Swedish Steel Prize has announced this year’s four finalists characterized by new, innovative solutions, high quality and increased competitiveness. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden, tomorrow, on November 20, 2014. “It is very exciting to be part of this jury and nomination work, and to experience all the creativity in taking the next steps in the development of the use of high-strength steel. During the 16 years that the Swedish Steel Prize has been awarded, we have been able to follow how the driving forces for the use of high-strength steel have changed, from lower weight and safety to environmental benefits and increased competitiveness,” says jury chairman Gregoire Parenty, SSAB’s Executive Vice President and Head of Market Development.
Four finalists for the prize have been nominated for leading designs in high-strength steel. The jury has chosen innovations for the mining, forestry and transportation industries. The finalists are:
The world’s largest dump truck from Belaz, Belarus
”We are delighted to be a finalist for the Swedish Steel Prize,” said Leonid Trukhnov, First Deputy General Design Engineer at Belaz. “The main motivation was to produce the world’s biggest dump truck that could deliver the most capacity with the lowest fuel consumption.”
The Belaz 75710 dump truck has a payload of 450 tonnes, which makes it 25% more productive than the company’s next largest dump truck, and reduces environmental impact per load. It can be operated in temperatures down to -60C and at almost 5,000 meters above sea level.
To achieve such high capacity, high-strength steel was chosen for the manufacture of the swivel carriage, a component of the truck suspension system between the axle and the frame that interconnects them together with a slewing bearing.
Innovative, lightweight trailer by Santander , Chile
“Our customers wanted to increase their competitiveness and profitability per unit through a lighter trailer that could transport more cargo, and that also had a more attractive design,” said Gonzalo Santander, General Manager and Owner of Santander Equipos. “The trailer’s main characteristic, which uses high-strength steel, is a much lower tare or unladen weight.”
The optimized trailer features a curved roof that improves the aerodynamics at cruising speed and can carry around 32 tonnes. Instead of two frame beams, like most trailers, it has only one. Instead of only one side level to carry bottles, it has three. The bogie, where trailer wheel axles are located, has a floating structure instead of being fixed.
This trailer model utilizes up to 90% more high-strength steel than previous trailers. The trailer’s backbone is a center space frame consisting of three parallel C-beams linked by a cross member diagonal.
Innovative roller feeder for forest harvesters, Timo Penttimies, Finland
“The TP-Roller design is a complete departure from other feeding rollers,” said Timo Penttimies, developer of the TP-Roller. “The rollers are laser-cut discs made of high-strength steel, with relief holes and integrated sprocket teeth. They range from four to 11 discs per roller, depending on the width and use, and also have space for a cleaning device.”
The TP-Roller offers a wide range of benefits. It grips well, even when the wood is hard, thick barked or has a lot of branches, which improves efficiency. The steep tooth angle, and especially the open roller structure, enables a low compression load on the roller, which decreases friction. This in turn saves fuel and is gentler on the harvester head.
The use of high-strength steel, in combination with an assembled honeycomb-like structure, provides excellent wear resistance in every direction. This enables the TP-Roller to come with a 4,000 operating-hour warranty.
Pioneering mining screener, Vale, Brazil
“It makes us proud to be selected as one of the finalists in an international competition of high-end engineering design such as the Swedish Steel Prize,” said José Cléber Rodrígues da Silva, Engineering Maintenance Supervisor at Carajás, Vale’s largest mining operation. “There was nothing like it before. The screener was created and developed to address the negative impacts of large blocks of iron ore on crushing plants.”
The screener is formed by several 3 m x 3.30 m fixed grids with a shape specially designed to withstand the impact of large rocks and optimize iron ore flow. They are mounted on a two-meter-high 21 m x 18 m supporting structure, which in turn is placed on top of the ore hopper.
“The main reason for using high-strength steel was the combination of high hardness, excellent mechanical properties and toughness,” said Rodrígues da Silva. “In addition, the hardness ensured wear resistance against the flow of iron ore on the screen.”
