Salt Spray Test - Moisture and corrosion resistance test employing a controlled exposure of a painted sheet to a fog or mist of a salt solution, usually 5% sodium chloride, for a specified time period, say 500 or 1000 hours.

Scale - A complex iron oxide formed on the steel surface during the hot rolling operation or formed on steel parts that are heat treated in the presence of oxygen.

Scrap - Material unsuitable for direct use but usable for reprocessing by re-melting.

Segregation - Pertaining to chemical segregation that occurs during the solidification of the molten steel in the ingot mold. Rimmed and capped steels are considered to have high levels of segregation; semi-killed steels intermediate segregation; and, killed steels the minimum amount.

Semi-killed Steel - A commonly used grade of steel manufactured for low carbon bars and structurals. Steel is considered semi killed when it is produced so that it is incompletely deoxidized and it contains sufficient dissolved oxygen to react with the carbon to form carbon monoxide to offset solidification shrinkage in the ingot.

Sheet Steel - Either hot or cold rolled sheets produced on continuous sheet mill where the minimum width produced is 24”. Sheet coils when slit to narrower widths is called slit sheet.

Shot Blasting - Cleaning surface of metal by air blast, using metal shot as an abrasive.

Slab - A semi finished steel product intermediate between ingot and plate, with the width at least twice the thickness for rolling down into plates or sheets.

Slit - When two or more widths are obtained from the hot rolled substrate width.  The slitting operation results in a cut edge.

Solid Solution - Many metals possess the ability to dissolve certain other elements in the solid state forming solid solutions that in many ways are analogous to ordinary liquid                 solutions. In the case of steel the solid solution is called austinite.

Solution Heat Treatment - Heating an alloy to a suitable temperature, holding at the temperature long enough to allow one or more constituents to enter into solid solution                   and then cooling rapidly enough to hold the constituents in solution. The alloy is left in a supersaturated, unstable state and may subsequently exhibit quench aging.

Spangle - The spangle of a hot-dip coated sheet surface is the visual manifestation of the grains that form within the coating when it solidifies as the sheet emerges from the pot of molten coating metal. The spangle or grain varies in size, brightness and surface relief, depending upon a number of factors, most of which are related to the composition of the coating and cooling practices.

Spark Testing - This is an inspection method for quickly determining the approximate analyst of steel. It is intended primarily for the separation of mixed steel and when properly conducted, is a fast, accurate and economical method of separation. It consists in holding the sample against a high-speed grinding wheel and noting the character and color of the spark that is compared with samples of known analysis.

Stainless Steel - Corrosion resistant steel of a wide variety, but always containing a high percentage of chromium. The minimum chromium content is considered at 11% for stainless steel, although lesser amounts of chromium are found in stainless products such as those used for automobile mufflers. Stainless steels have the properties of being highly resistant to corrosion attack by organic acids, weak mineral acids, atmospheric corrosion, etc. Some standard grades of stainless steel also have 3.5 to 22% of nickel that further increases resistance to chemical and atmospheric corrosion.

Steel - An iron-base alloy, malleable in same temperature range as initially cast, and containing carbon in amounts greater than .05% and less than about 2.00%. Other alloying elements may be present in significant quantities, but all steels contain at least small amounts of manganese and silicon.

Strain - Deformation produced on a body by an outside force.

Strip Steel (Cold Rolled) - A flat cold rolled steel product rolled to widths 2316/16” and narrower, under .250” in thickness, which has been cold reduced to desired decimal                 thickness and temper on single stand, single stand reversing, or tandem cold mills in coil form from coiled hot rolled pickled strip steel.

Structural Steel - When this term is applied to steel sheet, it refers to the designation that is used for steel sheet that is produced to meet a specific level of strength and formability. The formability is expressed as percent elongation in a tensile test. Structural Steel is typically used for applications where the strength of the sheet is an important design criterion, i.e., load-bearing applications.