Craft beers (Source: tvo)

In recent years, there has been a mass movement away from mass-produced, commercial beer to craft beers. Craft beers are usually made in smaller batches, have customized flavors and are generally more expensive. The new generation of beer drinkers are willing to shell out the the extra buck or two for a good, quality brew. This trend is apparent in all different parts of the world including Europe, the U.S. and Asia. In response to the popularity of craft beers, large distributors are buying up independent craft brands at an alarming rate, leaving consumers wary of the number of craft choices they will be left with.

Most craft beer devotees prefer their local breweries for high quality beer, but others have started to experiment on their own. Even 10-time NBA All-Star Chris Bosh is an avid home brewer. Whether it is to save money on unique brews or to experiment for the love of flavor, homebrewing is taking off around the world.

BYOB (Brew Your Own Beer)

Homebrewing is what Brandon Fenner, head brewer of the Hand and Malt Brewing Company in Korea, started doing in his 20s after developing a taste for craft beer. He started with a homebrew kit and experimented with different flavors, ultimately making a career out of his passion. He has worked as the head brewer in various breweries in the U.S., including Magic Hat Brewing in Vermont and Maui Brewing Company in Hawaii.

Brandon Fenner, Head Brewer at the Hand and Malt Brewing Company (Source: The Hand and Malt Brewery)

When asked about the single most important advice for homebrewers, his answer was: “cleanliness above all else.”

“You can get lucky and make a good beer even if you don’t know what you’re doing, but if you’re not clean it’s very unlikely you will make good beer.”

Cleanliness is crucial for local breweries and commercial breweries alike, because unsanitary equipment can lead to corrosion. Because the corroded metals of beer kettles or vessels come into direct contact with beer, it will lead to a metallic taste and ruin the taste. For Brandon and his team, the choice of steel was an easy one.

[clickToTweet tweet=”‘(Our equipment) starts with good quality steel and the appropriate grade of stainless, and our knowledge on how to treat and maintain it is also very important.’ – Brandon Fenner” quote=”‘(Our equipment) starts with good quality steel and the appropriate grade of stainless, and our knowledge on how to treat and maintain it is also very important.’ – Brandon Fenner” theme=”style6″]

Stainless steel vessels for beer

All metals differ from one another on an electrochemical scale of passive to active. The more active the metal, the more it will rust. Corrosion happens between two types of metals when there is an electrolyte present. In this case, beer is the electrolyte through which electric current can flow. This will trigger the more active metal to ionize, thus react with oxygen to form oxide and or other corrosive materials. Many metals used for beer kettles naturally have a passive layer of oxide film that can inhibit corrosion. The trick is to clean and maintain the kettle without compromising this oxide layer.

Brandon and his team custom-built a lot of their equipment out of stainless steel, and make adjustments to it when necessary with a sanitary welder. Between Brandon and his engineer, they have 35 years of experience handling such equipment, but for those who are just starting out, finding and maintaining the right equipment can be tricky.

Choosing the Right Kettle

Traditionally, the most common materials for beer kettles were copper, stainless steel and aluminum, but today, most kettles are made out of stainless steel. Copper was an ideal material because of its high heat conductivity, formability and ease of maintenance. The biggest downfall is it can form an oxide called verdigris, composed of several chemical compounds that can react with beer and lead to copper poisoning. Aluminum is a cheaper choice, but the hardest to maintain because it requires special care to build and maintain an oxide layer. For homebrewers, this is a hassle and mistreatment can lead to a foul tasting beer.

Stainless steel pots

The most common stainless steels used for beer kettles are the 304 and 316 types. They form a chromium oxide layer that protects the stainless steel from corrosion. Compared to other metals, stainless steel is highly formable, easy to maintain and available just about anywhere.

Crafting Customized Creations

Along with the right-sized stainless steel kettle, here are some other basic equipment homebrewers need: either plastic or glass fermentation buckets (also known as carboys), airlock, hydrometer, syphoning tube, cloth bag for the malt and bottles and caps for packaging.

Once the equipment is all set, the fun part begins; crafting the beer.

