United States Steel Corporation and Lambda Technologies Group Announce Tubular Products Technology Agreement

PITTSBURGH, March 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) announced today that its tubular products subsidiary, U. S. Steel Tubular Products, Inc., has entered into an agreement with Surface Enhancement Technologies (SET), part of Lambda Technologies Group, to permit U. S. Steel Tubular Products to be the exclusive tubular products manufacturer to utilize Low Plasticity Burnishing (LPB®), an advanced, patented technology that can be applied to a variety of tubular products to improve their performance and extend their service life.  

By utilizing LPB, U. S. Steel Tubular Products' pipe performance designers will be able to engineer an applied layer of high residual compression to any specific area of a tubular product.  U. S. Steel Tubular Products' Product Development group and representatives from Lambda are also testing the ability of the LPB process to mitigate sulfide stress cracking in high-strength P110 grades.

LPB extends component life by creating a deep, stable layer of compression in part surfaces.  Unlike other surface treatments, LPB induces a very low amount of cold work, making the protective layer thermally and mechanically stable.  Processing is performed using basic Computer Numeric Controlled (CNC) machines or robots, allowing for quick and easy integration into manufacturing facilities.  No alteration of the component's material or design is required.  LPB can be applied to a wide variety of alloys, including titanium, aluminum, nickel-based alloys and steels, and is currently in use in the aerospace, nuclear and medical industries.

"The LPB process will allow U. S. Steel Tubular Products to offer our customers a wide range of engineered product solutions with longer-lasting, more resistant parts designed to perform in situations that involve challenging field conditions," said U. S. Steel's Senior Vice President – Tubular Operations Douglas R. Matthews, who also serves as president of U. S. Steel Tubular Products.  

"The relationship that will result from this agreement has almost limitless possibilities.  The combination of innovation and experience that Lambda and U. S. Steel Tubular Products possess means that we will be able to do more than ever before to help solve material cracking and fatigue issues," said Paul Prevey, chief executive officer of Lambda Technologies Group.

U. S. Steel Tubular Products, Inc., a subsidiary of United States Steel Corporation, is the largest tubular products manufacturer in North America, with total annual production capability of 2.8 million net tons.  Energy industry customers utilize U. S. Steel Tubular Products' casing, tubing, line pipe and couplings to help locate, retrieve, transport and refine the oil and natural gas products that fuel the world.

Lambda Technologies Group is an innovative company incorporating a premier materials research laboratory with a world-class engineering and production enterprise dedicated to the development and optimization of surface treatments to improve component performance.  Along with U. S. Steel Tubular Products, Lambda has partnered with Delta, NASA, the U.S. Military and other organizations across industries.

For more information about U. S. Steel and U. S. Steel Tubular Products, visit www.ussteel.com.

LPB® is a registered trademark of Lambda Technologies Group.  The technology is patent protected.  

SOURCE United States Steel Corporation