Corporate

Recognition for COLORBOND® steel Research Projects

13 September 06

COLORBOND® steelSince the launch of COLORBOND® steel 40 years ago, BlueScope Steel has been committed to investment in research and development to improve the product and expand its usefulness. Recently, two research projects to improve the quality of COLORBOND® steel have been recognised with industry awards.

A team of scientists from BlueScope Steel and RMIT University has won the Nanotechnology Victoria 2005/06 prize for Outstanding Contribution to Industrial Nanotechnology, that is technology relating to the manufacture of microscopic objects.

Using molecular simulation techniques, the team developed computer based chemical models of the polyester coatings used in COLORBOND® steel products. These models focused on the interactions between the polyester coatings and dirt and other particles in the environment that can contaminate pre-painted products.

The results of this work will assist the development of surface modifications to keep COLORBOND® steel clean and to maintain its aesthetic appearance.

And BlueScope Steel cadet, Troy Lowe, has been recognised for his research to extend the life of COLORBOND® steel.  An honours student in Chemistry at the University of Wollongong, Troy presented his work on a project that extends the lifetime of COLORBOND® steel at a conference for the American Society of Mass Spectrometry in Seattle, USA, one of the largest conferences in its field in the world attended by over 5000 delegates.

The project, a collaboration between BlueScope Steel and the University of Wollongong, explained how a revolutionary new mass spectrometer technique called Desorption Electrospray Ionisation (DESI) allows rapid and detailed testing of surface coatings of the type employed in COLORBOND® steel.

News & Media