Shear deformation and plate shape control of hot-rolled aluminium alloy thick plate prepared by asymmetric rolling process

Asymmetric rolling （ASR）, as one of severe plastic deformation （SPD） methods to make ultra-fine materials with enhanced performance is mainly used to prepare foil and thin strip. The asymmetrical rolling was achieved by adjusting the diameters of the upper roll and the bottom roll and was used to prepare hot-rolled thick plate of 5182 aluminium alloy. The shear deformation and plate shape control were experimentally studied. The experimental results show that asymmetrical rolling has a significant effect on metal deformation stream and can somehow refine microstructure and improve the uniformity of microstructure and properties. The asymmetrical rolling process can also reduce the rolling force. However, bending of rolling plate often happens during asymmetrical rolling process. The factors affecting the bending were discussed.

Bending analysis and control of rolled plate during snake hot rolling

In order to study the bending behavior of aluminum alloy 7050 thick plate during snake hot rolling, several coupled thermo-mechanical finite element(FE) models were established. Effects of different initial thicknesses, pass reductions, speed ratios and offset distances on the bending value of the plate were analyzed. ‘Quasi smooth plate' and optimum offset distance were defined and quasi smooth plate could be acquired by adjusting offset distance, and then bending control equation was fitted. The results show that bending value of the plate as well as the extent of the increase grows with the increase of pass reduction and decrease of initial thickness; the bending value firstly increases and then keeps steady with the ascending speed ratio; the bending value can be reduced by enlarging the offset distance. The optimum offset distance varies for different rolling parameters and it is augmented with the increase of pass reduction and speed ratio and the decrease of initial thickness. A proper offset distance for different rolling parameters can be calculated by the bending control equation and this equation can be a guidance to acquire a quasi smooth plate. The FEM results agree well with experimental results.

Effect of Reduction on Bonding Interface of Hot-rolled Wear-resistant Steel BTW1/Q345R Cladding Plate

Wear-resistant cladding plates consisting of a substrate（Q345 R） and a clad layer（BTW1） were bonded through hot rolling at the temperature of 1 200 ℃ and a rolling speed of 0.5 m/s. The microhardness of the cladding plate was also tested after being heat treated. The microstructure evolution on the interface of BTW1/Q345 R sheets under various reduction rates was investigated with a scanning electron microscope（SEM） and EBSD. It is found that the micro-cracks and oxide films on the interface disappear when the reduction is 80%, whereas the maximum uniform diffusion distance reaches 10 μm. As a result, a wide range of metallurgical bonding layers forms, which indicates an improved combination between the BTW1 and the Q345 R. Additionally, it is discovered that the unbroken oxide films on the interface are composed of Mn, Si or Cr at the reductions of 50% and 65%. The SEM fractography of tensile specimen demonstrates that the BTW1 has significant dimple characteristics and possesses lower-sized dimples with the increment in reduction, suggesting that the toughness and bonding strength of the cladding plates would be improved by the increase of reduction. The results reveal that a high rolling reduction causes the interfacial oxide film broken and further forms a higher-sized composite metallurgical bonding interface. The peak microhardness is achieved near the interface.

Rusting behavior and preventative measures of hot-rolled steel plates for automobile applications

As one of the important categories of hot-rolled products, hot-rolled steel plates for automobile applications generally undergo uniform corrosion or localized corrosion according to different environments of manufacturing, transportation and/or storage of the plates. General corrosion often takes place on the surface of a plate in the exterior part of a package, and only reduces the thickness of the plate and slightly increases the roughness of the surface; however, localized corrosion on the surface of a plate inside the package is likely to result in the formation of pit-like defects on the substrate of the plate, which cannot be removed thoroughly by normal acid pickling or sand blasting, and affects the application of the plate. This research report analyzes the phenomena and characteristics of the rusting behavior of hot- rolled steel plates for automobile applications, and the influencing factors are summaried. The corresponding preventative measures are proposed.

