Recently, the industrial production goal of continuous casting of more than 5 furnaces of rare earth bearing steel has been achieved in a key provincial research and development project undertaken by Shandong Iron and Steel Group (Shandong Steel): "Research and Industrialization of Key Technologies for High-quality Rare Earth Special Steel for High-end Manufacturing Equipment." The clean steel platform has been successfully built, and product performance has been significantly improved. This marks a significant breakthrough in Shandong Steel's rare earth steel research and development project.
Extremely strong corrosion resistance, wear resistance, and drawability are the biggest characteristics that distinguish rare earth steel from ordinary steel. Rare earth steel products have a wide range of applications and are of great significance to further extending the steel industry chain, connecting advanced steel with high-end equipment manufacturing, and achieving the transformation of old and new kinetic energy. Shandong Steel launched the research and development of rare earth steel in the special steel field in 2018. In the same year, the project was selected into the provincial key research and development plan and received a special subsidy of 10 million yuan.
Since the project was launched, Shandong Steel, in collaboration with the Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has assembled a task force composed of elite personnel from research and development, production, and marketing departments, guided by the "five-in-one" collaborative mechanism, to fully promote the implementation of the project. Relying on the clean steel production platform built by Shandong Steel, the task force, through two years of unremitting efforts, has successfully mastered the key technologies of rare earth steel smelting and continuous casting, conducted in-depth research on the modification mechanism of rare earth steel, and completed the promotion of common key technologies of rare earth steel.
According to reports, during the project implementation, the researchers organized a total of 28 batches of industrial trials of rare earth steel and conducted 290 industrial comparative experimental studies. The industrial production goal of continuous casting of more than 5 furnaces was achieved, the rare earth treatment technology was extended to two production lines, and it was successfully applied to three products: bearing steel, gear steel, and roll steel. At the same time, 15 patents were submitted, more than ten technical secrets were formed, and 4 new product varieties were developed.
As of now, Shandong Steel has produced more than 10,000 tons of various types of rare earth special steel, all of which have been sold. For future market marketing, the team has begun to visit and contact key customers to lay the foundation for the next step of the product entering high-end manufacturing enterprises.