The perfect pairing: chocolate and beer (Source: Berries.com)

The main ingredients for beer are malt, hops, yeast and water, but lately, professional and home brewers are experimenting with additional ingredients such as coffee, chocolate, lactose, fruit and dry hops for sour beers. Others are aging their beer in wooden barrels and adding high-quality art to their packaging labels. Even with the emergence of new trends, classic brews and IPAs still remain the most popular. For those just starting out on the brewer’s journey, it may be best to start by following an existing recipe. Here are a couple of tutorials for inspiration:

Chefs at the White House brewed their own beer as requested by former U.S. President Barack Obama, using honey harvested on the grounds. The chefs were willing to work in their spare time to perfect the White House Honey Ale and Honey Porter.

Another home brewing enthusiast is Wil Wheaton, the actor who starred in Star Trek: The Next Generation and The Big Bang Theory. Not only does he experiment with craft beers at home, he was on the team of brewers who came out with a beer called “Stone Farking Wheaton W00tstout.”  He also partnered with Northern Brewer to make his very own home brewing kit.

Here he is with brewers from Northern Brewer making a batch of his craft beer at home. When explaining his equipment, Wheaton says he prefers stainless steel equipment because “it looks like it came from the future.”

Finally, for a more unique brew that can be paired with delicate dishes such as veal, watch Gordon Ramsay and Dougal Sharp brew a craft beer in Ramsay’s own backyard. This recipe requires the brew to ferment in an oak barrel formerly used to hold bourbon for a smooth flavor.  

Beer is a staple beverage in many cultures around the globe. Thanks to the rise in popularity of craft beers, beer is now a trendy, hip beverage that has a young following. More and more beer lovers are testing out their own creations at home and even making a career out of it. All they need is reliable equipment, the basic ingredients and whatever additions that will make their beer unique. Not everyone can agree on which beer is best, but then again, that is the beauty of craft beers. Cheers to beer and happy International Beer Day!

Auto Industry’s Challenge to Meet Consumer Demands

Mileage, design, and emissions. Which do you consider the most when purchasing a car? It is difficult to say that one is more important than the others, and fortunately, POSCO GIGA STEEL offers unique benefits for each one to meet the needs of today’s auto industry as it faces increasingly strict demands on safety and fuel efficiency.

More than ever, the industry is requiring that a vehicle goes longer distances with less fuel, which means the car must be lighter.  Also, technological advances have enabled cars with more power, requiring them to be safer. Consumers also want a car that represents their personality, demanding vehicles with more sophisticated and elegant designs.

Cars now need to drive smoothly, burn less fuel, and ensure safety, all while boasting an elegant design (Image courtesy of Mercedes-Benz AG).

While there are other conditions that need to be considered, it is paramount that cars meet the following three conditions in order to satisfy consumers: fuel efficiency, safety, and design. But these demands are becoming increasingly difficult to meet, and the only solution is to discover a technology that enables all of the above. For safety considerations, in the event of a collision, parts of the car also need to absorb the kinetic energy and protect the passengers inside.

In addition to having a battery and electric motor, the electric car is different from standard cars because the battery is a part of the frame itself.

6 Types of POSCO GIGA STEEL Tailored for Different Auto Parts

A car’s body frame requires different steel products for specific parts (Image courtesy of Renault)

POSCO GIGA STEEL is an advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) that can meet these various demands. Let’s take a look at the different types of POSCO GIGA STEEL products and how each one is being used in different parts of the car.

Complex Phase (CP) Steel

Complex Phase (CP) steel is often used to make reinforced auto parts that require high crashworthiness ratings, such as sill side panels, bumper rails, and door impact bars. It plays an extremely important role in the car frame as it is highly resistant to dents or bumps. In the past, the side panels of race cars were purposely made to be thicker in order to prevent dents and protect the driver inside and this naturally led to the vehicle becoming considerably heavier. However, CP steel minimizes these disadvantages. In the event of an impact, cars made with CP steel retain its original shape considerably better than other car frames due to its high strength and also has an exceptional ability to absorb all of the energy while still exhibiting an impressive thinness. It is often incorporated into the sill side panels and door impact bars to allow for a more spacious design.

