In iron and steel industry, force measurements play an important role in areas such as pressing, rolling and extrusion, both in process control and in development of reproducible similar products and quality. In order to obtain accurate and reliable measurement results, it is needed to perform traceable calibrations of devices used in measurements. Calibration of devices should be performed according to ISO, ASTM, and TS standards. Using inappropriate equipment will result in production losses and cost increases that will be reflected in product quality. For this reason, calibrated devices should be used in measurements; also these devices should have acceptable range of deviation. In this study, usage area of force measurements in iron and steel industry and importance of certifying performed measurements have been examined.

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Importance of Force Measurements and Their
Traceability in Steel Industry
Haldun DİZDAR, Bülent AYDEMİR, Cemal VATAN
TÜBİTAK Ulusal Metroloji Enstitüsü, Gebze-Kocaeli, Türkiye
haldun.dizdar@tubitak.gov.tr, bulent.aydemir@tubitak.gov.tr, cemal.vatan@tubitak.gov.tr
Abstract— In iron and steel industry, force measurements play an
important role in areas such as pressing, rolling and extrusion,
both in process control and in development of reproducible
similar products and quality. In order to obtain accurate and
reliable measurement results, it is needed to perform traceable
calibrations of devices used in measurements. Calibration of
devices should be performed according to ISO, ASTM, and TS
standards. Using inappropriate equipment will result in
production losses and cost increases that will be reflected in
product quality. For this reason, calibrated devices should be used
in measurements; also these devices should have acceptable range
of deviation. In this study, usage area of force measurements in
iron and steel industry and importance of certifying performed
measurements have been examined.
Keywords— Force measurements, calibration, traceability, iron
and steel industry
I. INTRODUCTION
Manufacturers of steels need to pass compliance standards
before shipping and selling their product. Measurement and
testing are necessary for ensuring a safe, high quality steel
material. These actions will keep end consumer satisfied and
dramatically reduce chance of failure in the field.
Specifically in iron and steel industry, these force
measurements play an important role in areas such as pressing,
rolling and extrusion, both in process control and in
development of reproducible similar products and quality.
Depending on the area of need, force measurements can
range from 1 N (Newton) up to 10 MN (10 million Newtons).
Force measurements are measured either directly by means of
sensors (force transducers, load cells, dynamometers etc.) or
indirectly by means of sensors called strain gauges attached to
mechanical system.
In order to obtain accurate and reliable measurement results
from force measuring devices used in production and tests in
steel industry, these devices should have traceability to
international force standards and their calibrations are required.
In this study, usage area of force measurements in iron and steel
industry and importance of certifying performed measurements
have been examined.
II. FORCE MEASUREMENT APPLICATIONS
Force measurement systems are widely used in many areas
of the industry such as mechanical engineering, aviation
industry, power generation industry, construction industry,
security engineering, testing of products and materials. In
particular, common applications of force measurement fields
are listed below as examples:
 Determination of rolling process machine forces in
steel industry,
 Optimum and controlled application of pressing
forces on metal plate and sheet material,
 Material testing machines used in mechanical tests
applied to initial production and control of
subsequent operations of products,
 Mechanical testing of steel materials and
construction products used in construction and
bridging industries,
 Applying forces that will tension the paper, plastic
film and laminate coils,
 Cutting forces on metal plate and sheet material
 Determination of hook and rope forces to be
anchored to ship and tankers,
 Overload control in towers and overhead cranes and
elevators,
 Determining the forces that the truck wheels apply
on the paved road in traffic,
 Measuring the forces coming to the tower legs on
the offshore oil platforms,
 Forces applied to adjust the cable tension during
cable,
 Forces applied in underwater pipe laying.
In these examples, particularly for steel industry force
measurement applications are discussed in details below.
1. Importance of Forces in Rolling Process
Both in terms of product quality and operational safety
measuring the forces applied by rollers for metal rolling is very
important. Figure 1 shows the construction of roller mill
bearing, which is connected to force measuring device.

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Figure 1. Roller mill shaft connected force measurement system
For carrying out hot or cold rolling process in rolls, traceable
forces should be implemented in a correct and controlled
manner. This allows quality of product and similar products to
be reproduced later with same properties.
2. Importance of Forces in Metal Sheet Forming
In metal sheet forming and pressing process, determination
of optimum forces during shaping corresponding to controlled
application force is crucial for product quality, undamaged
production and low energy usage (Fig. 2).
Figure 2. Schematic representation of metal sheet forming and pressing
process
Recently, process control has become a very important factor
in ensuring quality rather than post-production quality control
in all manufactured products. The only way to achieve this is to
determine accuracy of measuring and test equipment used in
process before, during and after production. From design stage
to production stage utilizing correct materials with well-known
mechanical properties ensures in all process development and
manufacture of economical and more reliable products.
3. Importance of Forces in Hot and Cold Forging
In order to ensure parts specified characteristics, durability
and rigidity in terms of application, required by automotive
industry, especially hot and cold forging forces in iron and steel
industry, have great importance (Fig. 3, 4). It is essence that
application of force in a controlled manner is to provide desired
mechanical properties, to avoid overloads and to apply same
forces determined for similar products.
Figure 3. Schematic representation of hot forging forces
Figure 4. Schematic representation of cold forging and pressing process
4. Importance of Forces in Mechanical Tests
There are a lot of mechanical tests in steel industry.
Mechanical test methods are tension, bending, hardness, impact
according to ASTM A370 on definitions for mechanical testing
of steel products. Force effect in these mechanical tests is
briefly explained below.
ISO 6892-1 and ASTM E8 standards provide data on the
strength and ductility of steel under uniaxial tensile forces. The
tensile strength of steel is essentially its ability to withstand
tensile loads without failure. On the other hand, ductility,
measures a material’s ability to deform under tensile
stresses. This is an important factor in metal forming processes
since brittle metals are more likely to rupture. Within this
framework, determination and improvement of accuracy of
tensile testing machines, which are used, will directly reflect
quality of product.
Technicians who conduct tensile testing of steels measure a
number of mechanical properties to determine the material’s
quality. Table 1 shows in change on tensile strength of
structural steels concerning to steel type. When data in table are
analysed, tensile strength values of St 50 steel are ranging from
470 MPa to 610 MPa, while St 52 steel values have the tensile
strength values in between 490 MPa and 630 MPa.