Cube orientation in hot rolled high purity aluminum plate

X-ray diffraction and orientation mapping in EBSD measurement were applied to obtain information of deformation and recrystallization with the emphasis on the cube orientation in hot rolled high purity aluminum plates. It is shown that cube orientations are retained to a large extent during hot rolling. Some deformed cube grains are found to have experienced large extent of recovery according to their Kikuchi band contrasts. The deformed cube-oriented grains in hot rolled plates are in an unfavorite growth condition with respect to their neighboring grain orientations for the subsequent annealing. The reasons for the phenomena observed, as well as the influence of hot rolling process on subsequent cold rolling and final annealing were discussed.

Analysis of High-Cr Cast Iron/Low Carbon Steel Wear-resistant Laminated Composite Plate Prepared by Hot-rolled Symmetrical Billet

This study developed a new technology for preparing high-chromium cast iron(HCCI)/low-carbon steel(LCS)wear-resistant composite plates by hot rolling at a 1050°C and a rolling speed of 0.2 m/s.The effects of different rolling reductions(30%,45%,and 60%)on the microstructure(interface and HCCI layer)and mechanical properties(bonding strength,hardness,and wear resistance)of the composite plate were studied.SEM images showed that when the reduction was increased,no impurities and interlayers were found between the microscopic interfaces after hot rolling,and the bonding interface exhibited a wave-like shape.EDS analysis showed that the Cr element diffusion between two metals after hot rolling was promoted when the reduction was increased,thereby improving the bonding quality under the same rolling temperature and rolling speed.Experiments showed that due to the stress release effect of the LCS of the cladded layer,the macro-slab shape after hot rolling performed well,and the brittle HCCI layer underwent thermoplastic deformation without cracking.Moreover,the increase of rolling reduction improved the bonding quality.As the rolling reduction was increased,the volume fraction of Cr-carbides in the HCCI layer also increased,resulting in an increase of hardness and wear-resistance.

Microstructure and properties of Ti-bearing hot-rolled high-strength steel plates for two-sided enameling

The composition and production technology of the type of hot-rolled steel plate used in two-sided enameling were briefly described. The microstructure and mechanical properties before and after enameling were contrastively investigated,and the precipitates in the samples were analyzed using transmission electron microscope and energy dispersive spectrometer. The results show the ferrite grain size of the steel plate after high-temperature enamel firing to be fine,with a large number of TiC and Ti;C;S;precipitates dispersed throughout the ferrite matrix. After two rounds of enamel firing at a temperature range of 800-890 ℃,its yield strength can still reach342 MPa. The results of a hydrogen permeation test show that the hydrogen storage properties of the steel plate are much better than those of ordinary structural carbon steel. A better bubble structure in the enamel layer can be obtained by this steel plate,with no fish-scale defects on the enameled steel-plate surface.

Modeling the spread of hot-rolled Ni-based alloy plates

The width spread of Ni-based alloy plates in the rolling process is studied. An equation for describing therolling spread of Ni-based alloy plate is proposed based on production data and the Bachtinow equation, which cannot fully account for the compositional variability of Ni-based alloys. To address this, a new coefficient for alloying is added to the equation based on production data. By adding alloying coefficients, it is possible to improve the prediction accuracy for the rolling spread of Ni-based alloy plates and thus better control the width of the rolling spread of different steel grades.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of the hot-rolled Fe16Mn0.6C steel plate

