Advanced run-out table cooling technology based on ultra fast cooling and laminar cooling in hot strip mill

In order to meet the severe requirements of market and reduce production costs of high quality steels,advanced run-out table cooling based on ultra fast cooling(UFC) and laminar cooling(LC) was proposed and applied to industrial production.Cooling mechanism of UFC and LC was introduced first,and then the control system and control models were described.By using UFC and LC,low-cost Q345B strips had been produced in a large scale,and industrial trials of producing low-cost dual phase strips were completed successfully.Application results show that the ultra fast cooling is uniform along the strip width and length,and does not affect the flatness of strips.The run-out table cooling system runs stably with a high precision,and makes it possible for the user to develop more high quality steels with low costs.

Control and application of cooling path after rolling for hot strip based on ultra fast cooling

Hot rolled strip requires diverse and flexible control of cooling path in order to take full advantages of strengthening mechanisms such as fine grain strengthening, precipitation strengthening, and transformation strengthening, adapting to the development of advanced steel materials and the requirement of reduction-manufacturing. Ultra fast cooling can achieve a great range of cooling rate, which provides the means that the hardened austenite obtained in high temperature region can keep at different dynamic transformation temperatures. Meanwhile, through the rational allocation of the UFC （ultra fast cooling） and LFC （laminar flow cooling）, more flexible cooling path control and cooling strategy of hot rolled strip are obtained. Temperature distribution and control strategies under different cooling paths based on UFC are investigated. The process control temperature can be limited within 18 ℃, and the mechanical properties of the steels get a great leap forward due to the cooling paths and strategies, which can decrease costs and create great economic benefits for the iron and steel enterprises.

Effective inhibition of anomalous grain coarsening in cast AZ91 alloys during fast cooling via nanoparticle addition

In this work, the effects of Ti CN and γ-Al_(2)O_(3) nanoparticle(NP) addition on the microstructural evolution of cast AZ91 alloys at the cooling rate ranging from 15 to 120 K/s have been systematically investigated. Experimental results reveal that grain coarsening occurs in cast AZ91 alloys when the cooling rate exceeds 90 K/s, while it can be effectively inhibited upon addition of NPs. The marked inhibition effect may originate from the formation of Ti CN or γ-Al_(2)O_(3) NP-induced undercooling zone ahead of solid/liquid(S/L) front of α-Mg, which not only can restrict grain growth effectively, but also can reactivate the native nucleants that are inactive in AZ91 melts to participate in nucleation events. And if possessing high nucleation potency, NPs can also promote further nucleation events and lead to significant grain refinement. An analytical model has been established to quantitatively account for the restriction effect of NPs on grain growth. The present work may shed a new light on the grain coarsening of cast alloys during fast cooling and provide an effective approach to circumvent it.

Precipitation Behavior of Nb in Steel under Ultra Fast Cooling Conditions

By measuring the expansion curves of a Nb bearing steel at different cooling rates by using Gleeble-3800 thermomechanical simulator, combining with metallographic analysis, different phase zones were determined. Also, precipitation behavior of Nb at different phase zones was investigated under ultra fast cooling conditions. The experimental results showed that adopting a proper deformation temperature, the ultra fast cooling process can restrain the precipitation of Nb at austenite phase zone. More quantities and smaller size precipitates of Nb can be found at the ferrite or bainite phase zone by controlling the ultra fast cooling ending temperature. With the increase of holding time at austenite, ferrite and bainite phase zones respectively, the volume fraction of precipitation, density, and average size of precipitates will increase obviously. With the decrease of early ultra fast cooling ending temperature, the density of Nb precipitates first increase（at ferrite phase zone） and then decrease（at bainite phase zone）, the volume fraction of Nb precipitation decreases and precipitates can be refined. The optimal early ultra fast cooling ending temperature is located at ferrite phase zone. The combination of high rolling temperature with early ultra fast cooling technology opens the way for new cooling schedules and makes the production of high strength steels easier and cheaper by making full use of Nb precipitation strengthening effect.

New research developments on ultra fast cooling technologies and new generation TMCP

Since the 21^(st) century,great attention has been paid to ultra fast cooling(UFC) technology in the whole world.The industries and the research institutions began to carry out investigations on basic theories and industrial applications.Since 2003,the RAL of Northeastern University has made some progresses on microstructure control theories,understanding of strengthening mechanisms and their industrial applications.In this paper,these achievements since the last Baosteel BAC in 2008 will be reported on the industrialization of UFC, strengthening mechanism,development of new steel grades,and so on.