Dual Phase (DP) Steel

Dual Phase (DP) steel can be easily welded and deformed and boasts a high level of total elongation (the rate at which the material is stretched without snapping). DP steel is commonly used in seat rails or other lower body reinforcements that run underneath the passenger seat. The tensile strength is at least 980MPa, but because it also exhibits impressive ductility, it can easily be used for random spare parts.

Transformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP) Steel

Transformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP) steel first made its way into the auto industry about six years ago. As the auto industry is beginning to value lightweight cars more and more, TRIP steel has received more attention. It is mainly used in the inner parts of the car body. This part of the car needs to absorb shock and impact and also be flexible enough to be fitted around the complex inner structure of the car. With TRIP steel’s outstanding combination of strength and ductility, it is one of the most commonly used high-strength automotive steels in the auto industry today.

Martensite Steel (MART)

Because Martensite steel is naturally high in strength, thinner sheets produced from roll forming (a metal forming process in which steel is continuously shaped or formed until it reaches a desired cross-section) still retain the same level of performance as conventional parts. Thinner parts also have the added benefit of reducing the weight.

Hot Press Forming (HPF) Steel

Hot Press Forming (HPF) steel is a different class of steel made with a unique steel production process. Typically, as steel becomes higher in strength, it is more difficult to mold into the desired shape through conventional processes. However, through the HPF process, the steel is heated to 950℃ before press forming. At high deformation temperatures, steel sheets are very soft so that difficult shapes can be obtained easily. During forming, the heated steel sheet cools down rapidly in the die block, so that the resulting pressed parts have a very high strength level. Due to its combination of high strength and formability, HPF steel is often used in the B-pillar of a car which requires intricately shaped parts as well as the A-pillar roof side rails which are prone to damage.

Post Heat Treatment (PHT) Steel

The chassis that supports the car frame needs to be extremely durable and resistant to impacts or shocks on the road as its main function is to improve the ride quality of the vehicle.
In order to increase the durability and torsional resistance, the material needs to be quenched and tempered. Before going through the heat treatment portion of the process (quenching), the material can be easily molded into spare parts due to its reduced strength. After being molded, it is heated up to 950°C and then rapidly cooled by water. This is why PHT is called “post-heat treatment steel”. Due to its ultra-high strength, it also has lightweighting benefits and is typically used in a vehicle’s chassis, stabilizer bars in a suspension system, and torsion beams.

These six types of POSCO GIGA STEEL each have their unique advantages in terms of processability & strength, production cost, and ease of application. Compared to conventional materials, thinner pieces can be used while still retaining the same level of performance and strength. Due to these incredible characteristics, POSCO GIGA STEEL is able to meet the increasingly stringent requirements of the auto industry for safety and efficiency.  

Image courtesy of Renault

Researchers in the auto industry are constantly looking for a stronger, more formable material. As the auto industry undergoes another paradigm shift, POSCO GIGA STEEL will continue to offer unique solutions that can satisfy both automakers and consumers.

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Since the early 20th century, car manufacturers have realized the importance of using specific steel for specific purposes. Henry Souther of the New York Times reported in 1909, “The secret of the use of steel is to put the right steel in the right place.” Until fairly recently, automotive steel mostly consisted of weaker mild steels that were affordable and easy to form into parts, but innovations in advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) have given automakers more options when designing vehicles.

Today’s automakers and parts manufacturers must consider several properties of the steel they are using: formability, crashworthiness, and durability. Each plays an important role in how the car is made and how the car performs over time and during impact. Below we take a look at these criteria and why each is important for manufacturers when designing a car and its parts.

Formability in Manufacturing

Formability is a key aspect to any automotive material. If a part cannot be made, it cannot be used. Typically, to make steel stronger, automakers had to make sacrifices in weight and formability, and if manufacturers needed a material with more ductility they were forced to give up strength.

The first generation of advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) increased strength while decreasing weight, giving automakers the opportunity to use thinner steel sheets. However, as the steel became stronger it lost formability, making it difficult to mold into parts.

