| Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) | (english) "WHAT A pear-shaped furnace, lined with refractory bricks, that refines molten iron from the blast furnace and scrap into steel. Up to 30% of the charge into the BOF can be scrap, with hot metal accounting for the rest. WHY BOFs, which can refine a heat (batch) of steel in less than 45 minutes, replaced open-hearth furnaces in the 1950s; the latter required five to six hours to process the metal. The BOF's rapid operation, lower cost and ease of control give it a distinct advantage over previous methods. HOW Scrap is dumped into the furnace vessel, followed by the hot metal from the blast furnace. A lance is lowered from above, through which blows a high-pressure stream of oxygen to cause chemical reactions that separate impurities as fumes or slag. Once refined, the liquid steel and slag are poured into separate containers. " |
| Basket Screen | (english) A first stage in-line water filter for water delivered from the New Blowing Room Pump Room to the Blast Furnace. The strainer contains an electric-driven rotary sieve that catches particulates and prevents them from entering the water system. |
| Bastard | (english) Threads,parts,tools and sizes that are not standard, such as, “Bastard Nuts”, “Bastard Plus”, “bastaard fittings and so forth. The term also refers to a standard coarse cut file. |
| Batch Anneal | (english) The process by which a large, stationary stack of steel coils (4 coils high) is subjected to a long heat-treating cycle. This process enables the cold-rolled sheet to fully recrystallize into the softest possible product conforming to customer specifications. Controlling the recrystallization process makes a fine-grained microstructure easy to obtain, and minimizes the tendencies for retention of directional properties of the rolled steel which could produce undesirable shapes in the stamping of a cylindrical part such as a can. Also see Anneal and Continuous Anneal. |
| Bauxite | (english) The only commercial ore of aluminum, corresponding essentially to the formula Al2O3xH2O. |
| Bazooka | (english) Performs functions of Galvanneal Furnace; set of torches on wheels used to shoot flames onto a strip to further heat it. |
| BE | (english) Chemical symbol for Beryllium |
| Beam and Sling | (english) Tackle used in conjunction with a crane for turning over the cope or drag of a mold prior to assembly. |
| Bedding a Core | (english) Resting an irregularly shaped core on a bed of sand for drying. |
| Belt Wrapper | (english) Line equipment used in the Tin Mill for starting coils on prime or reject reels. The belt wrapper ensures a proper start. |