DanSteel (Denmark)

Shipbuilding remains one of the most metal-consuming segments of the transport industry. For various types of vessels there is a trend of a successive increase in specifications for the specific volume of freight transport that predetermines an increase in the use of materials for construction, including thick steel plate. Considering the general trends in development of the thick plate market for shipbuilding, NLMK DanSteel has mastered production technologies for rolled product up to 35 mm thick produced from low-carbon microalloyed extra high-strength steels F420, F460, F500 intended for vessels of various types for Arctic application. Pilot plant, certified and industrial batches of heavy plates have shown a high level of strength, low-temperature impact strength at – 60°C, and a high level of welded joint mechanical properties employing various welding methods with heating input in the range from 15 ± 1 to 50 ± 2 kJ/cm. The results obtained provide NLMK DanSteel with favorable certification test results for production of extra high-strength grades F420, F460, F500 and their analogs in thickness up to 35 mm according to the IACS rules and confirm the quality of heavy plates in accordance with the requirements of DNV-GL and other marine certification association classification programs and standards.

The effect of strain ageing parameters on the impact strength of low-carbon microalloyed C–Mn–Si–Nb–V–Ni–Cu-steel on the example of rolled product 150 mm thick after normalizing and additional heat treatment is demonstrated. The change in steel critical impact strength with the degree of prior cold deformation and with additional heating to 250°C is studied. Tendency towards strain ageing at 1/8 and 1/4 of sheet steel thickness after heat treatment is studied.

The industrial production of low-carbon microalloyed steel plates (thickness 150–200 mm) on the NLMK Dansteel 420 reversible rolling mill is considered. Such plates are intended for operation at temperatures between–50 and +450°C in high-pressure equipment. The technologies used for steel casting and thick-sheet production ensure stable strength over the whole sheet thickness at 20–450°C, with satisfactory impact strength between +40 and–50°C. The research results are used in certification on the basis of TUV Pressure Equipment Directive (PED) DGR 2014/68/EU and the AD2000 directive regarding the production of rolled P355N, P355NH, P355NL1, and P355NL2 steel sheet of thickness up to 200 mm.

Rolled sheets with a thickness of 60 mm are studied after thermomechanical rolling and after an additional heat treatment. The conditions of the deformation and thermal deformation aging are shown to affect the impact toughness of the low-carbon microalloyed steel. The changes in the critical temperatures of the impact toughness due to increase in the degree of preliminary cold deformation and under additional heating of the steel to 250°C are determined. The parameter of the susceptibility of surface and central (over the thickness) layers of a thick sheet to mechanical aging is computed.

Working in a hospice and being able to focus on individualized, specialized end-of-life care is a privilege for the hospice staff member. However, it also presents the hospice staff with unique challenges. This descriptive study is based upon two cases from an end-of-life care setting in Denmark, where dysfunctional family dynamics presented added challenges to the staff members in their efforts to provide optimal palliative care. The hospice triad--the patient, the staff member and the family member--forms the basis for communication and intervention in a hospice. Higher expectations and demands of younger, more well-informed patients and family members challenge hospice staff in terms of information and communication when planning for care. The inherent risk factors of working with patients in the terminal phase of life become a focal point in the prevention of the development of compassion fatigue among staff members. A series of coping strategies to more optimally manage dysfunctional families in a setting where time is of the essence are then presented in an effort to empower the hospice team, to prevent splitting among staff members, and to improve quality of care.

A participatory action research study design was developed and tested in 40 Danish internship pharmacies as part of a 3-year study supported by the Research Centre for Quality in Medicine Use. The aim of the study was to create a foundation for improving the quality of counselling practice in pharmacies by comparing the pharmacy staff's views on, knowledge of and behaviour towards a specific patient group with the knowledge, perceptions and medication use of the same patients. Pharmacy students in their fourth year collected data for the study. In 1999, the students carried out 123 qualitative interviews with angina pectoris patients and collected 569 questionnaires from pharmacy staff in 40 internship pharmacies. The results indicate that discrepancies exist between the patients' and pharmacy staff's perspectives on important issues such as knowledge about medicines (patients)/provision of information about medicines (pharmacy staff), experienced side effects (patients)/information about side effects (pharmacy staff), knowledge on prevention and lifestyle (patients)/information on lifestyle and prevention (pharmacy staff) and expectations of pharmacies (patients)/initiatives started in pharmacies (pharmacy staff). The study gives reason to believe that angina pectoris patients might benefit if pharmacies provided more information on the relationship between lifestyle factors and angina pectoris, the possible side effects of medicines and the function of medicines.