Abstract: Molten iron is obtained with a low electric power consumption rate by efficiently and reliably preheating a cold iron source by ascertaining the preheating state of the cold iron source. A method of producing molten iron in an electric furnace having a preheating chamber and a melting chamber includes: a cold iron source feeding step; a cold iron source preheating step having a preheating confirmation step; a supply step; and a melting step.

Abstract: A skew rolling apparatus with which shape defects in non-steady-state portions at the front and back ends of a seamless pipe shell can be prevented. The skew rolling apparatus includes a skew pierce rolling mill configured to pierce roll a steel material into a seamless pipe shell, and a skew outside-diameter mill following the skew piercing mill in a pass direction of the seamless pipe shell in the skew rolling apparatus. The skew rolling apparatus satisfies specified formulae.

Abstract: The seamless pipe in which a thin-walled portion in a pipe circumferential direction is formed in a pipe axial direction, in which a line segment formed by connecting one end and the other end of the thin-walled portion along a pipe surface with a shortest distance in a formation direction of the thin-walled portion is inclined at an angle ? of 5.0° or more with respect to the pipe axial direction. It is preferable that one end and the other end of the thin-walled portion are set from a region in a pipe selected with a shorter length between a length of 1.0 m in the pipe axial direction and 90% of a length in the pipe axial direction where the thin-walled portion turns once in the pipe circumferential direction.

Abstract: Provided herein is a duplex stainless steel pipe that is high in strength and has excellent abrasion resistance and indentation resistance on inner and outer surfaces of the steel pipe. A method for manufacturing such a stainless steel pipe is also provided. A duplex stainless steel pipe of the present invention has a composition that contains, in mass %, C: 0.005 to 0.150%, Si: 1.0% or less, Mn: 10.0% or less, Cr: 11.5 to 35.0%, Ni: 0.5 to 15.0%, Mo: 0.5 to 6.0%, N: less than 0.400%, and the balance being Fe and incidental impurities, and has a microstructure with a ferritic phase and an austenitic phase, the duplex stainless steel pipe having an axial tensile yield strength of 689 MPa or more, and having an outer surface and an inner surface each having an oxide layer having an average thickness of 1.0 ?m or more.

Abstract: A skew rolling apparatus with which shape defects in non-steady-state portions at the front and back ends of a seamless pipe shell can be prevented. The skew rolling apparatus includes a skew pierce rolling mill configured to pierce roll a steel material into a seamless pipe shell, and a skew outside-diameter mill following the skew piercing mill in a pass direction of the seamless pipe shell in the skew rolling apparatus. The skew rolling apparatus satisfies specified formulae.

Abstract: An alloy pipe and a method for producing the same are disclosed. The alloy pipe of the present invention contains, as a component composition, in terms of % by mass, Cr: 11.5-35.0%, Ni: 23.0-60.0%, and Mo: 0.5-17.0%, has an austenitic phase as a microstructure, has a Mo concentration (% by mass) in a grain boundary of the austenitic phase that is 4.0 times or less than a Mo concentration (% by mass) within grains of the austenitic phase, and has a tensile yield strength in a pipe axial direction of 689 MPa or more and a ratio (compressive yield strength in a pipe axial direction)/(tensile yield strength in a pipe axial direction) of 0.85 to 1.15.

Abstract: A stainless steel pipe of a predetermined composition is provided that has an axial tensile yield strength of 689 MPa or more, an axial compressive yield strength/axial tensile yield strength ratio of 0.85 to 1.15, and a microstructure that is 20 to 80% ferrite phase by volume with the remainder containing an austenite phase, the stainless steel pipe having pipe end portions at least one of which has a fastening portion for an external thread or an internal thread, and having a curvature radius of 0.2 mm or more for a corner R formed by a bottom surface of a thread root and a pressure-side flank surface of the thread, measured in an axial plane section of the fastening portion.