Results presented in this study contribute to investigation of the microstructure and mechanical properties of the hot-rolled Fe16Mn0.6C steel plates.The steel plates have been produced by being hot-rolled at temperatures ranging from 1100℃ to 850℃ in seven passes to 97.5% reduction in thickness and then cooled in a furnace of 650℃.Some plates have been annealed at temperatures ranging from 300℃ to 1100℃ for 5min to 60min,and then followed by water quenching.There are annealing twins in the hot-rolled Fe16Mn0.6C steel.Fe16Mn0.6C steel presents similar ductile behavior as X-IPTM steel,but much higher elongation than commercial martensitic steel (MP) 1000,dual phase (DP) 980,and transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) 980 steels.Fe16Mn0.6C steel experiences γε (-α) transformation in some local regions,but remains mostly austenite during the entire deformation process.Fe16Mn0.6C steel with special mechanical properties can be produced by using the appropriate anneal technology.Twinning induced plasticity(TWIP) effect only occurs in the Fe16Mn0.6C steel annealed at temperature higher than 900℃.

Microstructure evolution and strengthening mechanism of high -performance powder metallurgy TA15 titanium alloy by hot rolling

Hot deformation of sintered billets by powder metallurgy(PM)is an effective preparation technique for titanium alloys,which is more significant for high-alloying alloys.In this study,Ti–6.5Al–2Zr–Mo–V(TA15)titanium alloy plates were prepared by cold press-ing sintering combined with high-temperature hot rolling.The microstructure and mechanical properties under different process paramet-ers were investigated.Optical microscope,electron backscatter diffraction,and others were applied to characterize the microstructure evolution and mechanical properties strengthening mechanism.The results showed that the chemical compositions were uniformly dif-fused without segregation during sintering,and the closing of the matrix craters was accelerated by increasing the sintering temperature.The block was hot rolled at 1200℃ with an 80%reduction under only two passes without annealing.The strength and elongation of the plate at 20–25℃ after solution and aging were 1247 MPa and 14.0%,respectively,which were increased by 24.5%and 40.0%,respect-ively,compared with the as-sintered alloy at 1300℃.The microstructure was significantly refined by continuous dynamic recrystalliza-tion,which was completed by the rotation and dislocation absorption of the substructure surrounded by low-angle grain boundaries.After hot rolling combined with heat treatment,the strength and plasticity of PM-TA15 were significantly improved,which resulted from the dense,uniform,and fine recrystallization structure and the synergistic effect of multiple slip systems.

Self-Learning and Its Application to Laminar Cooling Model of Hot Rolled Strip

The mathematical model for online controlling hot rolled steel cooling on run-out table （ROT for abbreviation） was analyzed, and water cooling is found to be the main cooling mode for hot rolled steel. The calculation of the drop in strip temperature by both water cooling and air cooling is summed up to obtain the change of heat transfer coefficient. It is found that the learning coefficient of heat transfer coefficient is the kernel coefficient of coiler temperature control （CTC） model tuning. To decrease the deviation between the calculated steel temperature and the measured one at coiler entrance, a laminar cooling control self-learning strategy is used. Using the data acquired in the field, the results of the self-learning model used in the field were analyzed. The analyzed results show that the self-learning function is effective.

Influence of Hot Deformation and Subsequent Austempering on the Mechanical Properties of Hot Rolled Multiphase Steel

Influence of hot deformation and subsequent austempering on the mechanical properties of hot rolled multiphase steel was investigated. Thermo-mechanical control processing （TMCP） was conducted by using a laboratory hot rolling mill, where three different kinds of finishing rolling reduction, and austemperings with various isothermal holding duration were applied. The results have shown that a multiphase microstructure consisting of polygonal ferrite, granular bainite and larger amount of stabilized retained austenite can be obtained by controlled rolling processes. Mechanical properties increase with increasing the amount of deformation because of the stabilization of retained austenite. Ultimate tensile strength （σb）, total elongation （σ） and the product of ultimate tensile strength and total elongation （σb-σ） reach the maximum values （791 MPa, 36% and 28476 MPa%, respectively） at optimal processes.

