An investigation on strain inhomogeneity in hot strip rolling process

In this paper the velocity and temperature fields during hot strip rolling are determined using a rigid–viscoplastic finite element method together with a microstructural model for handling dynamic phase transformation during hot deformation. Based on these fields, the strain distributions within the rolled metal at different positions in the deformation zone are estimated. The analysis is capable of considering the effects of metallurgical phase transformations as well as various process parameters such as initial strip temperature, rolling speed, lubrication on the strain inhomogeneity produced during the hot rolling process. To assess the reliability of the theoretical analysis, a comparison is made between the predicted and plant-recorded roll force data and a good agreement is found between the two sets of results.