Abstract: A stainless steel seamless pipe is provided that is a stainless steel comprising, in mass %, Cr: 11.5 to 35.0%, and Mo: 0.5 to 6.0%, and including ferrite and austenite, the stainless steel seamless pipe having a ferrite grain boundary and/or a ferrite-austenite grain boundary with a Mo concentration (mass %) that is at most 4.0 times the intragranular Mo concentration (mass %) of ferrite, or an austenite grain boundary with a Mo concentration (mass %) that is at most 4.0 times the intragranular Mo concentration (mass %) of austenite, the stainless steel seamless pipe having an axial tensile yield strength of 689 MPa or more, and an axial compressive yield strength/axial tensile yield strength ratio of 0.85 to 1.15.

Abstract: A stainless steel pipe of a predetermined composition is provided that comprises N, Ti, Al, V, and Nb so as to satisfy the predetermined formula, the stainless steel pipe having an axial tensile yield strength of 757 MPa or more, an axial compressive yield strength/axial tensile yield strength ratio of 0.85 to 1.15, and a microstructure that is 20 to 80% ferrite phase by volume with the remainder containing an austenite phase, the stainless steel pipe having pipe end portions at least one of which has a fastening portion for an external thread or an internal thread, and having a curvature radius of 0.2 mm or more for a corner R formed by a bottom surface of a thread root and a pressure-side flank surface of the thread, measured in an axial plane section of the fastening portion.

Abstract: The seamless pipe in which a thin-walled portion in a pipe circumferential direction is formed in a pipe axial direction, in which a line segment formed by connecting one end and the other end of the thin-walled portion along a pipe surface with a shortest distance in a formation direction of the thin-walled portion is inclined at an angle ? of 5.0° or more with respect to the pipe axial direction. It is preferable that one end and the other end of the thin-walled portion are set from a region in a pipe selected with a shorter length between a length of 1.0 m in the pipe axial direction and 90% of a length in the pipe axial direction where the thin-walled portion turns once in the pipe circumferential direction.

Abstract: There are provided an apparatus for cooling a rail and a method for manufacturing a rail, capable of inexpensively manufacturing a rail with high hardness and high toughness. The apparatus for cooling a rail, configured to jet a cooling medium to the head portion and foot portion of a rail in an austenite temperature range to forcibly cool the rail, includes: a first cooling unit including plural first cooling headers configured to jet the cooling medium as gas to the head top face and head side of the head portion, and first driving units configured to move at least one first cooling header of the plural first cooling headers to change the jet distance of the cooling medium jetted from the first cooling header; and a second cooling unit including a second cooling header configured to jet the cooling medium as gas to the foot portion.

Abstract: A method of producing a steel material, wherein when a cooling apparatus having a plurality of cooling sections disposed side by side in a longitudinal direction of a steel material cools the steel material hot worked or cooled/reheated, the steel material is conveyed at a conveyance distance Lo (m) satisfying Equation (1), in one direction along with the longitudinal direction of the steel material, in the cooling apparatus, wherein Lo is defined as conveyance distance (m) of steel material, m is a natural number, and Lh is defined as length (m) of cooling sections in longitudinal direction of steel material: (m?0.20)×Lh?Lo(m+0.20)×Lh??(1).

Abstract: A method quenches a steel pipe and an apparatus quenches a steel pipe by which a steel pipe having excellent and uniform quality can be acquired by applying uniform rapid cooling to the steel pipe in a longitudinal direction as well as in a circumferential direction of the steel pipe using a simple unit. Movements of a heated steel pipe in a direction parallel to and in a direction perpendicular to a pipe axis of the steel pipe are stopped, and cooling water is jetted onto an outer surface of the steel pipe from four or more spray nozzles arranged spirally outside the steel pipe while rotating the steel pipe about the pipe axis.

Abstract: There are provided an apparatus for cooling a rail and a method for manufacturing a rail, capable of inexpensively manufacturing a rail with high hardness and high toughness. The apparatus for cooling a rail, configured to jet a cooling medium to the head portion and foot portion of a rail in an austenite temperature range to forcibly cool the rail, includes: a first cooling unit including plural first cooling headers configured to jet the cooling medium as gas to the head top face and head side of the head portion, and first driving units configured to move at least one first cooling header of the plural first cooling headers to change the jet distance of the cooling medium jetted from the first cooling header; and a second cooling unit including a second cooling header configured to jet the cooling medium as gas to the foot portion.