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TABLE XXI
TENSILE STRENGTH VALUES OF GENERAL STRUCTURAL STEELS
Structural Steel
(DIN)
Tensile Strength
(MPa)
(3 mm  Diameter  100 mm)
St 33 290-510
St 37 340-470
St 44 410-560
St 50 470-610
St 52 490-630
A difference of about 4% between these two steels changes
classification and name of structural steel. When these steels
are tested for classification, large deviation of force in tensile
testing machine will cause a fault in classification. This will
lead to errors both in manufacturing process and in quality of
product. Calibration of tensile testing machines and
determination of its accuracy are important in this respect. It is
common for steel materials according to international
standards; material testing machines have at least 1% of force
deviation and uncertainty (Fig.5a). In additionally, hardness
testing machines have also at least 1% of force deviation
according to standards (Fig.5b). In the notch impact test, the
change of the impact force of the hammer is the important
parameters affecting the measurements (Fig.5c).
Fig.5a. Material testing machine
Fig.5b. Hardness test
machine
Fig.5c. Notch impact test machine
III. CERTIFICATION OF FORCE
In steel industry, mechanical test measurement devices are used
in various applications. These devices and force they apply,
how accurate or uncertain, are carried out by metrology
institutes in country, concerning to international unit system
(SI). TÜBİTAK National Metrology Institute (UME) is
responsible organization for calibrating first level of force
measuring devices in our country and ensuring its integration
into international system. In Force Laboratory, which is located
in TÜBİTAK-UME, is realized the calibration of force
measuring devices by using five different capacity force
standard machines in range of 0.5 N to 3 MN corresponding to
standards (ISO 376, ASTM E74, ISO 7500-1) for international
validity and acceptance. In this way, dissemination the unit of
force “Newton (N)” from national standards to industrial
applications which is given in Fig.6. Thus, all force
measurements performed in our country are provided with
traceability to international standards and therefore
international measurement system.
Figure 6. Dissemination of the unit of force “Newton (N)”
IV.CONCLUSIONS
Accurate and reliable measurement is very important for
product quality, producing safe, reducing energy consumption
in steel industry. Adding, it is important to produce same
products repeatedly according to the order and offering
acceptable products in international markets. Therefore,
measurements, especially force, realized in the iron and steel

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industry must be ensured traceability within the metrology
system.
In this study, some examples of force measurement
application in steel industry are discussed. In order to obtain
accurate and reliable measurement results, it is needed to
perform traceable calibrations of devices used in mechanical
test and application of force measurements. We have
summarized importance of force measurements and its effect in
steel industry.
REFERENCES
[1] Aydemir, B., Dizdar, H., Vatan, C. Genel Kuvvet Metrolojisi Eğitim
Dökümanı, G2KV-010, TÜBİTAK UME, 2017
[2] Aydemir, B., Dizdar, H., Vatan, C. Tek Eksenli Statik Malzeme Test
Makinalarının Kuvvet Kalibrasyonu Eğitim Dokümanı G2KV-020,
TÜBİTAK UME, 2016
[3] EURAMET-cg-04.01 Uncertainty of Force Measurements, March 2010
[4] EURAMET-cg-04, Kalibrasyon Rehberi, “Kuvvet Ölçümlerinde
Belirsizlik” Dizdar, H., Aydemir, B., Vatan, C. 2015
[5] EN ISO 376, Metalic Materials - Calibration of Force-Proving
Instruments Used for the Verification of The Uniaxial Testing Machine,
2011
[6] ASTM E74, Standard Practice of Calibration of Force-Measuring
Instruments for Verifying the Force Indication of Testing Machines,
2013
[7] EN ISO 7500 -1, Metallic Materials — Calibration and Verification of
Static Uniaxial Testing Machines, 2015
[8] Meganewton Seviyesindeki Kuvvetlerin Çelik Endüstrisinde Uygulama
Alanları ve İzlenebilirlik İhtiyacı, Metal Dünyası Dergisi Sayı: 263,
Mayıs 2015
[9] Hasçelik Teknik Katalog 2016
[10] http://www.admet.com/why-tensile-testing-is-imperative-for-metals-
manufacturers