The parametric process design of tension levelling with an elasto-plastic finite element method

This paper is concerned with a simulation-based process design for the tension levelling of metallic strips based on elasto-plastic finite element analysis with reduced integration and hour-glass control. The tension levelling process is performed to elongate the strip plastically in combination with tensile and bending strain in a controlled manner so that all longitudinal fibers in the strip have an approximately equal length and undesirable strip shapes are corrected to a flat shape. The analysis deals with a method for calculating the quantitative level of curl to investigate the roll arrangements and intermesh suitable for the elimination of the curl. The analysis provides information about the intermesh effect on the amount and distribution of the strain as well as the stress in order to determine the amount of elongation for the correction of the irregular shape. The desired elongation is referred in order to determine the number of work rolls and the value of tension. Especially, the analysis investigates the effect of the mesh size in the non-steady state finite element analysis on the amount and distribution of the strain.