The development and application of ultra fast cooling in hot-rolled

Ultra fast cooling is a new technology which used to control the hot-rolling strip cooling in recent years on the international developed.If suitably cooperated with a number of other new controlled rolling technologies,can achieve fast and accurate temperature control in the hot-rolled strip production process to obtain corresponding transformation microstructure and ideal mechanical properties.This article describes the technical principle and layout of ultra fast cooling in hot-rolled as well as application profiles in the major iron and steel enterprise in China and abroad.Carried out the layout of ultra fast cooling analysis on the adaptability of steel that install between the finishing mill and laminar cooling,on this basis,proposed the use of ultra fast cooling technology proposals.

Comparative Study of Tensile and Charpy Impact Properties of X70 and X80 Linepipe Steels After Ultra Fast Cooling Processing

Ultra fast cooling（UFC） processing after hot deformation was conducted on X70 and X80 linepipe steels. Tensile and charpy impact properties of both steels have been investigated in this work. The results have shown that the mechanical properties satisfy all the standard requirements of the X70 and X80 steels. UFC results in a presence of microstructure containing quasi polygonal（QF）, acicular ferrite（AF） and granular bainite（GB）. The alloying elements and UFC enhance the strengthening contribution caused by solid solution, dispersion, dislocation and precipitation strengthening. The size and distribution of precipitates in the linepipe steels are fine and dispersed. MA is also homogeneously dispersed due to UFC. Average grain size in the X80 steel is finer than that in the X70 steel. The volume fractions of secondary phases in the X80 steel are greater than those in the X70 steel. The X80 steel remains finer and more dispersed precipitates compared to the X70 steel. As a result, the tensile properties of X80 steel are higher than those of X70 steel. The Charpy absorbed energies of X70 and X80 steels at-10 ℃ reached 436 and 460 J, respectively. They reached 433 and 461 J at-15 ℃, respectively. This is mainly attributed to the presence of larger amounts of AFs in the X80 steel. A microstructure of AF for the X80 steel results in combining high strength and high toughness.

Development and industrial application of ultra-fast cooling technology

A new-generation TMCP(NG-TMCP) with ultra fast cooling(UFC) as core technique was suggested instead of the conventional TMCP in which some problems are to be solved.And the ultra fast cooling technology has been successfully applied to the plate rolling production in Shouqin Metal Materials Co.Ltd.Industrial trials are reported for the production of X70 pipeline steels(about 70000 t) under UFC conditions.Pipeline steels with reasonably good properties have been produced on an industrial scale.UFC can improve the temperature uniformity,the mechanical properties and the plate profile of X70 pipeline steel.The performance features of the trial plates can meet the standard of X70 pipeline steel.Spot test results have shown that the qualification rate of shape control,the performance and charpy impact properties for the trial plates are 95%,97% and 98%,respectively.The impact values of X70 pipeline steel at UFC mode exceed the standard requirements of X80 pipeline steel.The productivity is enhanced because cutting quantity of head and tail of the plate is reduced.The enhancement of control accuracy of the red back temperatures is favorable for industrial production of X70 pipeline steel.The reduced production of the steel-making has been industrially achieved,since a new composition was designed by reducing the vanadium content to less than 0.045 wt.%.

Improvement of Hole-Expansion Property for Medium Carbon Steels by Ultra Fast Cooling After Hot Strip Rolling

The improvement of hole-expansion properties for medium carbon steels by ultra fast cooling （UFC） after hot strip rolling was investigated.It was found that finely dispersed spherical cementite could be formed after ultra fast cooling , coiling and annealing treatment.Tensile strength of the steel after annealing was measured to be about 440MPa.During hole-expansion test , cracks were observed in the edge region around the punched hole because necking or cracking took place when tangential elongation exceeded the forming limit.Cracks were mainly formed by the coalescence of micro-voids.Fine and homogeneous microstructure comprised of ferrite and spheroidized cementite could increase elongation values of the tested sheets by suppressing the combination of the adjacent micro-voids , resulting in the improved hole-expansion property.

Upgrade Rolling Based on Ultra Fast Cooling Technology for C-Mn Steel

By measuring the expansion curves of a C-Mn steel at different cooling rates by using an MMS-300 thermo- mechanical simulator, continuous cooling transformation curves were obtained. The new process ＂ultra fast cooling＋ laminar cooling＂ was simulated and the effects of ultra fast cooling ending temperature on microstructure had also been investigated. The hot rolling experiment was done by adopting ＂high temperature rolling-[-forepart ultra fast cooling＂ technologies at laboratory scale. The results revealed that ultra fast cooling can delay the decrease of disloca- tion density and refine ferrite grains. Diversity control of the microstructure and phase transformation strengthening can be realized by changing the ultra fast cooling ending temperature. With the decrease of ultra fast cooling ending temperature, the strength and toughness increase, but plasticity does not decrease obviously. The new technique can improve the yield strength by over 50 MPa. Therefore, the upgrade of mechanical properties of C-Mn steel can be realized by using ＂high temperature rolling＋ ultra fast cooling＋laminar cooling＂ technique. Compared with ＂low temperature rolling with large deformation degree＂ technique, this new technology can decrease the roiling force and in- crease the production efficiency.

