Swansea and Warwick universities' bid for cheaper, greener steel

Cheaper and greener forms of steel could be developed thanks to new micro testing being developed in Swansea.

Trial steel mixes are currently made in huge quantities to test a small amount, which one expert likened to making a cake mix just to taste a spoonful.

Swansea and Warwick universities, along with Tata Steel, have secured £7m funding to pioneer the same tests on just a few grams of new steel types.

The research could speed up the process by 100 times and help find new alloys.

It would also make testing costs much cheaper.

In steel factories such as Tata's Port Talbot plant, the smallest batch of a single alloy it is possible to manufacture is 300 tonnes.

Dr Cameron Pleydell-Pearce, associate professor of engineering at Swansea University, told the BBC: "The way we currently test new steels is similar to making an entire bowl of cake-mix just to taste one spoonful.

"If that doesn't taste right we throw the whole mix.

"That makes the industry very risk-averse, as trying anything new is prohibitively costly and time consuming."

He said while it was possible to create smaller samples in a laboratory, it had been difficult to replicate factory conditions to create a true test, but this had changed.

"Developments in the production of powdered metals allow us to recreate factory-grade steel in tiny amounts, as small as a thimble-full," he said.

"Then we are creating massive data-sets of how these samples perform, which will feed into sophisticated computer modelling of their properties."

Dr Pleydell-Pearce believes being able to test up to 100 new alloys a week, as opposed to one or two currently, will lead to steel being utilised in a whole new variety of ways.

"For example low-weight-high-strength steel is vital to maximise the range of electric vehicles, and thinner steels with more plasticity could replace plastic as food packaging," he said..

"The only thing which has been holding this back is the amount of testing required."

He also says the research could have a dramatic effect on the environment, increasing the amount of recycled steel used, and increasing opportunities to replace conventional raw materials with scrap waste streams.

Brian Edy, director of the Steel and Metals Institute at Swansea University, said the research could bring significant benefits to the steel industry and environment.

He added: "This project will increase the diversity of steel grades, for example offering alternatives to plastic packaging that can be recycled much more easily.

"Increasing the percentage of recycled material used in making new steel also reduces the environmental footprint by lowering carbon emissions.

"This new approach to testing and developing alloys shows real promise."