Sumitomo Metals Develops Plate with Fatigue Strength for Welding Part

Sumitomo Metal Industries announced on Monday the firm developed world first high tensile steel with better fatigue strength for welding part, FCA-W steel. The item has more than double lifetime for welding part compared with traditional high tensile plate. The firm supplies around 50 tonnes for liquid natural gas carrier built by Kawasaki Shipbuilding by September 2009 after the special certification by Nippon Kaiji Kyokai. Sumitomo Metals targets annual 5,000 tones of sales after the firm gets shipbuilding grade of ship classification groups in Japan, South Korea and major countries. The firm tries to apply the technology for other applications including bridge and construction machinery. The firm succeeded to develop the technology by controlling metal composition with severe accuracy though steel industry regards the fatigue strength control as impossible. The firm developed FCA steel with property to minimize expansion of fatigue crack and the new item has also property to minimize the occurring of the crack at welding part. With the new item, ship life cycle cost could decrease without reinforcing steel and the process and with better energy efficiency due to lighter weight despite of the 30% higher price for the steel than traditional steel.