Accurate Strain Field Measurement During Strip Rolling by Exploiting Recurring Material Motion with Time-Integrated Digital Image Correlation

Background 95% Of all metals and alloys are processed using strip rolling, explaining the great number of existing strip rolling optimization models. Yet, an accurate in-situ full-field experimental measurement method of the deformation, velocity and strain fields of the strip in the deformation zone is lacking. Objective Here, a novel time-Integrated Digital Image Correlation (t-IDIC) framework is proposed and validated that fully exploits the notion of continuous, recurring material motion during strip rolling. Methods High strain accuracy and robustness against unavoidable light reflections and missing speckles is achieved by simultaneously correlating many (e.g. 200) image pairs in a single optimization step, i.e. each image pair is correlated with the same average global displacement field but is multiplied by a unique velocity corrector to account for differences in material velocity between image pairs. Results Demonstration on two different strip rolling experiments revealed previously inaccessible subtle changes in the deformation and strain fields due to minor variations in pre-deformation, elastic recovery, and geometrical irregularities. The influence of the work roll force and entry/exit strip tension has been investigated for strip rolling with an industrial pilot mill, which revealed unexpected non-horizontal material feed. This asymmetry was reduced by increasing the entry strip tension and rolling force, resulting in a more symmetric strain distribution, while increased distance between the neutral and entry point was found for a larger rolling force. Conclusions The proposed t-IDIC method allows for robust and accurate characterization of the strip’s full-field behavior of the deformation zone during rolling, revealing novel insights in the material behavior.

Elaboration of forecasting methods of analysis of metallurgical facilities electric drives technical state

To prevent losses of equipment downtime, analytical algorithms and data of automated control systems sensors are used to estimate time to the equipment failure approach. It was shown that modern technical systems, such as automated electric drives are equipped by measuring devices which allow to accomplish self-diagnostic of the system in real time mode at existing methods of data processing and analysis. This approach is more effective than traditional methods of diagnostic and does not include additional capital expenses for specialized diagnostic equipment and personal qualification. Hypothesis of forecasting of electromechanical driving system state was elaborated and checked for continuous rolling mill runaway roller, based on character of loading modes by using only one parameter – the electric motor current. Based on the data analysis of wide strip rolling mill 2000 runaway rollers operation, normalized curves of distribution of average values of the runaway roller drive current at its normal operation and origination of a malfunction were built. It was shown that a technical system state change is fixed at appearance of a deviation of load current distribution comparing with a standard deviation. Analysis of dynamics of a statistical parameter, the standard error (the difference between actual and standard distribution) at a transition process allowed to make a forecast of roller jamming several days before the malfunction took place. The proposed approach of equipment state estimation can become a base for elaboration of a principally new methods of diagnostic of metallurgical rotor equipment.

Simulation of the Refining Process of Ultra-Low Carbon (ULC) Steel

The standard production route for mild steels for automotive purposes is still based on conventional continuous casting (CC) and hot strip rolling (HSR). The current trend towards the "zero-carbon car" will demand the abating of material emissions in the future. Thin slab casting and direct rolling (e.g., Arvedi endless strip production (ESP)) is an approach to reduce CO2 emissions by 50% compared to CC and HSR. One of the main limitations in applying ESP for the production of ultra-low carbon/interstitial free (ULC/IF) steels is clogging. Clogging is the blockage of the submerged entry nozzle due to the build-up of oxide layers or an oxide network. The high clogging sensitivity of IF steels results most probably from the FeTi addition, and hence, a general change of the deoxidation practice might be an option to overcome these problems. In the present work, the thorough refining process of ULC steel was simulated by addressing the different deoxidation routes and the influence of titanium (Ti) alloying on steel cleanness. The developed ladle furnace (LF) and the Ruhrstahl Heraeus (RH) refining models were applied to perform the simulation. Before the simulations, the models are briefly described and validated by the published industrial data.

Mathematical Modeling of the Cold Rolling Process and Heat Treatment for DC01 Steel

The paper presents the elaboration of a mathematical model of the cold strip rolling process combined with the recrystallization annealing after the rolling at LBR Liberty Galati.The elaborated mathematical model allows the prediction of the mechanical properties of cold rolled strips subsequently subjected to a heat treatment.The realization of this mathematical model was based on statistical measurements of the mechanical properties Rm, Rp0.2 (Rc) and A5 for the rolled steel strip DC01 from Liberty Steel Galati. To achieve this mathematical model, the active experiment method was used.With the help of this mathematical model, it is possible to optimize the rolling process by significant savings of time and materials in the process of testing the mechanical properties for cold rolled tape, but also by choosing the most appropriate process parameters.

Instability Condition Derivation for Hydraulic AGC System under Pressure Closed-Loop Control

In strip rolling, hydraulic automatic gauge control (HAGC) system is the key element to guarantee the precision of strip gauge. The stability of the kernel pressure closed loop (PCL) in the HAGC system plays an essential role in guaranteeing the rolling process with high performance. Nevertheless, there is some difficulty in exploring the instability mechanism of the HAGC system due to the fact that the PCL is a representative nonlinear closed-loop control system. In this work, for each component of the HAGC system, the mathematical model was established. And on the basis of the linking relation of various elements, we derived the incremental transfer model of the PCL system. Furthermore, in accordance with the deduced information transfer relation, the transfer block diagram of disturbing variable of the PCL system was obtained. Moreover, for the purpose of deriving the instability condition of the PCL system, the Popov frequency criterion was employed. The instability conditions of the HAGC system were obtained under PCL control. Furthermore, the derived instability conditions of the HAGC system were experimentally verified under various working conditions. The research results provide a fundamental foundation for studying the instability mechanism of the HAGC system.