City becoming an international centre for research into material innovation
by Mark McNeil Hamilton Spectator
Serge Oshana, a mechanical technician, looks at a sample of steel that elongated and failed in the non-ambient tensile tester, a device used to test the steel as it is manufactured at ArcelorMittal. This ensures the grade of steel specified meets its quality standard. – John Rennison,The Hamilton Spectator
Hamilton has become a hotbed of research into advanced steels as the industry works to design lighter and stronger materials for an auto sector under the gun to meet increasingly stringent fuel economy standards.
In recent years, a network of nearly 200 private sector, government and university researchers has emerged in the city to turn a sector known for grime and smokestacks into a wonder of high tech.
The mantra of so-called “new steel” has been around for decades.
But emerging fuel economy standards aimed at lowering emissions including greenhouse gases has pushed the effort into a new phase.
Lighter cars use less fuel, so a new generation of ultra-lightweight steel is in demand as automakers struggle to meet phased-in requirements that will cap out with an auto fleet average of 54.5 m.p.g. by the year 2025.
The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, set by the Obama administration, have been under attack by U.S. President Donald Trump in recent months.
But observers believe the requirements will endure because California — the most populated U.S. state with the most cars — is committed to the move.
Automakers can’t make different vehicles for one state, so they will have to embrace the California standards across the board.
Canada is on side with the new standards and European countries have moved in a similar direction.
The network players
CanmetMATERIALS Research Centre
Moved in 2010 from Ottawa to 183 Longwood Rd. S. in the McMaster Innovation Park.
Employs 100 researchers and support staff to develop new materials and manufacturing processes for Canada’s energy, transportation and metal-manufacturing sectors.
• • •
McMaster Automotive Resource Centre
Opened in 2013 at 200 Longwood Rd. S., the $26-million building is more than 90,000 square feet in size.
The centre does a range of research from electric and hybrid cars to automotive materials and corrosion control.
More than 200 researchers work at the facility with about 50 in the area of materials research.
• • •
McMaster University Steel Research Centre
Founded in 2000, the centre has representation from 11 steelmakers around the world who help finance metallurgical research.
About a dozen professors are working on various steel research projects with the centre.
In addition, McMaster has four research chairs devoted to metallurgy.
• • •
ArcelorMittal Dofasco Global Research and Development Hamilton Laboratory
The facility is located at 1390 Burlington St. E.
Employs more than 50 people doing R&D for the steelmaker.
• • •
Stelco
Does not have a dedicated R&D facility like AM-Dofasco. However, the company has been stepping up its work with McMaster and Canmet as Stelco works to reposition itself in the market and win back lost automotive contracts during its years of U.S. Steel ownership.
mmcneil@thespec.com
Improving fuel economy averages is being tackled on several fronts, including increasing use of electric and hybrid cars.
But there is also pressure to lighten the weight of vehicles because every 10 per cent reduction in weight leads to a six-to-seven per cent reduction in fuel consumption.
This could mean changing to materials that are lighter in weight, such as aluminum for some components.
But steelmakers remain convinced they can ward off competitors with intense research and development. And Hamilton has become an internationally significant centre for the work.
“Steel is being threatened by aluminum, plastics, polymers and other types of carbon fibres,” said Hamilton business professor Marvin Ryder.
“How does steel fight back? It is through ultra-light, thinner reinforced steel. They have to work with car companies as they develop the next generation of vehicle.”
And that’s where Hamilton comes in.
The city has established itself as a major hub of steel innovation involving the CanmetMATERIALS research centre and the McMaster Automotive Resource Centre (MARC), as well as ongoing research in the university’s engineering department through the McMaster University Steel Research Centre, research chairs as well collaborative work with Mohawk College.
In addition, ArcelorMittal Dofasco has a 50-person research and development facility and in 2015 commissioned a $120-million, state-of-the art zinc galvanizing line that is an evolving processing arm for new steels.
Stelco’s new owner, Bedrock Industries, recently said in a prospectus for its initial public offering the new company is dedicated to recapture automotive sales lost under the company’s previous owner, U.S. Steel.
To do this Stelco will have to become more of a player in so-called “lightweighting.”
The company has been stepping up its work with Canmet as well as the McMaster steel research centre, which is largely funded by steelmakers from around the world.
