slab

In metallurgy, a slab is a semi-finished steel product, typically rectangular, that serves as the starting material for flat products like plates, sheets, and strips. Slabs are produced from cast ingots in a process called slabbing, which involves heating the ingots and then passing them through a series of rolling mills. These mills reduce the ingot's cross-section to form a slab of specific dimensions, which can be quite large, measuring up to 250 millimeters thick, 2.6 meters wide, and 12 meters long. The process of forming steel, including the creation of slabs, is crucial for improving the metal's physical properties, transforming it from a brittle cast state into a more ductile and tough material.123