POSCO GIGA STEEL is formable so that it can be shaped into complex parts.

Development of the second generation of AHSS focused on improving formability and elongation; however, its commercial use was limited due to its high cost and tendency to produce delayed cracking at room temperature.

With the new third-generation AHSS, like POSCO GIGA STEEL, steel producers have been able to bridge those gaps by producing steel that is formable, strong, and durable.  

While the average car built in 1975 utilized just 3.6% medium and high strength steels, by 2007 that percentage had increased by more than 230% in large part because the practical uses of AHSS have expanded.

Crashworthiness is Key for Safety

Crashworthiness is one of the most important elements to consider when designing automobiles because it is directly linked to the safety of passengers. The crashworthiness of a car is affected by many things including its structural build, safety devices, and materials.

While crash tests of full vehicles are often performed when developing a new car, crash tests of automotive parts are not carried out as often. To bridge this gap, POSCO developed its own crash test simulation for auto parts using high-speed compression and bending.

Crashworthiness criteria such as energy absorption & fracture, collapse mode, reaction force, and mean load is evaluated to provide reference data for car design. With these tests, POSCO is able to provide dynamic material data to its customers in order to propose the most appropriate steel solutions that maximize safety for passengers.

SsangYong Motor designed the new G4 Rexton SUV with a body frame that contains 63% POSCO GIGA STEEL. This is the highest ratio ever achieved in a body frame design and helps ensure significant levels of strength and safety for consumers. In the video below, watch as the SUV goes through various safety tests showing its crashworthiness and durability.

Durability to Prevent Fatigue Failure

The durability of parts is a critical factor to consider in vehicle design as their complicated components are subject to a wide array of complex stresses. In cars, material fatigue due to repeated mechanical loading can lead to the damage of critical components. Also, as vehicles are mobile machines, they are subject to even more unpredictable degrees of loading that can amplify the effects of fatigue on their parts. Moreover, because fatigue failure is often abrupt and difficult to detect, material providers must work to improve durability and ensure longer fatigue life.

“90% of the failures which occur in engineering components can be attributed to fatigue.”
– TR Gurney, Fatigue of Welded Structures

POSCO works with customers to provide accurate durability analysis for each of its products. Through extensive testing with various steel types, specimen shapes, and welding conditions, POSCO is able to provide in-depth testing results requested by customers.

POSCO also works with customers through its Solution Marketing 2.0 program that helps optimize the design and production process of each part – helping ensure that durability performance meets the customer’s needs.

POSCO GIGA STEEL provides automakers with durability to protect against fatigue failure.

Parts that require higher durability such as the CTBA (Coupled Torsion Beam Axle), wheel, engine cradle, lower control arm and stabilizer bar are interlinked with the fatigue data of POSCO steel. This provides the results of the durability analysis in order to suggest the most appropriate steel type for the manufacturer. Furthermore, POSCO supports joint research with customers for the design, manufacturing, and durability evaluations of its parts. POSCO also analyzes the causes of fatigue failure through SEM imaging of fatigue fracture surfaces, measurements of surface roughness, and measurements of strain rate and residual stress.

Today’s automakers must consider these properties during the design and manufacturing stages in order to find the right steel for each component. POSCO is committed to working with its automotive customers to ensure that the right steel solution is used for the right part – helping to find the right balance between formability, crashworthiness, and fatigue life.

Below we take a look at five of the most exciting advancements in car safety. From new technologies that help drivers steer the car to stronger frames that protect passengers, see how the auto industry is working to keep passengers safe.

Lane Departure Warning

Blind spot warning systems use sensors to alert drivers when another car is in their blind spot. Typically a dashboard or in-mirror icon will alert the driver with increasing brightness or sound alarms depending on the proximity.

Blind spot warnings are a fairly new offering, first showing up in luxury cars, but finding their way into more affordable cars. Because these systems also alert drivers when bicyclists or pedestrians are out of their field of vision, they offer huge step forward for those inside and outside of the car.

