August 30, 2008

Corus developing laser technology to detect flaws in steel

It is reported that Corus Research Development and Technology, on Teesside is developing a technology which can detect defects in steel at the earliest ever point in the manufacturing process. The Laser Emats (electromagnetic acoustic transducers) process will be the first of its kind in the world to test for surface and internal defects on steel above 800C.

Dr Adrian Normanton a leading figure in the field, had been developing the technique and adapting it for steelmaking but recently died. Corus will develop the final stages of Laser Emats, a project in the pilot stag, and introduce it into the global industry in Dr Normanton's memory.

The Lase -Emats technique is being tested at the Teesside Technology Centre in Middlesbrough and Corus has been commended by Teesside University and the Cleveland Institution of Engineers for its pioneering work on the project.

The technique involves firing laser pulses at steel to turn a small area of the surface into plasma. That generates an ultrasonic wave, which can be reflected by defects such as cracks. It could take technologists up to two years to test and improve the design, before it is tested at a Corus steelmaking plant.

Mr Ian Baillie project manager and physicist at Corus said that “Dr Adrian was the first to identify this technology as being suitable for the steel industry, and I'm incredibly privileged and grateful to him for giving me the opportunity to be part of a fantastic innovative project. The results on the preliminary testing we have done so far have been very pleasing but it is a challenging environment to work in and there's still much to be done to ensure the technology will do what we need it to do."