Glossary

Earring

Wavy projections (i.e. ears) formed during deep drawing as a result of directional properties or anisotropy of the strip.

Eddy-Current Testing

An electromagnetic nondestructive testing method in which eddy current flow is induced in the object. Changes in the flow caused by variations in the object are reflected into a nearby coil or coils where they are detected and measured by suitable instrumentation.

Edges

The outer boundaries of a sheet product. If untrimmed, they are termed Mill Edge. The rolling process squeezes the area and causes the edges to form a semi-cylindrical, slightly ragged profile. As it runs parallel with the rolling direction, it deviates from a true straight line causing some slight variations in strip width. The rages nature of a mill-edge product varies from a fine, finishing file rasp appearance, to a very “sawtooth” condition. Micrometer readings along a narrow band along the edge of the strip may indicate slightly less gauge thickness than that of the rest of the strip. This condition is termed “feathering”. When blanking or shearing parts from mill-edge material, sufficient width allowance should be made to insure obtaining the shape and size of the pattern sheet.
If trimmed, they are termed Cut Edge, There the edge will resemble the result of shearing, slitting, or trimming the mill edge. The overall width from one end of the coil to other will be uniform. If the product has been slit in a pickle line, the edge may exhibit some slight jaggedness, but no servers sawtooth condition appears. Edge also refers to type of finish on the side of the material.

• #1 edge – Round or square edge, rolled.
• #2 edge – Square, produced by slitting, not filed.
• #3 edge – Square, produced by rolling, filing after slitting.

Electric Arc Furnace (EAF)

Steelmaking furnace where scrap is generally 100% of the charge. Heat is supplied from electricity that arcs from the graphite electrodes to the metal bath. Furnaces may be either an alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC). DC units consume less energy and fewer electrodes, but they are more expensive.

Electric Furnace Steel

Steel made in any furnace where heat is generated electrically, almost always by arc. Because of relatively high cost, only tool steels and other high-value steels are made by the electric furnace process.

Electro-Galvanizing

Galvanizing by Electro deposition of zinc on steel.

Electrolytic Tin Plate

Black plate that has been tin plated on both sides with commercially pure tin by ectrodeposition.

Electron Beam Microprobe Analyzer

An instrument for selective chemical analysis of a small volume of material. An electron beam bombards the area of interest and x-radiation thereby emitted is analyzed in a spectrometer.

Electropolishing

Method for imparting brilliance to stainless steel by removing a thin layer of the surface akin to a reverse electroplating process without any working of the underlying metal. Also known as bright finishing. The process highlights surface irregularities (i.e. roll grit pattern, pickle matte, scratches, pits and digs). Ulbrich cannot guarantee that our product will meet customer’s expectations after electropolishing. At best, very special processing is required to enhance surface to be electropolished.

Elongation

The amount of permanent extension or stretching a material will undergo before fracture. The value is expressed as a percentage and is obtained by tensile testing.

Elongation is an indication of the materials ductility. In testing, a two-inch length is normally scribed on the tensile specimen in the area that is expected to fail. After the test is conducted, the tensile specimen pieces are measured to determine the full extension of the scribe marks. Percent elongation is calculated by multiplying by 100. For example, if the increase is 1″, then the percent elongation would be 50. The higher the number the better the ductility.

Endurance Limit

Maximum alternating stress which a given material will withstand for an infinite number of times without causing fatigue failure.

ESR and VAR

Like holding a popsicle upside down a few inches above a very cold glass. As the popsicle melts, the drops fall onto the glass and re-freeze. A vacuum or the slag removes the things you don’t want as the drops fall. Because only a little metal is melted at a time and is frozen very quickly, the steel tends to be very solid with no pipe cavities. VAR is produced only in round ingots. ESR can be round, rectangular, or even hollow.

Extensometer Test

The measurement of deformation during stressing in the elastic range, permitting determination of elastic properties such as proportional limit, proof stress, yield strength by the offset method and so forth. Requires the use of special testing equipment and testing procedures such as the use of an extensometer or the plotting of a stress-strain diagram.

Extrusion

Shaping metal into a chosen continuous form by forcing it through a die of appropriate shape.