This award provides partial support for the participation of nine U.S. engineers in a seminar with counterparts from the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) that is designed to identify generic research needs that impede the full development of important new iron and steel making processes. The seminar co-organizers are Professor H. Alan Fine, Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Kentucky, and Professor Hans-Juergen Engell, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Iron Research, Duesseldorf. The U.S. delegation will consist of senior academic engineers, a few younger faculty members and two engineers from industry. Representatives from the Department of Energy have also been invited. The agenda for the meeting places particular emphasis on (1) the kinetics of fine particle reaction in fluid media, (2) containment of slags rich in FeO, (3) refining of Cu and other tramp elements from steel, and (4) heat and mass transfer considerations associated with novel processing. Participants nominated for the workshop are well qualified to discuss developments in their fields and to identify useful future research directions and technological opportunities. The U.S. iron and steel industries are being challenged to develop new processes in order to become more competitive in the world market. In particular, they must make use of available raw materials and resources in the most economical manner. Alternatives to the use of coke in ironmaking, new processes that take advantage of fine-grained feed materials produced from processing low-grade ores, more efficient use of scrap metals, and effective and economical methods for the removal of impurities found in scrap and in low-grade coals are examples of areas where more research is needed. The U.S. and the FRG are actively involved in the production of iron and steel and are making significant research efforts aimed at developing new technologies. The proposed seminar will bring together eminent workers in this field from the two countries for a mutually beneficial exchange of information to chart areas of new research and possible cooperation.
