Stainless ensures integrity of MRI testing

Challenge

An addition at Danderyd Hospital demanded structural material of great strength. But close proximity to magnetic imaging equipment made carbon steel a poor choice.

Solution

Outokumpu’s stainless steel has impressive strength – and generates significantly fewer magnetic disturbances than carbon steel.

Delivery

Tailor-made plates of Outokumpu stainless steel were produced at Outokumpu’s mill in Degerfors, Sweden.
Product form: quarto plate

Increasingly sophisticated medical equipment requires an equally sophisticated approach to construction of medical facilities. A six-story expansion at the Danderyd Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden, is a good example.

The new facility features stainless steel beams provided by Outokumpu – and that’s critically important news to patients undergoing diagnostic testing. In this application, stainless steel beams are being used to strengthen an extension of a six-story building. Compared to ordinary carbon steel, says Anders Finnås, Segment Business Manager, Architecture, Building & Construction, stainless steel generates significantly fewer magnetic disturbances. Because of its low magnetism, stainless steel is a better match in applications like hospitals and clinics where magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment is used.

 

Delivering added value

Tailor-made plates of Outokumpu stainless steel were produced at Outokumpu’s Quarto Plate Europe (QPE) mill in Degerfors, Sweden.

Specializing in quarto plate in high performance stainless grades, Degerfors is uniquely well equipped to produce beams like those used in the Danderyd project. From the QPE mill, the plates went to Outokumpu PSC Nordic, also in Degerfors, for final processing. “The close cooperation between QPE and PSC Nordic enabled us to secure this added value order,” Finnås says, “where we offered a final, tailor-made product to our customer, instead of just plates.”

 

Customized for efficiency

Seven nine-ton beams measuring 1 meter by 9 meters were tailored to precise requirements at PSC Nordic. After final cutting, the beams were assembled and welded into finished, construction-ready sections.

During construction, a tailor-made material delivers measurable cost savings. Welding and assembly progresses quickly and efficiently, creating a process as transparent as a sophisticated diagnostic exam.

Recommended products and insights

How to build a bridge that saves a fortune

Our expert Andy Backhouse explains how the right grade of stainless steel can create a structure that resists corrosion and minimizes maintenance needs over a typical bridge lifetime.

Structural applications

An inspired choice for load-bearing structures, stainless steel delivers exceptional strength with added benefits – like the corrosion resistance of steel in the Supra range, and light weight of high-strength duplex steel in the Forta range.

Quarto plate

For extra thickness or larger dimensions, Outokumpu hot-rolled plates – quarto or heavy plates – are the ideal solution. Because Outokumpu oversees production from melt to market, superior quality and on-time delivery are assured.

Degerfors Quarto Plate, Sweden

Outokumpu’s largest plate mill, Degerfors would be noteworthy for its output alone. But Degerfors is also famed as a leading global manufacturer of tailor-made stainless steel quarto plates.

Degerfors PSC, Sweden

Expertise built over more than a century sets Outokumpu’s Degerfors Plate Service Center apart from its competitors. Deep expertise and advanced innovation make Degerfors PSC the premier solution for complex projects.

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