Abstract: Rail-manufacturing equipment that performs forced cooling on at least a head of a hot rail hot-rolled at or heated to the austenite region temperature or higher. The rail-manufacturing equipment includes a head-cooling header configured to jet a cooling medium toward the head of the rail, a head thermometer configured to measure surface temperature of the head of the rail, and a controller configured to adjust jet of the cooling medium from the head-cooling header. The controller includes a temperature-monitoring unit configured to monitor measurement results by the head thermometer during the forced cooling, and a cooling-rate controller.

Abstract: A manufacturing method and a manufacturing apparatus for a head hardened rail to which various alloy elements are added and which is excellent in hardness and toughness of a head portion surface layer. The method includes, when forcibly cooling at least a head portion of a hot-rolled rail or a heated rail, starting the forcible cooling from a state where a surface temperature of the head portion of the rail is not less than an austenite range temperature, and performing the forcible cooling at a cooling rate of 10° C./sec or more until the surface temperature reaches 500° C. or more and 700° C. or less after the forcible cooling is started.

Abstract: A rail-manufacturing method according to the present invention performs forced cooling on at least a head of a hot rail hot-rolled at or heated to the austenite region temperature or higher. The forced cooling is performed for 10 seconds from start of the forced cooling so that the cooling rate at the head surface becomes 1° C./s or higher to 20° C./s or lower, the forced cooling is performed after a lapse of 10 seconds from the start of the forced cooling until heat generation during transformation begins in the head surface so that the cooling rate at the head surface becomes 1° C./s or higher to 5° C./s or lower, the forced cooling is performed during transformation from beginning to end of the heat generation during transformation so that the cooling rate at the head surface becomes lower than 1° C./s or the temperature-rising rate becomes 5° C./s or lower, and the forced cooling is performed after the end of the heat generation during transformation until the rail-head surface temperature becomes 450° C.

Abstract: Rail manufacturing method performs, on at least a head of the rail that is hot after hot-rolled at an austenite region temperature or higher or after heated to the austenite region temperature or higher, forced cooling: for 10 seconds from start of the forced cooling so that a cooling rate at a surface of the head becomes 1° C./s to 20° C./s; during a period after a lapse of 10 seconds from the start until heat generation during transformation begins at the surface so that the cooling rate becomes 1° C./s to 5° C./s; during transformation from beginning to end of the heat generation during transformation so that the cooling rate becomes lower than 1° C./s or a temperature-rising rate becomes 5° C./s or lower; and during a period after the end of the heat generation during transformation until temperature at the surface becomes 450° C. or lower so that the cooling rate becomes 1° C./s to 20° C./s.

Abstract: A method of producing a steel material, wherein when a cooling apparatus having a plurality of cooling sections disposed side by side in a longitudinal direction of a steel material cools the steel material hot worked or cooled/reheated, the steel material is conveyed at a conveyance distance Lo (m) satisfying Equation (1), in one direction along with the longitudinal direction of the steel material, in the cooling apparatus, wherein Lo is defined as conveyance distance (m) of steel material, m is a natural number, and Lh is defined as length (m) of cooling sections in longitudinal direction of steel material: (m?0.20)×Lh?Lo?(m+0.20)×Lh??(1).

Abstract: A method quenches a steel pipe and an apparatus quenches a steel pipe by which a steel pipe having excellent and uniform quality can be acquired by applying uniform rapid cooling to the steel pipe in a longitudinal direction as well as in a circumferential direction of the steel pipe using a simple unit. Movements of a heated steel pipe in a direction parallel to and in a direction perpendicular to a pipe axis of the steel pipe are stopped, and cooling water is jetted onto an outer surface of the steel pipe from four or more spray nozzles arranged spirally outside the steel pipe while rotating the steel pipe about the pipe axis.