Stronger steel
Sustainable and strong with stainless steel reinforcement
When the decision was taken to carry out a major upgrade of the Gateway Bridge motorway bridge across the Brisbane River in Australia, stainless steel reinforcement bar from Outokumpu was chosen. The new bridge shall be completed in 2011 and will have a useful life of 300 years.
This is the furst time that so-called duplex steel is used as concrete reinforcement in a bridge. The advantage of this construction method, apart from the fact that it does not corrode, is that the duplex steel is so strong that the material consumption is less. The bridge is thereby of lighter weight and also less costly to produce.
Tool steel in new applications
The term Uddeholm High Performance Steel (HPS) means that tool steel is used for other applications than tools – e.g. structural elements and components within the manufacturing industry which are subject to high stress. The result is stronger steel with longer useful life that delivers real gains for both the customer and the environment.
Shown here is Charley Karling, who four times over has won the European Super Twin Championships [Drag Bike racing]. Top speed is 356 kph! To handle these stresses the engine’s vital parts are manufactured of Uddeholm High Performance Steel.
(Photo: Stefan Boman)
New sluice gate of stainless steel
On the Fattighusån canal in Göteborg there is a new sluice gate made of stainless steel from Outokumpu. This has replaced the old wooden sluice gate. The reason for this was that more water needs to be offloaded from the Mölndalsån river in the event of high water flows than was previously possible.
With movable hatches the water can be discharged without the sluice needing to be opened. Where the moving parts in such a construction are of stainless steel it is easier to apply surface treatment with good results. The excellent anti-corrosion properties combined with high-strength characteristics make the material very suitable for the sluice gate and future maintenance costs are also considerably reduced.
