Raw material feed into an electric arc furnace (“EAF”) is melted into heated liquid metal at a controlled temperature with impurities and inclusions removed as a separate liquid slag layer. The heated liquid metal is removed from the EAF into a passively heatable ladle wherein it is moved into a refining station where they are placed into a inductively heated refining holding vessel and wherein vacuum oxygen decarburization is applied to remove carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and other undesirable impurities from the liquid metal. The ladle and liquid metal is then transferred to a refining station/gas atomizer having a controlled vacuum and inert atmosphere wherein the liquid metal is poured from an inductively heated atomizing holder vessel into a heated tundish at a controlled rate wherein high pressure inert gas is applied through a nozzle to create a spray of metal droplets forming spherical shapes as the droplets cool.

Technologies are disclosed herein for cross-correlating metrics for anomaly root cause detection. Primary and secondary metrics associated with an anomaly are cross-correlated by first using the derivative of an interpolant of data points of the primary metric to identify a time window for analysis. Impact scores for the secondary metrics can be then be generated by computing the standard deviation of a derivative of data points of the secondary metrics during the identified time window. The impact scores can be utilized to collect data relating to the secondary metrics most likely to have caused the anomaly. Remedial action can then be taken based upon the collected data in order to address the root cause of the anomaly.

A molten steel refining method increases a circulating rate using an RH vacuum degassing apparatus. An immersion depth of an immersion tube into molten steel inside a vacuum tank or a circulating gas flow rate is determined such that a stirring power energy density ε for the molten steel meets the following formulae: ε = [371GT × ln{ 1 + (ρ.sub.LgH.sub.0/P)}]/W.sub.v, W.sub.v = (π.Math.D.sub.v.sup.2/4) × H.sub.0 × ρ.sub.L/1000, H.sub.0 = h.sub.v + L - h.sub.G, h.sub.v = (P.sub.0 - P)/(ρ.sub.Lg) + 1 -L, 1.35 × 10.sup.5 × D.sub.U/W.sub.V < ε < 2.1 × 10.sup.4.

A molten steel refining method increases a circulating rate using an RH vacuum degassing apparatus. An immersion depth of an immersion tube into molten steel inside a vacuum tank or a circulating gas flow rate is determined such that a stirring power energy density ε for the molten steel meets the following formulae: ε = [371GT × ln{ 1 + (ρ.sub.LgH.sub.0/P)}]/W.sub.v, W.sub.v = (π.Math.D.sub.v.sup.2/4) × H.sub.0 × ρ.sub.L/1000, H.sub.0 = h.sub.v + L - h.sub.G, h.sub.v = (P.sub.0 - P)/(ρ.sub.Lg) + 1 -L, 1.35 × 10.sup.5 × D.sub.U/W.sub.V < ε < 2.1 × 10.sup.4.

Provided are an ultra-clean rare earth steel and an occluded foreign substance modification control method, the steel includes 10-200 ppm of rare earth elements, 50% or more occluded foreign substances in the steel are dispersed into RE-oxygen-sulfide with the average equivalent diameter D.sub.mean ranging from 1-5 μm in a spherical shape or a substantially spherical shape or a granular shape; according to the method, at least 80%, preferably at least 90%, of Al2O3 occluded foreign substances in the steel are modified into RE-oxygen-sulfide, compared with steel with the same components without rare earth, the total amount of the occluded foreign substances in the steel is reduced by 18% or higher, the cracking probability caused by occluded foreign substances such as Al2O3 in traditional pure steel is reduced, the mechanical performance such as the fatigue life of the steel is remarkably improved.

A method for producing metal powders by gas atomization is provided, including providing a metal charge; melting the metal charge inside an electric-arc furnace, controlling its composition until a molten metal bath having a desired composition is obtained; tapping the bath from the furnace, collecting it inside a ladle; refining the bath under controlled atmosphere, vacuum, or overpressure condition; atomizing the refined bath by feeding it into a gas atomizer, inside which a molten metal bath flow is produced, and impinging the molten metal bath flow with an atomization inert gas stream for the atomization of the molten metal bath into metal powders; and extracting the obtained metal powders from the gas atomizer.

A method for producing metal powders by gas atomization is provided, including providing a metal charge; melting the metal charge inside an electric-arc furnace, controlling its composition until a molten metal bath having a desired composition is obtained; tapping the bath from the furnace, collecting it inside a ladle; refining the bath under controlled atmosphere, vacuum, or overpressure condition; atomizing the refined bath by feeding it into a gas atomizer, inside which a molten metal bath flow is produced, and impinging the molten metal bath flow with an atomization inert gas stream for the atomization of the molten metal bath into metal powders; and extracting the obtained metal powders from the gas atomizer.

The present invention reveals an ultra-thin ultra-high strength steel wire, a wire rod for an ultra-thin ultra-high strength steel wire and its producing method. The chemical components of the wire rod comprise in percentage by mass: C 0.90˜0.96%, Si 0.12˜0.30%, Mn 0.30˜0.65%, Cr 0.10˜0.30%, Al≤0.004%, Ti≤0.001%, Cu≤0.01%, Ni≤0.01%, S≤0.01%, P≤0.01%, O≤0.0006%, N≤0.0006%, and the balance is Fe and unavoidable impurity elements. The wire rod for the ultra-thin ultra-high strength steel wire may be used as a base material for producing the ultra-thin ultra-high strength steel wire having a diameter in a range of 50˜60 μm and a tensile strength larger than or equal to 4500 MPa.

Technologies are disclosed herein for cross-correlating metrics for anomaly root cause detection. Primary and secondary metrics associated with an anomaly are cross-correlated by first using the derivative of an interpolant of data points of the primary metric to identify a time window for analysis. Impact scores for the secondary metrics can be then be generated by computing the standard deviation of a derivative of data points of the secondary metrics during the identified time window. The impact scores can be utilized to collect data relating to the secondary metrics most likely to have caused the anomaly. Remedial action can then be taken based upon the collected data in order to address the root cause of the anomaly.

Provided is a non-oriented electrical steel sheet having such a low Al concentration so that it is excellent in terms of the recycling efficiency of scrap iron and having a high magnetic flux density and low iron loss.

The non-oriented electrical steel sheet according to the present invention has a chemical composition containing C; 0.0050 mass % or less, Si; 1.5 mass % to 5.0 mass %, Mn; 0.2 mass % to 3.0 mass %, sol.Al; 0.0030 mass % or less, P; 0.2 mass % or less, S; 0.0050 mass % or less, N; 0.0040 mass % or less, T.Ca; 0.0010 mass % to 0.0080 mass %, T.O; 0.0100 mass % or less, REM; 0.0001 mass % to 0.0050 mass %, and a balance of Fe and inevitable impurities, in which a value of a mass-related fractional expression ((T.Ca+REM)/(T.O+S)), which is a relational expression for the masses of the four constituents described above, that is, T.Ca, REM, T.O, and S, is 0.4 or more.