John Baptist Kirabira

A Quantitative Evaluation of the Quality of Recycled Steel in Uganda

All steel made in Uganda is currently manufactured from scrap. Such steel has often been characterized by unpredictable performance in consonance with its inconsistent raw material inputs. This study evaluates and relates the mechanical, metallurgical and geometrical properties of these bars in order to identify the factors underlying the performance of the products from this steel and examine the relationship with their scrap content. In order to study the steels, tensile, torsion and micrographic tests have been carried out together with spark emission spectrometry on samples collected from different plants. The test results generally indicate impressive steel resilience, strength and metallographic properties in spite of relatively high and irregular carbon content. Limited weldability, uniaxiality of properties, uneven scatter of microelements and substantial non-uniformity of longitudinal mechanical properties have been observed. Rolling and post rolling defects have been noted. The geometric reliability of the bars has also been found generally low. Improvement of secondary refinement, use of direct reduced iron (DRI) diluent and more diligent sorting have suggested as solutions.Copyright