In recent years, China’s hot-rolled H-section steel production technology has developed rapidly, benefiting from the country’s continuous technological innovation, localized production, and competitive price. The production technology development of H-section steel started in the early 1950s, and the hot rolling production method was put into commercial use in the late 1960s. Currently, China’s H-section steel production technology levels up to the advanced international standards, and the dominating position of the H-section steel market has been further consolidated.
1. The Development of H-Section Steel Production Technology
H-section steel is one type of the structural steel sections obtaining various rationally reasonable cross-sectional shapes, with excellent mechanical properties. It has been widely used in steel structures, architectural design, and construction engineering. During the past years, China’s hot-rolled H-section steel production technology has been gradually improved with continuous technological innovations, on the base of adopting various technological solutions imported from abroad.
Firstly, in order to meet the needs of the construction industry, and the high level of practicality and economy of steel, China actively promotes the research and development of hot-rolled H-section steel production technology. In the 1960s, the country imported a hot rolling production line from the Soviet Union, and subsequently low-grade business rolled H-beam steel products were manufactured in large-scale. In the 1970s, the production technology underwent several developments, such as continuous roll forming, main rolling and auxiliary rolling, in order to improve the production efficiency and product quality.
In the Republic of China, which was established in 1949, scientific research and technological innovations played an essential role in the development of H-section steel production technology, greatly contributing to the country’s industry of steel. By the 1980s, China had mastered the technical know-how and production processes of hot-rolled H-section steel production, as well as the process control and forming theory. These achievements signified the technical development of hot-rolled H-section steel production had reached an advanced stage.
Since 1990s, China’s hot-rolled H-section steel production technology had been further improved with the adoption of digital control and automatic rolling manufacturing processes. This allowed the industrial production to obtain high precision in size, shape and mechanical properties. Currently, China’s hot-rolled H-section steel production technology are comparable to that of advanced international standard, and its production capacity has also increased significantly.
2. The Market of H-Section Steel
Currently, the market share of hot-rolled H-section steel in China has been further consolidated. According to the statistics of the China Iron and Steel Association, the annual output of hot-rolled H-section steel in China has exceeded 1 billion tons, accounting for more than 65% of the total output in the country. This high output not only reinforces the position of China in the international steel industry, but also strengthens the domestic market by providing a large quantity of choice to customers.
In addition, the development of China’s hot-rolled H-section steel production technology has also contributed to the country’s steel industry as a whole. The continuous technological innovations and localized production have significantly lowered the average production cost and also made China become one of the most cost-efficient countries for the production of hot-rolled H-section steel. This competitive pricing enabled China to becomes the dominant player in the global market for H-section steel.
At present, the demand for hot-rolled H-section steel in the international market remains high, and its price level has remained relatively stable. With the technology continuing to upgrade, and the production process becoming more efficient, the cost of hot-rolled H-section steel production in China is also gradually decreasing. From this, we can see that the increasing market competitiveness of China’s hot-rolled H-section steel production technology has been one of major factors pushing forward the country’s steel industry.
3. Conclusion
In conclusion, China’s hot-rolled H-section steel production technology technology has achieved rapid development during the past years, and its market share has also been further consolidated. This benefit from the continuous technological innovation, localized production, and competitive price. With these factors, the production process of China’s hot-rolled H-section steel production has also become more efficient. As a result, the hot-rolled H-section steel products now have a better quality, and are more cost-effective. This enables China to become the dominant player in the global market for H-section steel. Therefore, this has contributed to the development and prosperity of China’s steel industry.
