The composition and production technology of 05GKhB steel from the Vyksa Steel Works are kept in the strictest confidence (Video)

It took the specialists of the Vyksa Metallurgical Plant engineering and technology center almost three years to develop a new steel grade 05GKhB, which has already been called a breakthrough in technology. Steel surpasses many foreign counterparts in its characteristics. It is less susceptible to corrosion, durable and, most importantly, it can be operated in the permafrost zone.

The recipe for new steel, like the recipe for Belgian chocolate, is kept in the strictest confidence. About the new brand, which in the correct language of metallurgists is called 05HGB, it is only known that about two-thirds of it consists of ordinary scrap metal.

Steel was invented to extend the life of pipes used to extract hydrocarbons in the High North. Until now, conventional steel pipes had to be protected with a special chemical coating. This is no longer required.



For the early implementation of the development, new test methods were specially created. In the Far North, three experimental oil pipelines were built and in-line diagnostics were carried out. Pipes made of 05HGB steel with increased corrosion resistance are durable - instead of four, eight work. The tests were carried out in the most extreme conditions - beyond the Arctic Circle.

“We see that no cracks have formed on the pipe and the welded joint. That is, apart from cold resistance and corrosion resistance, there is also excellent plasticity of the new steel grade,” says Dmitry Kudashov, Head of Research and Development Department.

Dmitry Kudashov is one of the main developers and authors of the new brand. For the first time in the modern history of metallurgy, a new material was created not at a research institute, but by engineers directly in production. That is, the accumulated experience of one of the oldest plants in the country - Vyksa Metallurgical - was turned into a new brand. Meeting the requirements of the customer, its release at the same time increases the technological performance of production. Now the plant is already thinking about new cold-resistant steel and the production of pipes from it.

Vyksa Steel Works is the largest Russian manufacturer of welded steel pipes and railway wheels. It has been part of OMK since 1999. The company employs over 12 thousand employees. VSW product catalogs in PDF format: small, medium and large diameter pipes, casing pipes, railway wheels.