An On-line Finite Element Temperature Field Model for Plate Ultra Fast Cooling Process

Taking the element specific-heat interpolation function into account, a one-dimensional （l-D） finite ele- ment temperature field model for the on-line control of the ultra fast cooling process was developed based on the heat transfer theory. This 1-D model was successfully implemented in one 4 300 mm plate production line. To improve the calculation accuracy of this model, the temperature-dependent material properties inside an element were considered during the modeling process. Furthermore, in order to satisfy the real-time requirements of the on-line model, the variable bandwidth storage method and the Cholesky decomposition method were used in the programming to storage the data and carry out the numerical solution. The on-line application of the proposed model indicated that the devia- tion between the calculated cooling stop temperature and the measured one was less than ± 15 ℃.

The Applications and Practice of Front Ultra Fast Cooling Technology in C-Mn Steel

Ultra Fast Cooling is a new technology which used to control the hot-rolling strip cooling in recent years on the international developed.It can achieve fast and accurate temperature control in the hot-rolled strip production process to obtain corresponding transformation microstructure and ideal mechanical properties.This article describes the technical principle and layout of ultra fast cooling in hot-rolled as well as cooling features.Analysis the effect of front ultra fast cooling technology in C-Mn steel and obtained consequent on the industrial produced low-cost Q345 hot rolled steel in Panzhihua Iron and Steel.

New bainite kinetics of high strength low alloy steel in fast cooling process

Based on Kolmgorov-Johnson-Mehl-Avrami analysis, a new bainite kinetics of high strength low alloy steel in fast cooling process was developed by utilizing different experimental methods. Upper bainite transformation morphological evolutions at a cooling rate of 8.3 K/s were directly observed by laser scanning confocal microscopy. This qualitative analysis suggests that bainite packet is more suitable to give a one-dimensional growth model if it is considered as a transformation unit. The nucleation rate of bainite packets in fast cooling process is assumed to give an a priori item. One-dimensional growth model with constant growth rate which is assumed as a function of cooling rate is adopted as well. Thus, the devel- oped new bainite kinetics is simple in expression and contains an adjustable parameter and an empirical pa rameter. Experimental results show upper bainite and lower bainite transformations in fast cooling processes. Their referential phase volume fractions are calculated by the expanded lever rule on the first derivative dilatometer curves. For the similar transformation mechanisms, upper bainite and lower bainite are considered to give the same kinetics. With considering the Nakamura＇s equation, the bainite kinetics is fitted with experimental data. Results show that bainite volume fractions and bainite transformation rates can be expressed precisely bY the newly developed bainite kinetics.

Mathematic modeling on flexible cooling system in hot strip mill

A novel cooling system combining ultra fast cooling rigs with laminar cooling devices was investigated.Based on the different cooling mechanisms,a serial of mathematic models were established to describe the relationship between water flow and spraying pressure and the relationship between water spraying heat flux and layout of nozzles installed on the top and bottom cooling headers.Model parameters were validated by measured data.Heat transfer models including air convection model,heat radiation model and water cooling capacity model were detailedly introduced.In addition,effects on cooling capacity by water temperature and different valve patterns were also presented.Finally,the comparison results from UFC used or not have been provided with respect to temperature evolution and mechanical properties of Q235B steel grade with thickness of 7.8 mm.Since online application of the sophisticated CTC process control system based on these models,run-out table cooling control system has been running stably and reliably to produce resource-saving,low-cost steels with smaller grain size.

Controlled Rolling and Cooling Process for Low Carbon Cold Forging Steel

Effect of controlled rolling and cooling process on the mechanical properties of low carbon cold forging steel was investigated for different processing parameters of a laboratory hot rolling mill. The results show that the specimens with fast cooling after hot rolling exhibit very good mechanical properties, and the improvement of the mechanical properties can be attributed mainly to the ferrite-grain refinement. The mechanical properties increase with decreasing final cooling temperature within the range from 670 ℃ to 570 ℃ due to the finer interlamellar spacing of pearlite colony. The specimen with fast cooling after low temperature rolling shows the highest values of the mechanical properties. The effect of the ferrite grain size on the mechanical properties was greater than that of pearlite morphology in the present study. The mechanical properties of specimens by controlled rolling and cooling process without thermal treatment were greatly superior to that of the same specimens by the conventional rolling, and their tensile strength reached 490 MPa grade even in the case of low temperature rolling without controlled rolling. It might be expected to realize the substitution medium-carbon by low-carbon for 490 MPa grade cold forging steel with controlled rolling and cooling process.

