Computational analysis of the curvature distribution and power losses of metal strip in tension levellers

Abstract

Tension levelling is employed in strip processing lines to minimise residual stresses resp. to improve the strip flatness by inducing small elasto-plastic deformations. To improve the design of such machines, precise calculation models are essential to reliably predict tension losses due to plastic dissipation, power requirements of the driven bridle rolls (located upstream and downstream), reaction forces on levelling rolls as well as strains and stresses in the strip. FEM (Finite Element Method) simulations of the tension levelling process (based on Updated Lagrangian concepts) yield high computational costs due to the necessity of very fine meshes as well as due to the severely non-linear characteristics of contact, material and geometry. In an evaluation process of hierarchical models (models with different modeling levels), the reliability of both 3D and 2D modelling concepts (based on continuum and structural elements) was proved by extensive analyses as well as consistency checks against measurement data from an industrial tension leveller. To exploit the potential of computational cost savings, a customised modelling approach based on the principle of virtual work has been elaborated, which yields a drastic reduction of degrees of freedom compared to simulations by utilising commercial FEM-packages.