steel glossary terms - technical definitions

Glossary Term	Glossary Explanation
D-bar	Deformed bar - the most common form of reinforcing bar
Decarburisation	The loss of carbon at the surface of steel. It is caused by exposure of the surface to oxidising conditions at high temperature
Deep drawing steel	Low carbon steel strip with a microstructure to enable it to be extensively pressed or drawn without tearing or failure
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	Electric arc furnace - a furnace that melts (and thus recycles) steel scrap for the production of liquid steel using electrical power
ECSC	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
ECX	European Climate Exchange - marketplace for trading carbon dioxide emissions
EGL	Electrogalvanised - typically used to describe electrolytically zinc coated sheet steel
EIA	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
Electrical steel	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 non-grain 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
ERW	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
ESTEP	Acronym for European Steel Technology Platform - a body focused on strategic research undertaken for various European and National Research Ministries
ESR	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. non-coking 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
Galvanneal	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
Greenhouse gas	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 H2O, ozone O3, sulphur hexafluoride SF6 and several other halogen-containing hydrocarbons
Grey iron	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
Hardenability	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
HDG	Hot dip galvanised - describes a zinc coating obtained by dipping steel sheet into a bath of molten zinc
High speed tool steels	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
Hismelt	Direct ironmaking process, based on use of iron ore fines and non-coking coal for the production of hot metal
HMS1, HMS2	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 metal 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
Hot band	North American term for hot rolled coil
HRC	Common abbreviation for hot rolled coil
HSLA	High strength low alloys: group of higher strength steels formed by the addition of small quantible', as defined by the European Council Directive

Steel Industry Glossary of Terms

Technical jargon made simple