3D-printed stainless bridge a success
In April a ground-breaking stainless steel 3D printing project reached a major milestone with the successful completion of the bridge span section of a fully functional 3D printed bridge in Amsterdam.
Nanostructured alloying with oxygen
Scientists from the Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung (MPIE), the Austrian Erich Schmid Institute of Material Science, the Universities Leoben and Graz (Austria) and the Chinese Hubei University analysed in-situ copper-iron alloys during annealing to find out when and how oxide is formed and how it can be used to strengthen nanocrystalline materials.
“Knowledge sharing is key” An interview with Dow’s leading materials expert
In addition to his role as Global Improvement Leader Materials Engineering Discipline at Dow, the world’s largest chemical company, David Barber has taken on the challenge of Chairing Duplex World 2018. With a wealth of handson metallurgical experience built up over nearly 30 years, David is as at ease solving corrosion issues on-site as he is fielding questions on specifications and lifecycle costs.
Hybrid Steel opens up new design possibilities
Jan-Erik Andersson, Ovako’s Senior Group Technical Specialist, explains how the high-tech steel producer’s innovative Hybrid Steel® family is opening up new possibilities to achieve exceptional performance in highly stressed components while also offering the potential for enhanced corrosion resistance.
Metal powders: a niche to watch!
Despite product developments and vast investments around the world, the metal powder industry has not yet really taken off, nor have the sceptics been satisfied. Acknowledging that this is a technology for which home-grown expertise is essential for competitiveness, many countries are developing a powder metallurgy industry. As a result developments can be seen almost on a daily basis in every region of the world.
Smarter, bigger, faster, safer: how welding technology is meeting the challenges of the twenty-first...
Welding has the image of being a down-to-earth, hands-on activity, but a lot rides on it in terms of safety, both to plant and to personnel. A skills shortage makes the task of training enough welders more urgent. This is where technology comes in: the welding tools being developed today are smarter, (sometimes) bigger, faster and safer than before. More ergonomic tools and robotics will go a long way towards filling the skills gap.
Communications: a ‘must-have’ tool for a materials engineer
SSW first had the pleasure of meeting Material and Inspection Specialist Mrs. Sari Musch in September 2015 when visiting the Neste refinery at Porvoo, Finland. There, in the company’s central office, she kindly outlined some of her work related to stainless steels. Two years later, SSW found it high time for a return trip to Finland to catch up with Mrs. Musch and her many and varied projects.
Solid endless stainless belts in medical & pharmaceutical applications
Traditionally, the medical and pharmaceutical industries have been highly conservative and regulated environments where changes in material take inordinate amounts of time, primarily driven by the proclivity to corrosion of those materials. Due to their nature and specific applications, devices designed for medical or pharmaceutical uses must meet extremely demanding design and manufacturing criteria.
“Them thar rocks”: shale gas holds its own in a difficult market
Despite the dip in oil and gas prices, things are going remarkably well in the shale gas sector. Although there have been layoffs and bankruptcies, the demand for natural gas is increasing, and this rising tide is lifting shale in North America and other countries throughout the world. New technologies make the sector more competitive, which is good news for all suppliers to the sector and will stimulate related industries such as water treatment and desalination.
Working with CRAs in the subsea, offshore, and onshore industries
FMC Technologies and Technip came together in January 2017 to form TechnipFMC, a company dedicated to improving the performance of the world’s energy industry. A global leader in oil and gas projects, technologies, systems, and services, TechnipFMC is divided into three business segments: subsea, onshore/ offshore, and surface. The company employs more than 40,000 people across 48 countries.
