Basic Oxygen Furnace- The process of manufacturing steel in this type of furnace is called the basic oxygen process and is the most efficient method of producing low and medium carbon and low and medium alloy steels. In this process high purity oxygen is blown onto the surface of a bath of molten iron contained in a basic lined and ladle shaped vessel. The melting cycle duration is extremely short with quality comparable to open hearth steel.

Basic Process - A steel making process either basic oxygen, open hearth or electric in which the furnace is lined with a basic refractory. A slag, rich in lime, being formed and phosphorous removed.

Billet - A solid semi-finished round or square product that has been hot worked by forging, rolling or extrusion. An iron or steel billet has a minimum width or thickness of 11~! inches and the cross-sectional area varies from 2-1/4 to 36 square inches.

Blast Furnace - A vertical shaft type furnace used for reducing iron ore to pig iron when cast or hot metal for further melting. This product is used in an open hearth or basic oxygen furnaces for production of steel.

Bloom - A rolled product from an ingot generally greater than 36 square inches in area. This is considered the first operation in the production of bars or structurals.

Brinell Hardness - A value determined by testing used to compare the hardness of different materials. A material with a high Brinell number will have a higher surface hardness, and therefore resists wear better than a material with a lower Brinell number. Likewise, a higher yield strength material will normally have a higher Brinell hardness number.