Controlled rolling of plates with forced-water cooling during rolling

Abstract

To reduce the long processing time in the controlled rolling of plate in one-stand reversible rolling mills, water cooling can be used. Experiments in both a pilot plant and a production mill showed no significant change in bulk mechanical properties if heavy water cooling was used during the holding period, but a thin surface layer with a very fine-grained structure was found. This surface effect is not believed to affect the bulk properties, except at very low finish-rolling temperatures, where there is a risk of tensile stresses occurring at the surface. Water cooling can also be used during the roughing stage. This method gave an even shorter processing time and no surface effects, but the toughness deteriorated somewhat. Controlled rolling with water cooling during rolling is believed to be suitable when rolling short runs of many different products.