LEADING-EDGE EXPERTISE

At Vesuvius R&D is conceived to be more than just a technology/solution-provider. Our job is to prevent problems and support the continuous improvement of our customers’ processes, product quality and cost. Technologically at the leading edge of its sector, Vesuvius owns a portfolio of more than 120 active inventions and patents.
Our seven research or development centres are located in North America, Europe and Asia, enabling our 150 R&D professionals to stay in close contact with customers’plants and their own, in-house research facilities :

Fundamental R&D leads to greater efficiency and product quality
Fundamental R&D work is conducted on materials used in steel flow control and advanced products to model and predict the behaviour of our refractories in casting applications.
Thermal expansion and conductivity together with other material properties are used in finite element models to minimize thermo-mechanical stresses within the refractory.

Understanding our customers’ processes
In many applications, Vesuvius products are the last to be in contact with liquid metal or glass before these solidify into the customer’s finished product. This means the interface between our own products and those of our customers is crucial and full understanding of our customers’ processes is key. Our laboratories carry out customer process modelling and simulations with both full-scale water models and computational fluid dynamic simulations.
To prepare, Vesuvius is working on a new generation of ceramic products using nanotechnologies and innovative bonding systems, such as nitrides.

Complete automation package
At the System Research Centers in Ghlin (Belgium) and in Champaign (USA) our mechanical engineers, automation experts and metallurgists develop fully-automated flow control devices for applications from the ladle to the mould of the continuous caster. Complete automation packages including robots are put together in partnership with major players in steel-making.

High-tech solutions
Advanced casting technologies call for high-tech refractories. At the high speeds used in thin slab casters, or even more in strip casting, complex nozzle designs require of finite element analysis and computational fluid dynamic simulations. In the photovoltaic applications, the efficiency of solar cells depend on the purity of the crucible/ingot interface, a joint development project has been set up between Vesuvius and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and the Norwegian Institute for Energy Technology to assess the performance of new coatings, such as high-purity fused silica and silicon nitride.
Vesuvius R&D is permanently engaged with our marketing teams to anticipate future developments in our customers’ processes and business needs, and develop new technologies enabling the emergence of breakthrough innovations over the coming decades.