Numerical Simulation of the Hot Rolling Process of Steel Beams.

Alejandro Pérez-Alvarado,Ismael Calderón-Ramos,Rodolfo Morales,Rumualdo Servín Castañeda,Luis Alberto Mendoza De La Rosa,Sixtos Antonio Arreola-Villa,Kinnor Chattopadhyay

doi:10.3390/ma14227038

Alejandro Pérez-Alvarado, Ismael Calderón-Ramos + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14227038

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Abstract

The complete rolling schedule (25 passes) of steel beams in a mill was simulated to predict the final beam length, geometry of the cross-section, effective stress, effective plastic strain and rolling power for two cases; the first case corresponds to the hot rolling process assuming a constant temperature of 1200 . The simulation of the second case considered the real beam temperature at each pass to compare the results with in-plant measurements and validate the numerical model. Then, the results of both cases were compared to determine the critical passes of the process with high peaks of required power, coinciding with the reports at the mill. These critical passes share the same conditions, high percentage of reduction in cross-sectional area and low beam temperature. Additionally, a potential reduction of passes in the process was proposed identifying passes with low required power, minimal reduction in area of cross-section and essentially unchanged geometry. Therefore, it is reasonable to state that using the present research methodology, it is possible to have a better control of the process allowing innovation in the production of profiles with more complex geometries and new materials.

Highlights

Steel is the most important metal used for structural and mechanical purposes because it combines high strength, both in tension and compression, with great rigidity and easy manufacture, with a relatively low price
Based on the results of numerical simulations and measurements at the real process presented in this work, the following conclusions can be drawn: 1
The use of a finite element method (FEM) sofware to simulate 25 consecutive passes of hot rolling allowed to determine the distribution of effective stress, effective plastic strain, rolling moment, rolling power, final length and area of cross-section of the beam at each rolling pass

Summary

Introduction

Steel is the most important metal used for structural and mechanical purposes because it combines high strength, both in tension and compression, with great rigidity (high modulus of elasticity) and easy manufacture, with a relatively low price. The mechanical properties of steel beams for structural purposes are directly influenced by the hot rolling parameters such as strain, strain rate, groove design, rolling sequence and the most important, the workpiece temperature during the entire process. The desired shape is obtained by pulling the metallic material by the effect of friction force between two rolls rotating in opposite directions. These rolls have grooves with the dimensions designed to obtain the desired shape [1]. To achieve a successful beam fabrication through the hot rolling process, it is necessary to design a correct rolling sequence

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