University of Toronto steel expert Peter Warrian said, “Lightweighting has become the overall technology driver. And Hamilton — with the Canmet labs, McMaster University and the steelmakers — is a very important part of that.
“This is a big deal … The next generation of steels are fundamentally different. They are different kinds of materials,” he said.
Philippe Dauphin, the director general of CanmetMATERIALS said, “You need to develop steels that are stronger so the parts can be made lighter.”
Canmet employs nearly 100 research scientists and support workers, including many of the top metallurgists in the country,
“It’s challenging, but advances have been quite impressive.”
Peter LeBlanc, director of auto sales and NAFTA for ArcelorMittal Dofasco, said, “We’ve always been developing new products for the auto industry, but I would say the pace is increasing …
“Our objective is to get weight out to the best of our ability. But it is not simply getting weight out.
“We have to make sure that the vehicle achieves all the safety requirements … to make it safe and enjoyable to drive and one that everyone can afford, because if you go with too much cost in the vehicle you get offside on your pricing into the market.”
In 1970, there were seven grades of steel. Today, there are more than 200, with advanced high-strength steels being the fastest-growing material used in vehicles.
Ken Coley, the director of McMaster’s steel research centre, said, “To a very large extent, steel is still king as far as automotive industry is concerned. I think a large part of that is the fact that steel researchers have not stood still. They’ve worked for a long time to stay ahead.”
Warrian contends the move to light materials is happening during a time of seismic changes in the way automobiles are made.
“More than 80 per cent of a standard automobile is not made by car companies, but the supply chain,” he said.
When parts suppliers develop their product — be it a carburetor, a brake assembly, or whatever — the manufacturer has to work in collaboration with the company that supplied the material used.
In the industry it’s called co-engineering, arising from the recognition that a new idea is only as good as the materials used to construct it.
Out of this recognition, Canmet has emerged as a kind of intermediary to match steelmakers with parts manufacturers, like “dance partners,” said Warrian.
Ryder said, “Steelmakers need to get in on the ground floor and be part of these design teams. To make sure they are not frozen out, they have to get in there at the design stage.”
That will be especially true when it comes to innovations under the hood.
“One way to reduce emissions is to have an engine rev at a higher temperature and higher pressure. But in order to do that you will need to have materials that can withstand higher temperatures and pressures and maintain their integrity,” said Dauphin.
In addition, he said, some of that increased heat could be funnelled back into the automobile to be used as an energy source. And that’s something else that will require special steels to build.
“This is not your father’s steel company,” said Ryder. “It’s a much more high-tech game than the average person imagines.
“This is not a grimy, primary industry. It is not really the same production process. There is a tremendous amount of technology being used and the steel being made today and how it is being used is so different than it was 30-40 years ago.”
Warrian said burgeoning steel research in Hamilton will have positive consequences for the city over the coming years as the factories of the east end further merge with the research and development centres of the west to rebound an industry into a new future.
The network players
CanmetMATERIALS Research Centre
Moved in 2010 from Ottawa to 183 Longwood Rd. S. in the McMaster Innovation Park.
Employs 100 researchers and support staff to develop new materials and manufacturing processes for Canada’s energy, transportation and metal-manufacturing sectors.
• • •
McMaster Automotive Resource Centre
Opened in 2013 at 200 Longwood Rd. S., the $26-million building is more than 90,000 square feet in size.
The centre does a range of research from electric and hybrid cars to automotive materials and corrosion control.
More than 200 researchers work at the facility with about 50 in the area of materials research.
• • •
McMaster University Steel Research Centre
Founded in 2000, the centre has representation from 11 steelmakers around the world who help finance metallurgical research.
About a dozen professors are working on various steel research projects with the centre.
In addition, McMaster has four research chairs devoted to metallurgy.
• • •
ArcelorMittal Dofasco Global Research and Development Hamilton Laboratory
The facility is located at 1390 Burlington St. E.
Employs more than 50 people doing R&D for the steelmaker.
• • •
Stelco
Does not have a dedicated R&D facility like AM-Dofasco. However, the company has been stepping up its work with McMaster and Canmet as Stelco works to reposition itself in the market and win back lost automotive contracts during its years of U.S. Steel ownership.