Looking back at Steel Research International and its future

The knowledge structure of steel research in the journal of Steel Research International from 1990 to 2013 was identified by extracting and analyzing 5700 keywords from 2430 papers in the Journal. Analysis of the keyword frequency over a 24-year period (1990-2013) identified keywords that consistently dominated the field of steel research including microstructure, finite element method, transformation induced plasticity, mechanical properties, continuous casting. By incorporating social network analysis to the identified keywords, a high degree of centrality was microstructure, finite element method, continuous casting, and slag. From the co-occurrence matrix of cohesiveness, eight cohesive subgroups were identified. Additionally, subgroup mapping reflected research development trends in each of the eight subgroup research areas. By incorporating the author's country of origin the frequency of articles published by country was ascertained and found to be in the order of Germany, China, Sweden, Japan, South Korea, India, Austria, and USA. By identifying the trends of steel research, confirmed sub-research areas, and revealing core keywords, the results of this study provide valuable insights into understanding the knowledge structure of the steel research field and research directions for Steel Research International.