Application of multi-scale feature extraction to surface defect classification of hot-rolled steels

Feature extraction is essential to the classification of surface defect images. The defects of hot-rolled steels distribute in different directions. Therefore, the methods of multi-scale geometric analysis （MGA） were employed to decompose the image into several directional subba^ds at several scales. Then, the statistical features of each subband were calculated to produce a high-dimensional feature vector, which was reduced to a lower-dimensional vector by graph embedding algorithms. Finally, support vector machine （SVM） was used for defect classification. The multi-scale feature extraction method was implemented via curvelet transform and kernel locality preserving projections （KLPP）. Experiment results show that the proposed method is effective for classifying the surface defects of hot-rolled steels and the total classification rate is up to 97.33%.

Austempering of Hot Rolled Si-Mn TRIP Steels

The austempering after hot roiling in hot roiled Si-Mn TRIP （transformation-induced plasticity） steels was investigated. The mechanism of TRIP was discussed through examination of the microstructure and the mechanical properties of this kind of steel. The results showed that the strain induced transformation to martensite of retained austenite occurs in hot rolled Si-Mn TRIP steels. The sample exhibited a good combination of ultimate tensile strength and total elongation when it was held at the bainite transformation temperature after hot deformation. The stability of retained austenite increases with an increase in isothermal holding time, and a further increase in the hold- ing duration resulted in the decrease of stability. The mechanical properties were optimal when holding for 25 min, and tensile strength and total elongation reached the maximum values （774 MPa and 33 ;, respectively）.

Stream Surface Strip Element Method and Simulation of Three-Dimensional Deformation of Continuous Hot Rolled Strip

A new method,the stream surface strip element method,for simulating the three-dimensional deformation of plate and strip rolling process was proposed.The rolling deformation zone was divided into a number of stream surface(curved surface)strip elements along metal flow traces,and the stream surface strip elements were mapped into the corresponding plane strip elements for analysis and computation.The longitudinal distributions of the lateral displacement and the altitudinal displacement of metal were respectively constructed to be a quartic curve and a quadratic curve,of which the lateral distributions were expressed as the third-power spline function,and the altitudinal distributions were fitted in the quadratic curve.From the flow theory of plastic mechanics,the mathematical models of the three-dimensional deformations and stresses of the deformation zone were constructed.Compared with the streamline strip element method proposed by the first author of this paper,the stream surface strip element method takes into account the uneven distributions of stresses and deformations along altitudinal direction,and realizes the precise three-dimensional analysis and computation.The simulation example of continuous hot rolled strip indicates that the method and the model accord with facts and provide a new reliable engineering-computation method for the three-dimensional mechanics simulation of plate and strip rolling process.

Continuous FEM simulation of multi-pass plate hot rolling suitable for plate shape analysis

In order to continuously simulate multi-pass plate rolling process,a 3-D elastic hollow-roll model was proposed and an auto mesh-refining module with data passing was developed and integrated with FE software,Marc.The hollow-roll model has equivalent stiffness of bending resistance and deformation to the real solid and much less meshes,so the computational time is greatly reduced.Based on these,the factors influencing plate profile,such as the roll-bending force,initial crown,thermal crown and heat transfer during rolling and inter-pass cooling can be taken into account in the simulation.The auto mesh-refining module with data passing can automatically refine and re-number elements and transfer the nodal and elemental results to the new meshes.Furthermore,the 3-D modeling routine is parametrically developed and can be run independently of Marc pre-processing program.A seven-pass industrial hot rolling process was continuously simulated to validate the accuracy of model.By comparison of the calculated results with the industrial measured data,the rolling force,temperature and plate profile are in good accordance with the measured ones.