Electronic Stability Control (ESC)

Electronic Stability Control, or ESC, systems have automatic sensors that detect whether or not a vehicle is traveling in the right direction based on the steering wheel input. If the car suddenly slides out of control, ESC will automatically activate to apply brakes and engine torque to self-correct.

While ESC first appeared on luxury cars in the 1990s, as of 2012, they were required on all new vehicles in the US.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has said that ESC lowers the risk of a fatal single-vehicle crash by about half, and the risk of a fatal rollover by as much as 80 percent. Most safety experts view ESC as a must have feature when buying a new or used car.

Blind Spot Warning

Blind spot warning systems use sensors to alert drivers when another car is in their blind spot. Typically a dashboard or in-mirror icon will alert the driver with increasing brightness or sound alarms depending on the proximity.

Blind spot warnings are a fairly new offering, first showing up in luxury cars, but finding their way into more affordable cars. Because these systems also alert drivers when bicyclists or pedestrians are out of their field of vision, they offer huge step forward for those inside and outside of the car.

Front Crash Prevention

Front crash prevention systems alert drivers when their car is moving toward oncoming traffic too quickly. Using cameras or lasers to gauge distances between cars, drivers are given a visual, audio, or vibration alert to get their attention so they can brake in time to avoid a collision. Also, some automakers are going even further by integrating auto braking features that will give a warning while also automatically slowing the car without the driver’s input.  

Research from the  Highway Loss Data Institute (HDLI) showed that front crash warnings could reduce rear-end crashes by 23 percent, while front crash warnings with auto braking could reduce collisions 39 percent.

Advanced High Strength Steels

Because of the many technological advancements made in collision prevention systems for drivers, many people forget that steel has made huge strides in the last 15 years. While the average car build in 1975 utilized just 3.6% medium and high strength steels, by 2007 that percentage had increased by more than 230%.

Until recently, most high strength steels were brittle and difficult to work with – not to mention heavy – while lightweight steels were too weak. Today’s advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) have been able to bridge that gap by providing materials that are strong, lightweight, and formable.

POSCO GIGA STEEL has a tensile strength over 1,000MPa and is over 3x stronger than aluminum. In addition to providing the strength needed to meet safety regulations, it is also ideal because of its formability and affordability. Because POSCO manufactures several types of steel with tensile strengths over 1,000MPa, POSCO GIGA STEEL can be utilized in specific ways to meet the unique needs of car makers.

Take a look at the articles below for a more detailed look at POSCO GIGA STEEL and the advanced high strength steel solutions available to the auto industry.

1. Three Trends that Will Forever Change the Automotive Industry

The last 15 years have seen cars that are connected, autonomous, shared, and electric. These recent trends represent a turning point for an industry that is being forced to recognize the quickly changing habits of its consumers as well as the increasingly strict safety and fuel efficiency regulations. In order to adapt, the automotive industry is learning to make cars differently. Underpinning all of these advancements is a need for stronger, lighter, and more durable materials like POSCO GIGA STEEL.

READ MORE: 3 Trends that Will Forever Change the Automotive Industry

2. Automakers Look to Steel for Lower CO2 Emissions

Several factors are contributing to the growing interest in electric vehicles. Stricter CO2 emission standards are changing the way cars are being made, and consumers are becoming more environmentally conscious at the same time. To produce more fuel efficient vehicles, car makers are looking to advanced materials in lightweighting that can help make vehicles more eco-friendly while being safe and affordable.

READ MORE: Automakers Look to Steel for Lower CO2 Emissions

3. POSCO GIGA STEEL Offers Solutions for the Evolving Auto Industry

Last year, POSCO sold approximately 9 million tons of automotive steel sheets, accounting for 10% of the global automotive steel sheet market. POSCO plans to expand their partnerships with automakers by providing customers with the most advanced, high-quality automotive steel. POSCO GIGA STEEL represents the beginning of a new era for automakers. It is lightweight, strong, high formable, and affordable.

