Developing Smarter Steel with Artificial Intelligence Powered Software Analysis

Steel is critical to the future success of our world. As one of the only materials to be completely reusable and recyclable, it will play an essential role in building the circular economy of the future. Steel continues to evolve, becoming smarter and increasingly sustainableSteel is critical to the future success of our world. As one of the only materials to be completely reusable and recyclable, it will play an essential role in building the circular economy of the future. Steel continues to evolve, becoming smarter and increasingly sustainable.

Due to its versatility, steel has undergone enormous technological advances; in particular, Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS) have drawn attention and are excellent candidates to meet the demands of the automotive industry and renewable energy infrastructure.

ArcelorMittal, the world’s leading steel and mining company, is focusing on creating smarter steels that are cleaner, stronger and reusable. Henrique Severiano, Laboratory Specialist, and Fernando Generoso, Product Development Specialist at ArcelorMittal in Tubarão, Brazil tell us about their  material characterization with microscopy, the  use of artificial intelligence (AI)  and share their thoughts about the future of steel:

Our job is to use metallurgical knowledge to develop alloy design and process parameters tailored to fulfill customer needs.

That includes knowing the final application of the steel, understanding its function and what features are necessary for optimal performance.

Based on that, several quality control parameters and tests are designed to guarantee the steel is suitable for that specific use.

Machine learning classifications are much more noise tolerant than their traditional counterparts. They can be used to distinguish features that have little or no difference in the SEM gray scale values, but instead have differences that are set apart only by texture. This can outperform typical software characterization that is based solely on 2D images and grayscale differences.

Under different process conditions, the same steel can end up generating very different and complex microscale interactions of microstructural constituents, with different mechanical properties. The characterization of these phases in a large area, with high reliability and speed is of paramount importance for the development of new products, failure analysis, among other applications. Industries and research institutions that intend to play a leadership role in the development of new and more advanced steels need to improve their process simulation and product characterization capability and capacity in order to keep up with the technical evolution in steel production that is becoming increasingly complex and challenging.

Mankind has been using steel for about 4,500 years and its usage is more diverse than ever, from bottle caps to skyscrapers and so on. Steel consumption per capita is used worldwide as part of the economic development index. We have no doubt steel applications will keep impressing us. For the near future we can easily foresee steel being used alongside other materials such as polymers, other alloys, ceramic, etc. in the form of composites or complex structures or equipment to boost performance.

Alongside this continuous increase in applicability, the steel production process is undergoing a big transformation towards neutralizing CO2  emissions. ArcelorMittal has recently launched its first three XCarbTM  initiatives as part of its journey to reach its commitment to net zero carbon emissions by 2050.