Effect of Ce-base mischmetal addition on the microstructure and mechanical properties of hot-rolled ZK60 alloy

Mg-Zn-Zr(ZK)alloys exhibit notably high mechanical strength amongst all magnesium alloy grades.However,due to the formation of low melting point Mg_3Zn_7-precipitates,these alloys are susceptible to hot cracking,thus compromising their metallurgical processing.The addition of rare earths to ZK alloys is an alternative to form higher melting point intermetallic compounds,speed up dynamic recrystallization,refine grain size,enhance corrosion resistance and extend the service temperature due to improved creep resistance.This work deals with the effect of Ce-base mischmetal addition on the hot rolling behaviour of as-cast ZK60 alloy.The microstructure investigation conducted using electron microscopy and X-Ray diffraction shows that precipitation of Mg_(7)Zn_(3) intermetallics occur during hot rolling,whereas no further precipitation is observed for the ZK60-Mm alloys.The fragmentation of the intermetallic compounds occur during hot rolling and finer particles of Mg_(7)Zn_(3) are observed for the ZK60,whereas Mg_(7)Zn_(3) and Mg Zn_(2) Ce intermetallics are formed in the alloy modified with mischmetal addition.A higher fraction of dynamically recrystallized grains is observed for the ZK60-Mm in comparison to the ZK60.Continuous recrystallization takes place in ZK60 with the formation of sub-grains near to the intermetallics and the addition of mischmetal promotes the occurrence of discontinuous recrystallization with the nucleation of new grains close to the precipitates.The mechanical strength and,in particular,the ductility of the hot-rolled alloys are notably improved when compared to the same alloys in the as-cast condition.The mechanical strength is,however,higher for the ZK60 alloy.Less solid solution strengthening,softer Mg Zn_(2) Ce intermetallics and more extensive recrystallization contribute to reduce the mechanical strength of ZK60-Mm.Failure in both alloys are initiated at coarse intermetallics and propagate through intermetallic-rich regions.

Optimization of Holding Temperature and Holding Thickness for Controlled Rolling on Plate Mill

Holding temperature and holding thickness are main parameters for two-phase controlled rolling on plate mill. The optimization of holding temperature and holding thickness for pass schedule calculation of two-phase controlled rolling on plate mill was presented and its feature is as follows： （1） Determination of holding thickness can be automatically obtained based on the influence of mill safety limits, tracking zone length and holding time on holding thickness; （2） Determination of holding temperature can be automatically obtained and the holding time can be reduced as much as possible; （3） Algorithm can modify the holding temperature and thickness depending on slab size and product size.

Enhanced mechanical properties and formability of hot-rolled Mg-Zn-Mn alloy by Ca and Sm alloying

In order to broaden the application of wrought Mg alloy sheets in the automotive industry,the influence of Ca and Sm alloying on the texture evolution,mechanical properties,and formability of a hot-rolled Mg-2Zn-0.2Mn alloy was investigated by OM,XRD,SEM,EBSD,tensile tests,and Erichsen test.The results showed that the average grain size and basal texture intensity of Mg-2Zn-0.2Mn alloys were remarkably decreased after Ca and Sm additions.0.64 wt.%Ca or 0.48 wt.%Sm addition significantly increased the tensile strength,ductility and formability.Moreover,the synergetic addition of Sm and Ca improved the ductility and formability of Mg-2Zn-0.2Mn alloy,which was due to the change of Ca distribution and further reduction of the size of Ca-containing particles by Sm addition.The results provided a possibility of replacing RE elements with Ca and Sm in Mg alloys which bring about outstanding mechanical properties and formability.

Anisotropy of mechanical properties and crystallographic texture in hot rolled AZ31+XSr sheets

The influences of Sr on the microstructure,texture and mechanical properties including flow and anisotropy behavior of AZ31 alloys are investigated.Slabs containing no,0.4 and 0.8 wt%of strontium were cast and subjected to hot rolling.Results indicate that Sr reduces the basal texture intensity(23%in the AZ31+0.8Sr alloy)and homogenizes the distribution of strain in uniaxial tension.Furthermore,Sr increases both the strength coefficient and the strain hardening exponent in all directions.In the transverse direction,enhancements are more significant.Moreover,Sr enhances the combination of tensile strength and total elongation;i.e.,toughness,whether tests are performed parallel to the rolling,diagonal or transverse directions,to significant extents.