| What is steel ? | How is steel made ? | Steel products |
The structure of the Pyramid of the Louvre, canned food, oil platforms, catalytic converters, paper clips, mounts for electronic chips...are all made of steel.
It would of course be impossible to make an exhaustive list of everything that uses steel, since steel is literally everywhere - from commonplace objects to the most sophisticated instruments, from the microscopic (parts for the micro-motors of electronic assemblies, weighing less than one gram) to the gigantic (the hold of a gas tanker, with a volume equal to that of the Arch of Triumph!), steel is the basis for an infinite number of products developed by human industry.
In the construction of bridges or buildings...
Steel may play multiple
roles.
It is used to strengthen concrete, reinforce foundations, and carry
water, gas, and other liquids.
It is also used to form the frameworks of buildings,
whether for offices, schools, factories or residences or sports facilities...And
to cover them (facades, roofs, etc.).
In short, it is the basic element in
the architecture and aesthetics of a structure.
In the automobile
sector...
This sector is the second-largest steel market, behind
the construction industry.
Chassis and bodies, engine parts, steering, transmissions,
exhaust systems, steel belts for tires, etc... Steel represents 55 to 70 percent
of the weight of a car.
For everyday uses: cans, pots, containers, etc.
Numerous types of packaging
are manufactured using steel plate, coated on both sides with a thin layer of
tin to make them stable.
Commonly known today as "tinplate", this
type of steel was long referred to as "white steel", because of the
whiteness of the tin. Packaging steel is made into cans for food and beverages,
as well as spray paint, tubes for lipstick, and pots, cans or containers for paint,
grease, solvents and other products requiring any kind of hermetically-sealed
preservation.
At the heart of food preservation
Non-alloy steel (so-called "carbon
steel") requires rust protection: a layer of zinc and paint for automobile
bodies, a layer of tin and paint for food or drink cans. Stainless steel, nickel
and chrome alloy steel can themselves be left uncoated since their mass is stable.
Plates, casseroles, covered pots...stainless steel resists water and detergents
indefinitely.
It is perfectly healthy and alters neither the taste nor the
color of food.
In communications...
The electronic components used in computer or telecommunications
systems, as well as the operating elements of color television tubes, are sensitive
parts, having special requirements: they are therefore manufactured using alloys
adapted to each specific situation.
For example: alloys with very low expansion
rates for integrated circuit structures or on-board satellite components.
In energy...
The
oil and nuclear energy industries require infrastructure, equipment and fluid
networks that are very specific.
Steel is a key material in this environment,
as it is for the chemical industry, since it meets the critical challenges inherent
to uses in very corrosive environments, high temperatures and formidable mechanical
constraints.
And in health...
Stable
and completely neutral in terms of its interaction with human tissue, stainless
steel is ideal for artificial hips and kneecaps, screws, plates, scalpels, etc.
Even needles are manufactured using stainless steel wire from 0.15 to 0.45 mm
in thickness.