Bar Steel Fatigue Database Available Online At American Iron and Steel Institute's Autosteel.org

             Database allows engineers to design optimized parts,
                        reducing design time and cost

    DETROIT, Feb. 1 Designing optimal powertrain and chassis
components is now just a few clicks away with the Bar Steel Fatigue Database,
available online at http://www.autosteel.org .
    Developed under the guidance of representatives from the steel and
automotive industries, as well as the Bar and Rod Market Development Group of
American Iron and Steel Institute, the database contains steel bar mechanical
property and fatigue information for optimizing component part design,
reducing component design cycle time and selecting the best steel grade and
process for the part, in less time and at reduced costs.
    Financial contributions from both industries, totaling one half million
dollars, funded the development of this comprehensive database which contains
findings from Phase I.  The database will undergo updates in mid 2002 with the
addition of Phase II data, and in 2004 with the addition of Phase III data.
Phase II data will include axial fatigue information on case hardenable grade
8620 and bending fatigue comparisons to this axial data.  Phase III will
encompass further testing on various case hardenable grades as well as torsion
tests to compare and correlate results to axial data.
    Fatigue experts with state-of-the-art laboratories from the University of
Toledo (Ohio) and the University of Waterloo (Ontario, Canada), conducted the
first phase of low stress/high cycle and high stress/low cycle fatigue tests
on an array of steel grades to determine how each material's chemistry,
mechanical properties and microstructural characterization, among other
attributes, affect the fatigue results.
    To access the database, simply go to autosteel.org and click on the Bar
Steel Fatigue Database icon.  The database size is greater than a 10-Megabyte
zipped file and may result in a lengthy download.
    For more information about the Bar Steel Fatigue Database or to learn how
to invest in the program, contact David Anderson, manager, Bar and Rod
Applications, AISI, at 248-945-4764 or via email at andersnd@autosteel.org .
    Under the auspices of the American Iron and Steel Institute, the Bar and
Rod Market Development Group strives to grow the market for value-added steel
bar and rod products.  With 14 member companies, the group pursues this goal
through two task forces committed to developing innovative solutions to the
challenges facing their clients and the steel industry.  These task forces
are:
    *  Automotive/Heavy Equipment
    *  Construction/Infrastructure

            Bar and Rod Market Development Group member companies:

                               Chaparral Steel
                            Charter Manufacturing
                                  CSC, Ltd.
                                GS Industries
                            Keystone Consolidated
                           Ispat Inland Bar Company
                              Ispat Sidbec, Inc.
                                   MACSTEEL
                           North Star Steel Company
                                    Nucor
                     Republic Technologies International
                             Slater Steels, Inc.
                                 Stelco Inc.
                              The Timken Company