode held adjacent to a
workpiece under a blanket of granular flux [hence 'submerged']

SBQ

Special bar quality - an American term for engineering steel

Scale

Oxide layer which forms on a steel surface at high temperatures

Scarfing

The removal of surface defects, usually on semi-products by

flame cutting methods. Can be carried out in-line during primary
rolling when it is referred to as hot scarfing

Semi
Sequence
casting

Colloquialism used in reference to semi-finished steel, i.e. ingot,

bloom, billet or slab
Process of casting two or more heats of the same grade of steel
in succession through a continuous caster in order to reduce
yield losses

Unit of weight commonly used in the USA and which refers to

2000 pounds. A short ton is equivalent to ~0.907 metric tonnes.
See also glossary entry for tonne

Short ton
Silicon
steel

Another term for electrical steel - steel with particular electrical

and magnetic properties that makes it especially suited to use in
cores of electrical transformers, electrical motors, generators
etc

Sintering

A process in which fine materials (typically iron ore fines and

coke breeze) are combined into a porous mass that can be used
in the blast furnace

Skelp
Sponge
iron

A metallic product made by direct reduction of iron, via the

removal of oxygen from iron ore. Sponge iron is also known as
DRI, or direct reduced iron

Slab

Semi-finished steel product - the main intermediate material in

the production of flat rolled steel. Slab, typically ~150-400 mm
thick, is usually hot rolled into plate or into hot rolled coil

Stainless
Steckel
Mill
Strand
Strip mill
products
Teeming
Tensile
strength
Terne

Narrow or medium-width hot rolled strip (generally 200-700mm

in width) commonly used for the production of welded tube

An alloy of carbon and iron that has a minimum chromium

content of 10.5 percent
Sheet rolling mill that reduces steel gauge by repeated reversal
of rolling action. Heated coil boxes at each end allow the steel to
be reheated prior to each reversing pass through the Steckel
mill's stands
A combination of individual steel wires that are specially twisted
together. Individual strands are often combined in the
manufacture of steel rope

Hot and cold rolled steel coil, sheet and / or strip

The pouring of molten metal from a ladle into an ingot mould.
The economic advantages of continuous casting over ingot
casting mean that the ingot-route process has largely been
superseded for high volume production of steel
The maximum load applied in a tensile test divided by the
original cross-sectional area of the test piece. Also known as
Ultimate Tensile Strength or Maximum Stress
Cold rolled steel that has been hot dip coated with a lead
coating (usually >90% lead). The most common application of
terne coated steel is car petrol tanks

coated
Thin slab
casting
Tin foil
TMT
Toll
rolling
Tonne

Production of a slab approx 50 mm - 75 mm thick in a process

that is integrated with hot strip casting. The thin slab casting
process requires much less gauge reduction of the slab
(otherwise undertaken in roughing mills starting with perhaps
250mm thick slab) and the integration with strip rolling means
much reduced reheat needs (saving time and energy cost)
Thin gauge material (typically 0.016mm thick) nowadays
generally made from aluminium, commonly used for food
wrapping. Aluminium is preferred to tin as it is generally more
pliable

Thermomechanical treatment
Also refered to as hire rolling this glossary term refers to the
practice of rolling steel as a service - typically by a firm that
does not have ownership of the steel

Tool steel

Unit of weight commonly used outside the USA, which refers to

a metric tonne. A tonne is 1000 kilograms or ~2204.6 pounds
Carbon and alloy steels that have high resistance to abrasion.
As the name suggests this product group is especially well
suited to the manufacture of tools (including stamping dies,
shear blades, and hand tools such as spanners, machine tool
bit holders etc)

TOR

TOR steel bar is another term for twisted deformed reinforcing

steel bar (as distinct from TMT treated steel bar)

tpt

Tonnes per tonne - refers to process charge as the inverse of

yield loss. Thus a charge of 1.05 tpt is the starting weight for a
manufacturing step with ~95% through yield

Tundish

A reservoir for holding liquid steel and feeding the steel in a

controlled manner into a continuous casting machine

Turnings

Metal shavings formed during the course of metalworking. Also

know asswarf

ULCOS

Ultra Low CO2 Steelmaking

ULSAB
UTS
Vacuum
degassing
VAR
VOC
VOD
Wire
drawing
Wrought
iron
WSA
Yellow
goods
Yield

Ultra Light Steel Auto Body - a joint initiative undertaken by

vehicle designers and steelmakers to create a lighter stronger
autobody, improve vehicle fuel efficiency and improve emission
performance

Ultimate Tensile Strength. See Tensile Strength

A secondary steelmaking operation in which the molten steel is
exposed to a vacuum. It results in the removal of gases,
particularly hydrogen and usually enables improved cleanness
levels to be obtained
Vacuum Arc Remelting. A method of producing ingots with
lower gas content, fewer inclusions and reduced segregation.
The process consists of melting a cast or wrought electrode
with a DC arc under high vacuum. Molten droplets exposed to
the vacuum are collected and solidify to ingot in a water-cooled
copper mould
Volatile organic compounds. May be released to the air as an
emission during electric steelmaking - thus a potential health
risk if not monitored or controlled
Vacuum Oxygen Decarburisation. A ladle steelmaking process
in which oxygen is injected into molten steel under vacuum.
This allows carbon to be removed from the steel without
oxidising chromium. A method of refining stainless steel (see
also AOD)
The reduction in cross-section of descaled rod by progressively
pulling it through dies. The resulting product has a bright
surface, improved mechanical properties and closer
dimensional tolerances. Distinguished from bright drawing by
being a coil-to-coil process
Iron that has a low carbon content (usually les than 0.15 per
cent). Many traditional applications of wrought iron now use low
carbon steel instead
World Steel Association. One of the leading world steel industry
associations. Formerly IISI
Reference to fork lift trucks, bulldozers, earth-moving
equipment etc [typically painted yellow] which represent a
distinct steel-consuming segment
Measure of efficiency of a steelmaking process stage, often
expressed as a percentage. Typically calculated as the weight of
steel produced in a given manufacturing step relative to the
quantity charged

Yield
strength

The stress at which permanent deformation occurs in a tensile

test. In many steels, this point is not readily distinguishable and
a proof strength value is used as an alternative (see also Proof
Strength)