Ranchi, March 31: Research and Development Centre for Iron and Steel (RDCIS) has filed more than 36 patents on intellectual property rights during 2007-08.

The patents of the Ranchi-based research and development wing of SAIL are related to plant performance, cost efficiency, energy conservation and quality improvement.

RDCIS executive director in-charge Jagdish Singh said they developed several new products during 2007-08 fiscal. Armour plates for tanks for the defence sector, special steel and leaf springs for the automobile sector, plates for earthmoving equipment and special grade micro-alloyed rails for railways are among the achievements.

“RDCIS has also indigenously developed an energy-efficient burner technology called curtain flame ignition system, which has been successfully installed at the SAIL plant in Bhilai. The technology has helped reduce energy consumption by as much as 30 per cent and improved the plant’s improvement drastically,” Singh said.

During the year, RDCIS won nine awards. But the most notable mention was in the publication Steel Plant Technologies, which gave a complete overview of the various steel plant technologies and products.

Other achievements include publication of more than 170 RDCIS technical papers in national and international journals.

The executive director said RDCIS engineers also clinched the metallurgists of the year awards from the Union government.

The Centre has offered technological services to more than 70 public and private sector organisations.