Infire – Strategy to increase the hot strip rolling performance in terms of surface quality, final properties and reproducibility

Situation:

  • Achieving high surface quality of hot rolled high strength steel strip and reproducible rolling results remains challenging:
  • Primary scale residues and scale formed during rolling lead to surface impairments.
  • Influences and interrelations of process conditions on product quality are poorly known.
  • As steel grades with higher strength are demanded, hot rolling conditions change.

Solution:

  • Adopting primary scale residues and finished strip monitoring systems for prognosis of scale defects.
  • Investigation on sensitivity of the rolling result on process parameter.
  • Novel methods to control scale growth and fracture behaviour with the optimisation of rolling parameters as well as rolling actuators and application of oxide modifiers.
  • Create a model to predict scale behaviour.

Operational benefit:

  • Minimisation of effects of scale on the final surface texture and strip mechanical properties.
  • Improvement of the surface quality of critical high alloyed steel grades by understanding and conditioning scale formation during rolling and cooling.
  • Definition of the optimum rolling and cooling conditions for industrial application towards a significant improvement of the quality of the final product for high value added steels.
  • Enabling existing plants to handle new kind of high strength steel grades in a more efficient and reproducible way.
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