Ultra high speed rolling of stainless steel wire rod by means of interstand tensions

Abstract

By introduction of an interstand tension in the order of 10% of the actual yield stress of the rolled material in the intermediate stage of wire rod rolling, it is possible to increase the intermediate reductions without excessive increase of energy supply for rolling. Thus, an eight passes finishing block can be replaced by two intermediate stands and a four stand finishing block of a module type. This configuration gives two improvements on the productivity in a wire rod mill for stainless steel. First, the finish rolling speed can be increased from typically 60 m/s up to 80 m/s, meaning 33% higher rolling rate. Second, the modern twin module block system gives the possibility to introduce a single family rolling system, which gives a reduction of the downtime for roll and groove changing in the order of 20% of the production time, depending on the product mix in the mill.