Simulation of plate rolling process using finite element method

Abstract

Finite Element Method (FEM) is an efficient tool to study high-temperature elastoplastic deformation of material at roll bite in a hot rolling process. The roll bite stress field significantly changes with change in the composition of workpiece material. In this paper, a study of roll bite deformation during a plate rolling process is carried out for microalloyed grade of steel using DEFORM-3D software. Norton-Hoff flow stress constitutive equation, one of the material characteristics equations inbuilt of the software, was used for the simulations. Coefficients and exponents of the constitutive equation were evaluated using multivariable optimization technique from experimental data generated in Gleeble-3500, a dynamic thermo-mechanical simulator. Input parameters like dimensions of roll, slab and roller tables of an industrial plate mill were incorporated in the preprocessor module of DEFORM-3D software. The FEM software calculates stress, strain, roll force and temperature. The stress distribution at roll bite calculated by DEFORM-3D software for microalloyed grade of steel is compared with that of plain carbon grade of steel. Effect of temperature and coefficient of friction on roll bite stress distribution for microalloyed grade of steel is discussed in the paper. Roll force predicted by the FEM software was validated with measured roll force recorded from load cells of the industrial plate mill. The predicted roll force agrees well with the measured values of roll force.