A fast simulation of the inhomogeneous materials evolution during the deformation steps and its effect on subsequent processes is demanded for the development of new technologies for materials with a homogeneous microstructure. In the paper a layer model for flat hot and cold rolling is presented. A deepened understanding of the influence of inhomogeneities in material state and material flow on the whole process can be reached due to the introduction of a new computational concept for variable layer thickness distributions in the layer model. The concept will be explained and the additional information obtained concerning the influence of shear, local residual stresses as well as inhomogeneous stress and strain states in the roll gap on the microstructure evolution will be presented and discussed.
The world steel market is in a phase of maturity. Worldwide growth in steel demand is expected to be in the range of 1% per year and the world’s biggest market, China, is facing a phase of stagnating or even diminishing steel demand. The situation has changed from a supplier driven to a customer driven market meaning that customer demands are increasing and margins are dropping. Besides increasing levels of digitization and service orientation as well as the development of new sales channels the delivery of higher quality, introduction of new steel grades and further customization of high-end products to cover niche markets are of prime importance to keep or increase market shares. Besides efficient organization and execution of the daily business ranging from production to quality management and customer services paired with data-based insight, highly efficient research and development (R&D) with increasingly limited amount of resources is a must. This paper addresses the latter topic regarding trends for future steel grade demands and strategies for efficient R&D.
Abstract. During the last years international steel producers have been following a market trend to develop and produce new steel grades with higher strength and larger thickness. When attempting to improve the metallurgical properties in the cooling section, the existing cooling equipment in hot strip mills often reaches its limit. Primetals Technologies offers its Power Cooling solution to upgrade existing cooling lines as well as for new hot strip mills. With this type of equipment highest cooling rates can be achieved and therefore steel producers are capable of producing new steel grades with higher strength at lower costs. A new power cooling system was installed immediately behind the finishing mill gauge house at Wuhan Iron and Steel Company's (WISCO) HSM No. 2 in Wuhan, China. The Power Cooling system widens the product range and gives WISCO the capability to produce high-strength steel grades (AHSS) with strength levels of more than 1,000 MPa, e.g. HSLA steel or as-hot-rolled multi-phase steel. Due to the extremely wide control range of the flow rate, the installation allows for maximum metallurgical flexibility. On the other hand, the new equipment allows for the most economic production of line-pipe material like API X80 in a thickness range up to 25.4 mm (1 inch).
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