Experimental study on the mechanism of flow blockage formation in fast reactor

Various sources of solid particles might exist in the coolant flow of a liquid metal cooled fast reactor(e.g.,through chemical interaction between the coolant and impurities,air,or water,through corrosion of structural materials,or from damaged/molten fuel).Such particles may cause flow blockage accidents in a fuel assembly,resulting in a reduction in coolant flow,which potentially causes a local temperature rise in the fuel cladding,cladding failure,and fuel melt.To understand the blockage formation mechanism,in this study,a series of simulated experiments was conducted by releasing different solid particles from a release device into a reducer pipe using gravity.Through detailed analyses,the influence of various experimental parameters(e.g.,particle diameter,capacity,shape,and static friction coefficient,and the diameter and height of the particle release nozzle)on the blockage characteristics(i.e.,blockage probability and position)was examined.Under the current range of experimental conditions,the blockage was significantly influenced by the aforementioned parameters.The ratio between the particle diameter and outlet size of the reducer pipe might be one of the determining factors governing the occurrence of blockage.Specifically,increasing the ratio enhanced blockage(i.e.,larger probability and higher position within the reducer pipe).Increasing the particle size,particle capacity,particle static friction coefficient,and particle release nozzle diameter led to a rise in the blockage probability;however,increasing the particle release nozzle height had a downward influence on the blockage probability.Finally,blockage was more likely to occur in non-spherical particles case than that of spherical particles.This study provides a large experimental database to promote an understanding of the flow blockage mechanism and improve the validation process of fast reactor safety analysis codes.

Status of a Sodium Cooled Fast Reactor Technology Development Program in Korea

Korea imports about 97% of its energy resources as its available energy resources are extremely limited. Thus, the role of nuclear power in electricity generation is expected to become more important in future years. A fast reactor system is one of the most promising options for electricity generation with an efficient utilization of uranium resources and a reduction of radioactive wastes. Based on the experiences gained during the development of the conceptual designs for KALIMER （Korea advanced liquid metal reactor）, the KAERI （Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute） is currently developing advanced SFR （sodium cooled fast reactor） design concepts that can better meet the Gen IV （Generation IV） technology goals. The long-term advanced SFR development plan will be carried out toward the construction of an advanced SFR demonstration plant by 2028. Advanced concept design studies and the development of the advanced SFR technologies necessary for its commercialization and basic key technologies carried out by KAERI are included in this paper.

Effects of Rolling and Cooling Conditions on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Low Carbon Cold Heading Steel

Effects of rolling and cooling conditions on microstructure and mechanical properties of low carbon cold heading steel were investigated on a laboratory hot rolling mill. The results have shown that the mechanical proper ties of low carbon steels exceed the standard requirements of ML30, ML35, ML40, and ML45 steel, respectively due to thermomechanical controlled processing （TMCP）. This is attributed to a significant amount of pearlite and the ferrite-grain refinement. Under the condition of relatively low temperature rolling, the mechanical properties exceed standard requirements of ML45 and ML30 steel after water cooling and air cooling, respectively. Fast cooling which leads to more pearlite and finer ferrite grains is more critical than finish rolling temperatures for low carbon cold heading steel. The specimen at high finish rolling temperature exhibits very good mechanical properties due to fast cooling. This result has great significance not only for energy saving and emission reduction, but also for low-carbon economy, because the goals of the replacement of medium-carbon by low-carbon are achieved with TMCP.

Influence of Controlled Rolling and Cooling Process on the Mechanical Properties of Low Carbon Cold Forging Steel

In the present paper,controlled rolling and cooling processing was conducted by using a laboratory hot rolling mill.The influence of different processing parameters on the mechanical properties of low carbon cold forging steel was investigated.The results show that the faster cooling after the deformation (especially in low temperature rolling conditions) leads to the refinement of the ferrite grain.The specimen exhibits very good mechanical properties owing to the finer ferrite grains.The pearlite morphologies can also affect the mechanical properties of low carbon cold forging steel.The mechanical properties increase with decreasing final cooling temperature within the range from 650℃ to 570 ℃ due to the finer interlamellar spacing of pearlite colony.The mechanical properties of the specimens with fast cooling after the conventional rolling are not only better than those of the specimens with slow cooling after low temperature rolling,but also almost similar to those of the specimens with fast cooling after low temperature rolling.It is suggested that fast cooling after high temperature rolling (the conventional rolling) process would be of important industrial value.