READ MORE: POSCO GIGA STEEL Offers Solutions for the Evolving Auto Industry

4. POSCO GIGA STEEL Increases Strength, Improves Safety in Autos

Over the last 60 years, consumers, automakers, and regulatory agencies have been looking for ways to build cars that are safer for their passengers. The steel industry has responded by offering material solutions that are stronger and able to absorb more powerful impacts. POSCO GIGA STEEL is one of those solutions.With strength more than three times stronger than aluminum and with formability properties that allow it to be made into complex auto parts.

READ MORE: POSCO GIGA STEEL Increases Strength, Improves Safety in Autos

5. POSCO GIGA STEEL Opens Door to the Future of the Auto Industry

Mileage, design, and emissions. Which do you consider the most when purchasing a car? More than ever, the industry is requiring that a vehicle goes longer distances with less fuel, which means the car must be lighter while consumers want a car that represents their personality, demanding vehicles with more sophisticated and elegant designs. Park Jong-jae, a motorsport columnist, explores how POSCO GIGA STEEL provides the ideal solution to meet the needs of today’s auto industry and consumers.

READ MORE: POSCO GIGA STEEL Opens Door to the Future of the Auto Industry

6. Infographic: Driving the Future with POSCO GIGA STEEL

As the auto industry changes, POSCO GIGA STEEL provides an ideal solution for both manufacturers and consumers. It offers strength, formability, light weighting, increased safety, and affordability. For more information, take a look at the infographic and discover the benefits that POSCO GIGA STEEL can bring to both automakers and consumers today.

READ MORE: Infographic: Driving the Future with POSCO GIGA STEEL

Throughout April and May, The Steel Wire is taking a closer look at the auto industry and the demands on automotive materials to be stronger, lighter, and more affordable. Subscribe to our newsletter today and discover the benefits that POSCO GIGA STEEL can bring to both automakers and consumers today.  

It combines several unique features:

• Strength & Safety: POSCO GIGA STEEL is more than three times stronger than automotive aluminum. Because of its high strength, POSCO GIGA STEEL also adheres to some of the most stringent international safety standards.

• Formability: Because the mixing ratio of manganese has been precisely controlled, POSCO GIGA STEEL has highly formable properties that allow it to be made into complex auto parts without any special processing.

• Lightweighting: Because POSCO GIGA STEEL boasts high strength, it is possible to use less of it. This ultimately makes it lighter than car frames made of general steel or aluminum.

• Affordability: POSCO GIGA STEEL is a cost-effective solution for automakers, especially when compared to alternative materials, which in turn helps lower prices for consumers.

• Sustainability: When looking at the entire lifecycle of a vehicle made with steel, POSCO GIGA STEEL emits 10% lower CO² emissions compared to aluminum.

Take a look at the infographic below and discover the benefits that POSCO GIGA STEEL can bring to both automakers and consumers today.

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In-hwan Oh, President of POSCO, said, “We implemented a customer-oriented core research infrastructure to help us evaluate products in a production environment similar to that of customers. By doing this, we aim to develop leading technologies and provide preemptive and proactive solutions to customers.”

The Steel Forming Laboratory will be used exclusively to evaluate the products ordered by POSCO customers by looking at properties such as formability, weldability, coating weight, corrosion resistance, and fatigue life. These evaluations will also be used to provide basic customer support such as quality certification. The new Steel Forming Laboratory will primarily be used for more differentiated tasks such as providing application technology solutions involving steel products.

The Steel Forming Laboratory houses various equipment, including roll forming machines and presses, which are used to evaluate the formability of steel products such as POSCO GIGA STEEL and develop new forming technologies. POSCO is the first steelmaker in Korea to use the 2,000-ton hydraulic press in order to evaluate the formability of large components such as the side outers of automobiles. In addition, other equipment such as the high-speed crash test machine, full-scale fatigue test machine, and wheel durability test machine can evaluate the impact and durability of the molded parts of automobiles. They also provide customized analysis results using 3D scanners.

POSCO’s new Steel Forming Laboratory has various facilities for the evaluation and advancement of large components for customers. Above, a POSCO employee can be seen operating the 2000-ton hydraulic press, the first to be purchased by a domestic steelmaker.

