Author(s)

A. Tudball & S. G. R. Brown

Abstract

A key quality requirement for the production of steel strip is temperature control. During hot rolling, various processes are carried out which improve surface and rolling characteristics but which increase heat extraction from the slab or bar. Moreover, different hot mill configurations at different sites will give rise to different overall thermal behaviour. Temperature control is required to enable the basic properties of the steel strip to be produced. Rather than concentrate on individual sections of the hot strip mill a custom-written thermal finite element model has been developed for Corus to simulate the evolving temperature field in the slab and subsequent thinner bar over the entire hot rolling process. Localised cooling effects caused by hydraulic descale sprays, roll coolant and contact conduction, and local atmospheric conditions have all been included. Heat generation due to adiabatic heating of deformed material and rolling friction has also been combined into the model. Efficient modelling of the temperature effects occurring throughout processing can be used in the optimisation of the process operations. This paper will describe both the practical approach and the numerical methods used to develop the model and examples of simulations of different hot mill configurations will be described. Keywords: finite element, hot rolling, steel, heat transfer.

Keywords

finite element, hot rolling, steel, heat transfer.