High-strength steel designs define Swedish Steel Prize 2014 finalists

THE Swedish Steel Prize has announced the four finalists for this year’s awards, namely the dump truck from Belaz, Belarus; lightweight trailer from Santander Equipos, Chile; roller feeder for forest harvesters from Timo Penttimies, Finland; and mining screener from Vale, Brazil. 

The four finalists represent leading designs in high-strength steel and feature new and innovative solutions, high quality, and increased competitiveness. The jury selected innovations for the mining, forestry, and transportation industries.

Currently the world’s largest, the Belaz 75710 dump truck from Belaz supports a payload of 450 tonnes. It reduces environmental impact per load and works even at -60°C and at almost 5,000 meters above sea level.

Belaz used high-strength steel for the dump truck’s swivel carriage, a component of the truck suspension system between the axle, and the frame that interconnects them together with a slewing bearing.

Leonid Trukhnov, first deputy general design engineer at Belaz, said that with the Belaz 75710 they hoped to produce the world’s biggest dump truck that could deliver the most capacity with the lowest fuel consumption.

The trailer from Santander Equipos supports about 32 tonnes and uses high-strength steel but boasts a much lower tare or unladen weight. It has a center space frame for the backbone consisting of three parallel C-beams linked by a cross member diagonal. Its curved roof improves aerodynamics at cruising speed. It has a single frame beam instead of two common in most trailers, and has three side levels for carrying bottles instead of just one.  The bogie, which has the trailer wheel axles, adopts a floating structure rather than a fixed type.

The lightweight trailer will help customers increase competitiveness and profitability per unit as it can transport more cargo, said company owner and general manager Gonzalo Santander. 

The TP-Roller from Timo Penttimies adopts a design that is a complete departure from other feeding rollers. The high-strength steel rollers are laser-cut discs and have relief holes and integrated sprocket teeth. Depending on the width and target application, they can have four to 11 discs per roller.  

The TP-Roller is designed to ensure a good grip even if the wood is hard, thick barked, or has a lot of branches for greater efficiency. The steep tooth angle and its open-roller structure provide a low compression load on the roller to reduce friction and save fuel. The honeycomb-like structure complements the high-strength steel used and increases wear resistance. 

The TP-Roller has a 4,000 operating-hour warranty.

The mining screener from Vale is designed to address the negative impact of large blocks of iron ore on plants. It uses several 3mx3.30m fixed grids shaped to withstand the impact of large rocks and at the same time optimize iron ore flow. The grids are mounted on a two-meter-high 21mx18m supporting structure, which in turn is placed on top of the ore hopper.

Besides providing high hardness, mechanical properties, and toughness attributes, the use of high-strength steel for the mining screener ensures wear resistance against the flow of iron ore on the screen, according to José Cléber Rodrígues da Silva, engineering maintenance supervisor at Carajás, Vale’s largest mining operation.  

The winner of the Swedish Steel Prize will be announced at a ceremony in Stockholm on November 20, 2014.

According to jury chairman Gregoire Parenty, SSAB executive vice president and head of Market Development, this year’s nominees represent creative efforts in taking the next steps in the development of the use of high-strength steel.