POSCO will use these machines to implement its “POSCO One-Stop Development” system, making it possible to perform every step from developing application technologies for steel products to production verification testing without the involvement of customers, a move towards further reinforcing its Solution Marketing services.

Customers may find it difficult to adopt newly developed steel grades right away, but with POSCO evaluating formability (one of the mandatory criteria for selecting steel products) on behalf of its customers, the burden of selecting new steel grades will be reduced.

POSCO will continue to pursue shared growth by conducting joint research with not only large OEM companies, but also small and medium-sized parts companies that find it relatively more difficult to operate various testing machines.

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Increasing Safety Requirements Demand Stronger Steel

With an increasing awareness about car safety – governments and regulatory agencies have been passing stricter safety regulations for autos. At the same time, consumers began demanding better protections, and car makers began building safer vehicles. While there are many factors to consider in building a safer car – airbags, seatbelts, glass type – the crashworthiness, or structural integrity, of the car’s body frame is one of the most critical.

In 1975 the average vehicle was manufactured with 55.9% mild steel and just 3.6% medium and high strength steels. By 2007, the percentage of medium and high strength steels used in an average car had increased by more than 230%. In the seventies, steel companies simply did not have the technology to make the steel that they can produce today because while it was strong, it was brittle and difficult to work with. Today, innovations in steel technology have given car makers the ability to use a variety of advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) that exceed 1,000MPa – meaning it can withstand more than 100 kilograms-force per square millimeter – because they are both strong and formable.

To demonstrate how far we come in terms of building stronger, safer vehicles, watch this crash test performed by the IIHS for their 50th anniversary with a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air and a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu.

POSCO GIGA STEEL, the Industry’s New Standard for Strength and Formability

With a tensile strength of more than 1,000MPa, POSCO GIGA STEEL falls in the strongest categories of steel available to auto manufacturers today. In addition to providing the strength needed to meet safety regulations, POSCO GIGA STEEL is also ideal because of its formability and processability.

While recent years have seen ultra strength steels come on to the market with tensile ratings above 1,000MPa, these have often been rigid and brittle, making them difficult to process and mold into workable parts. POSCO GIGA STEEL bridges that gap by offering an automotive steel solution with high ductility and high tensile strength. This unique technology makes POSCO GIGA STEEL a unique fit for automakers seeking materials that can be processed into complex parts while also offering the highest levels of strength and safety for consumers.

Because of the combination of both strength and formability, SsangYong Motor unveiled their new G4 Rexton SUV with a body frame that contains 63% POSCO GIGA STEEL – the highest ratio ever achieved in a body frame design. Manufacturers like SsangYong Motor can use such high ratios of AHSS because of the technological advancements that have improved its formability in line with its improvements in strength.

The body frame of SsangYong Motor’s new G4 Rexton is manufactured with 63% POSCO GIGA STEEL.

Testing the Strength of POSCO GIGA STEEL and Aluminum

As lightweighting has become a priority for car makers seeking to build more fuel efficient cars, many have been looking toward alternative materials to step in as a substitute for steel. However, while offering certain benefits in weight, these alternative materials offer tradeoffs in strength and formability. On the other hand, POSCO GIGA STEEL offers an ideal solution in terms of strength, weight, and formability for auto manufacturers that must adhere to safety and environmental regulations along with consumer demand.

To compare the strength and impact energy absorption of POSCO GIGA STEEL (CR1180TRIP) and aluminum (Al5083), researchers at the KAIST National Center for Standard Reference Data performed an experiment in which a projectile was fired at three equidistantly spaced pieces of POSCO GIGA STEEL and aluminum.

Traveling at 185 meters per second, researcher Park Myung-joon noted that “the projectile ripped through all three pieces of aluminum while not even breaking one sheet of the POSCO GIGA STEEL.” Saying, “This experiment helped demonstrate how POSCO GIGA STEEL is more than three times stronger than aluminum making it ideal for automotive applications.”

Watch the video below to see how the experiment was designed, set up, and carried out.

