Increasing Roll Life for Steel Rolling Processes

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This proposal is to study the cooling systems used in hot steel mills with the goal of improving productivity of the steel rolling process by increasing roll life and by reducing coolant consumption. The research consists of an experimental portion to obtain reliable heat transfer coefficient values and a modeling portion to simulate the heating, cooling and mechanical response of rolls during the rolling process. An instrumented apparatus has been developed which resembles the cooling systems used in steel mills and will be employed to accurately measure the heat transfer characteristics of various roll-cooling designs. This experimentally determined heat transfer coefficient data will be utilized for input to the numerical simulation portion of this research. The proposed study will provide a basic understanding of the influence of roll cooling on the resulting thermal and mechanical responses of the rolls and seek alternative cooling designs which reduce roll wear or spalling caused by the thermal fatigue stress. The results could be used to develop cooling design guidelines to increase roll life and to reduce coolant consumption. Results of this research could lead to improved productivity in steel rolling processes and should contribute fundamental information on the basic heat transfer mechanisms. The investigator is well qualified to perform this work successfully, having worked extensively in this research area.