Yorkshire breakthrough with new breed of high-strength steel

A MAJOR breakthrough in steel manufacturing, that could lower carbon emissions in the car industry, has been made by engineers at the University of Sheffield.

The South Yorkshire university has developed a new way of making lightweight, high-strength steel that can be easily adapted for mass manufacturing.

The technique can produce steel with a strength of nearly 2GPa – equivalent to a 0.4in (1cm) diameter wire capable of holding a weight of 15 tonnes.

The secret behind this success is the inclusion of copper – an element which is traditionally avoided in steel production because of the detrimental effects it can have on the properties of types of steel.

Copper is increasingly being found in recycled steels because much of it is made using recycled cars and other engineered items that contain electrical wiring. With steelmakers looking to use more recycled materials in their production process to become more sustainable, copper is now being seen as unavoidable by the industry.

To overcome the issue, the Sheffield team has developed a new way to use copper in the manufacturing process to produce a world leading quality of steel.

Mark Rainforth, a Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield, inset, said: “What we’ve managed to do here at Sheffield is develop a completely new technique that is able to harness copper in a positive way in order to produce a truly world leading quality of steel. This steel is high strength and incredibly lightweight, meaning it can be used to manufacture vehicles that are better for the environment.”

Police want to trace two youths after a Specialized brand bike was stolen.

The machine was taken from outside Waitrose, Foss Islands Road, York, on February 8 at 6.15pm. Police said two men took the red and white bike. Both were in their late teens, white and with a slim build.

One was wearing a black padded jacket and the other wore a green jacket.