For Material Science we visited Nucor Steel Company, which, here in Kankakee makes rebar and stuff. I couldn't take my camera in, but I got a picture of the map. It is a really interesting process by which they make steel.
Here is the process they use:
Scrap metal is first placed in the Ladle, which holds 85 tons, and is brought to the Electric Arc Furnace. Here the scrap is melted at a temperature of around 3000 degrees Fahrenheit. Here the slag is also taken out and gotten rid of. Then the workers take a measurement of the chemical composition and add the amount of alloys that they need to. Then a huge crane brings it to a mixing place where they recheck the composition and add some more alloys if they need to. They use Nitrogen to mix the molten steel. Then the crane picks the Ladle up again, and brings it to the place where the ladle opens on the bottom and lets the steel empty into the bathtub like turndish. The molten steel then empties into the casts, where the steel is cast into 5.5 in by 5.5 in billet. These billets are cooled outside.
The billets are then taken and placed in a reheating furnace, where they are reheated to 2200 Fahrenheit. Once heated to 2200 degrees, the billets are pushed into a series of rollers which each squeeze the steel into a smaller shape. Finally, the steel is the size and shape it needs to be in, and it is cooled naturally to roughly 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Then they are cut into the client specified length and bound into a pack. Right before they are cut, samples are taken to double check the strength of the steel and see if it meets the requirements.
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