POSCO GIGA STEEL is seeing increasing demand with car makers as they realize the dual benefits of strength and formability. At the Seoul Motor Show last month, Renault Samsung Motors and Chevrolet both unveiled new vehicles that were made using POSCO GIGA STEEL instead of aluminum – boosting the car body’s strength and safety for passengers.

Due to POSCO GIGA STEEL’s increased strength and high formability, the new Renault Samsung QM6 was able to maintain excellent safety standards with easy integration into its production process.

POSCO GIGA STEEL is unique because it combines both strength and formability. With strength more than three times stronger than aluminum and with formability properties that allow it to be made into complex auto parts – POSCO GIGA STEEL is the most ideal solution for car makers today.

Throughout April & May, The Steel Wire will explore the uses and benefits of POSCO GIGA STEEL and what POSCO is doing to lead the industry with new automotive steel solutions.

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POSCO CEO Ohjoon Kwon (left) shakes hands with Tom Schuessler, president of ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company, at the signing ceremony between ExxonMobil and POSCO.

ExxonMobil, the world’s largest oil company, upholds strict standards when choosing materials, and for the last five years has been working with POSCO to manufacture and test slurry pipes at worksites. Last year, a 1.2 m long slurry pipe – made with POSCO’s high manganese steel – was installed at ExxonMobil’s Kearl Oil Sands Project in Canada. It demonstrated a resistance to wear five times higher than conventional materials.

With its abrasion-resistant properties, POSCO’s high manganese steel can greatly reduce overall operating costs and increase oil production. “Seamless collaboration has led to the quick commercialization of this new high manganese steel technology, which will set a new standard for oil sands mining operations,” said Tom Schuessler, president of the ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company, who attended the ceremony.

POSCO and ExxonMobil employees pose for a commemorative photo shoot after inking a high manganese steel supply contract at the POSCO Center.

In response to president Schuessler, CEO Kwon suggested furthering their partnership by utilizing high manganese steel in various other businesses within the oil sands industry.

POSCO also plans to use its high manganese steel in the making of heavy construction and bulletproof military equipment as well as steel pipes and facilities to move various minerals including oil sand slurry.

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The bottom of the Gram 15-inch – made with POSCO’s ‘E-Form’ magnesium alloy sheet

In 2015, POSCO developed the ‘E-Form’ magnesium alloy, which significantly increases magnesium’s ability to be molded at room temperature (magnesium is known to have poor forming ability at low temperatures). The alloy was applied to the bottom of the Gram 14-inch and 15-inch.

Instead of stopping with the ‘E-Form’ alloy, POSCO continued to make further improvements and rolled out its ‘E-Form Plus’ alloy which demonstrated improved formability. LG Electronics incorporated the use of the alloy into the 13, 14, and 15-inch Gram in 2017, further solidifying their partnership.

The 2017 version of Gram features a battery life of up to 24 hours, a 40% larger cooling fan against heat, a backlit keyboard for enhanced ease of use and dual-channel memory slots for more convenient memory upgrading. In addition to these improvements, the 2017 Gram laptops recorded a lower or equivalent weight compared to the existing models [940g (13.3-inch model), 970g (14.0-inch model) and 1,090g (15.6-inch model)]. The Gram 15-inch won the 2016 iF Design Awards’ Gold Award and a Red Dot Design prize, and was also named the world’s lightest 15.6-inch laptop in the Guinness World Records.

The 2017 LG “All Day Gram” (courtesy of LG Electronics’ official blog)

The growth of the entire laptop market is slowing down due to the emergence of smartphones and tablets but ultra-light and slim laptops are enjoying growth at a rate of 15% to 20%, respectively, each year. According to market research firm, Juniper Research, when Intel announced its ultra-light laptop concept in 2011, shipments of ultra-light laptops throughout the world amounted to only 3.7 million units in 2011; but in 2016, they soared to 178 million units. And in 2017, ultra-light laptops are expected to account for 42.7% of the entire laptop market.

By steadily developing customized materials and processing solutions for its customers, POSCO is working to position magnesium alloy sheets as a valuable material for a variety of mobile products.

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